The Rise and Decline of Joe Wilson

The Weekly Standard ^ | 5/8/04 | Matthew Continetti

[Gothmog]

Excerpted

"It's probably better that Wilson not read his book, because The Politics of Truth is an uneven mishmash of memoir, anti-Bush rant, and 'investigative journalism.' What Wilson did was take his newfound celebrity and use it as an excuse to rewrite and publish several hours of oral testimony about his foreign service career that he delivered to the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training in January 2001...He was the architect of President Clinton's tour of Africa in 1998. And he saved the New York Times.

"Here's how that story is told in The Politics of Truth:

"'David Shipley [editor of the Times op-ed page] and I introduced ourselves when I stepped off the elevator and he escorted me to his office for a cup of coffee. En route, down a long windowless corridor with offices on either side, doors sporting the names of Times writers, we ran into veteran Timesman Robert Semple. David explained that I was "the one who wrote the article on what he didn't find in Africa," and Semple, turning to me, said, "So you're the one who turned our paper around."'

"That was in July 2003. Wilson had recently published an op-ed in the Times that told of his trip to Niger and how he found no evidence of uranium sales to Iraq there. Here's Wilson's reaction to Semple:

"'The Times had been mired in the scandal surrounding Jayson Blair, the fraudulent journalist whose reporting had been questioned by a number of colleagues. The turmoil in the media about the Times had diminished in the past several weeks, but I had not imagined that anyone at the paper would attribute their improvement to me or to my piece. For the second time that day, I was struck by the extent of the reaction to me and the article outside the confines of Washington, D.C.'

"(The first time Wilson was struck by the reaction to his article 'outside the confines of Washington, D.C.,' incidentally, was when he walked into an editorial meeting at the Nation magazine's New York offices and someone suggested the staff give him a 'standing ovation.')"

Excerpted

[Gothmog]

Yep, Wilson loves the media and they love him. I love the part about how Wilson used to go to meetings on ending world hunger. He's had a lot less success at that than at self-promotion.

[Kay]

A known low-life by his own colleagues.

[Sacajaweau]

I heard Wilson tell a tale concerning his best friend and a run-in with Novak. To summarize, the dude casually bumped into Novak and asked him what he thought about Wilson.

Novak said blah, blah, blah and his wife is a CIA operative.

The best friend immediately went to Wilson and told him what Novak said. (This was before Novak wrote the article.)

My take: The best friend didn't laugh it off and went to Wilson and said "He knows, too??" I think a lot of people knew.

[Howlin]

"So you're the one who turned our paper around."'

Have you noticed that all these "tell-all-ers" -- Paul O'Neill, Richard Clarke, Joe Wilson -- all have one thing in common, a very, very high opinion of themselves.

And they want US to know how important they are.

[Redcoat LI]

If his book doesn't sell,he won't get a movie deal.

Look for him,Paul O'Neil and Richard Clark on "The Washinton Dirtbag" version of Survrivor,let's hope they all stay on the Island.

[tirednvirginia]

Hey guys, how are all these "tell all" books doing? Is Clarke's book still going great in book sales? Hopefully, they have all gone bust.

[Redcoat LI]

Hey guys, how are all these "tell all" books doing?

These former Bush officials seem to have a shelf life of about two weeks,the next thing you'll read about them will be their obituaries.

[mass55th]

"He was the architect of President Clinton's tour of Africa in 1998"

So he's the one we can blame for the most expensive trip by a sitting President. I wonder if he got Billy his bongos too.

[jmaroneps37]

Joe who? Didn't he play baseball for some little town somewhere? Or was that that other guy Paul O'Neill? I get my flunkies mixed up sometimes.

[jmaroneps37]

Joe who? Didn't he play baseball for some little town somewhere? Or was that that other guy Paul O'Neill? I get my flunkies mixed up sometimes.

[MN_Mike]

These former Bush officials seem to have a shelf life of about two weeks,the next thing you'll read about them will be their obituaries.


-- Too bad the order wasn't reversed

[The Old Hoosier]

-- Too bad the order wasn't reversed

Well, that's only in the Clinton administration.

[Redcoat LI]

Thats not nice.

But it is too bad.

[texasflower]

That boy has quite an ego on him. I didn't realize it was that bad.

[okie01]

Ping for Joseph IV.