Politics

Bob Woodward gets rare praise during meeting of conservative Republicans

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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WASHINGTON — When a group of some of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives gathered Wednesday for an informal monthly luncheon with reporters, one congressman went out of his way to lavish praise upon an unlikely GOP hero.

“I actually want to commend Bob Woodward,” Idaho Rep. Raúl Labrador said, referencing the veteran Washington Post reporter who has been particularly critical of President Obama lately.

Labrador referenced Woodward’s comments earlier Wednesday accusing the president of “madness” for not deploying the U.S.S. Harry Truman because of concerns relating to budget cuts from the impending sequester.

“Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying ‘Oh, by the way, I can’t do this because of some budget document?’” Woodward said.

“That’s a kind of madness that I haven’t seen in a long time,” he added.

Woodward, of course, co-wrote the series of stories that led to Richard Nixon’s resignation as president. More recently, he was a fierce critic of Republican President George W. Bush.

During the Conversations with Conservatives meeting Wednesday afternoon inside the Rayburn office building, Labrador said of Woodward’s comments on Obama: “I think that’s pretty impressive.”

The congressman went on to explain that while he assumes Woodward is a Democrat, “He’s trying to show he’s a journalist first and foremost.”

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