Comments (2)

• Gideon Haigh's review of Bob Woodward's book gestures at the complex basis of the tribalism in the United States but overreaches when it claims that the Trump phenomenon has made 'political journalism impossible' (whatever that might look like?). It makes for an interesting talking point from which to suspend the review, but if anything Trumpism encourages a more thoroughly analytical approach to understanding our political allegiances and their relationship (or lack thereof) to our values and the conduct of our leaders. Indeed, Haigh appears to be making the case for this view himself, as his most substantive criticism is that Woodward has failed to analyse the moment in context.
  Posted by Patrick Hockey

  11 November 2020
• I have been searching for some incisive analysis of the contemporary moment in the age of Donald Trump and I have finally happened upon it here. Gideon Haigh nails phenomena I've been unable to parse. Bob Woodward "keeps straining to interpret Trump by the light of previous presidents'. That's what it is, and not limited to commentary on the Trump "Administration". The same could be said about the UK Tories and Brexit. This is why so much analysis seems to function as obfuscation.
  
  "But finding that facts here have no purchase...", says Haigh, "Woodward is reduced to pointless imprecations." This practice is what I have repeatedly witnessed in political commentary and it is very helpful to have it named and explained so well. We haven't been here before, certainly not in my lifetime. We need to name and explain things in order to begin to develop a response. Thank you, ABR and Gideon Haigh.
  Posted by Kate Hegarty

  05 October 2020