Bob Woodward was in North Adams last night, and MassINC executive vice president John Schneider has an analysis:

It’s a long way from Boston to the campus of the Mass. College of Liberal Arts, in North Adams (157.13 miles, according to Mapquest), but that’s where best-selling author and Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward was on Tuesday night. I was invited by Mary Grant, the president of MCLA, to hear him speak. (Remember, MassINC bills itself as a statewide organization, and the last time I checked, North Adams was still very much a part of Massachusetts.)

Woodward The headline for Woodward’s talk was “Trust the public with the truth.” (See the Berkshire Eagle‘s account here.) And he should know. As a chronicler of presidents since Nixon, Woodward has seen how hiding the truth has affected the fates of seven presidential administrations so far. By his estimation, we know about 60 to 70 percent of the “truth,” and he worries that there is too much power in the White House — leading to “a secret government,” if you will, that is eroding our democracy.

He was tough on himself and his press colleagues for the coverage to the lead-in of the Iraq war, assigning a grade of D-, to be exact.

Photo of Woodward from earlier days, and from Woodward’s own “about the author” webpage.

Woodward touched on several themes about presidents, journalists, and democracy during his 90-minute speech to a full house of MCLA faculty, students, alumni, and supporters, as well as residents from up and down Berkshire County. His best line of the night was when he talked about Ford’s pardon of Nixon.  He first heard about the pardon when his colleague, Carl Bernstein, called him and said “that son of a bitch has pardoned that son of a bitch.” 

He also offered five tips to president-elect Obama based on his observations of presidential power:

  • Build a cohesive team that will work together for the same purpose.
  • Do not delegate to others the process of making a decision.
  • Find a way of resolving contradictory data.
  • As commander-in-chief, develop personal relationships with key players.
  • Find a way to tell the truth.

Speaking of telling the truth, Woodward also commented on how his industry is changing, arguing that citizens need authentic and credible information, but it is speed that now matters most, and that’s what they get through the Internet. He says that this emphasis on speed leads the press to both make too many mistakes or frequently end up with nothing real to report. Woodward worries most that our democracy will “die in darkness.”