I'm reminded of what the great comic genius, Jimmy Durante used to say: 'Everybody wants ta get into da act.' The latest 'tell all' book to attempt a hatchet job on President Bush has just had its national premier on that televised anti—Bush marketing machine known as '60 Minutes.' Bob Woodward, half of the dynamic duo that wrote All the President's Men, the story of the Watergate cover—up, appears to have another source for, Plan of Attack. The man who coined the identifier, 'deep throat' to indicate an informer who hides in the shadows and whispers high level government gossip, once again writes about events that only an insider could have known.

This time however, the throat may belong to the Secretary of State. Of course, Colin Powell is not admitting that he had been interviewed for the book, but most observers would conclude from the specifics in the text that he had to be the source. According to Woodward, Mr. Powell was told about the plans for the invasion of Iraq only after the President, the Vice—President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Advisor had been briefed on the decision. The author writes about a private meeting in the Oval Office in which the Chief Executive tells Mr. Powell: 'It looks like war.'

Since one can assume Mr. Bush didn't give the author that quote, either there's a very garrulous fly on the wall, or Mr. Powell was the source. The implication in the book is that Powell was never convinced that it was a good idea to invade Iraq. Woodward quotes him as saying to Bush: 'Are you aware of the consequences?' From that, I suppose we're supposed to conclude that Powell was dead set against the war and only made all those statements and actions supporting it to be a 'good soldier.'

It's hard to imagine that a man of Powell's reputation for integrity and courage would have been willing to collaborate on a war he didn't believe in. Furthermore, it seems even more bizarre that he would tell that to an ultraliberal iconoclast like Woodward. If he were truly the patriot and soldier that America knows him to be, he'd hardly undermine a war in progress while troops are still on the battlefield. It seems more likely that the author is attempting to fuel the speculation that Powell may not sign on for another term if Bush is reelected. With that type of rumor snaking around the Beltway, how difficult is it to use creative journalism instead of facts?

Interviewer Mike Wallace resembled a hungry bear, salivating at the thought of wrapping its jaws around a succulent salmon. As each derogatory morsel was offered up as a sacrifice on the altar of political expediency, the veteran CBS newsman was the perfect 'straight man' in the vaudeville act that should have been called: 'Bush—bashing, part two.' Part one was the recent bombshell by Richard Clarke, also given prime time by 60 Minutes, making it an instant bestseller. CBS, which is owned by the company that published both books, is propelling more tomes to the top than Oprah Winfrey. Sadly, people like Woodward, Clarke, and the management of CBS, are risking American lives as they give the enemy a perceived justification for hanging tough, while firing on our troops. Recently, Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas took to the House floor to denounce the flagrant claims made by Mr. Clarke, and added words of support for the men and women who fight valiantly for this country, rather than write treacherously against it.

As for Mr. Woodward, he reminds me of the kid we all knew in school who would run up to the teacher at every opportunity to tattle on his classmates, often with a fabricated story. One statement in his book, which he attributes to a confidential source, (undoubtedly his own imagination) has someone saying: 'Dick Cheney was obsessed with taking Saddam out.' That sounds more like an obsession the Democrats have regarding Bush. I knew they were upset about losing by such a slim margin in 2000, but I never figured they would stoop to continuously condemning a president during wartime, while never uttering a negative sentence about a brutal dictator who was an avowed enemy of the United States. Any candidate aspiring to be the leader of the free world should repudiate the kind of support that comes from windbags who claim that their info is whispered to them from shadowy parking garages, and flies on the wall.

Bob Weir writes the syndicated column, "Weir Only Human." The author of 7 books, he is a retired NYPD sergeant, living in Flower Mound, Texas. BobWeir777@aol.com