Woodward and Deep Throat II?

Comments are flying through the blogosphere about Bob Woodward's late-in-the-game disclosure that he spoke with an "unnamed official" about Valerie Plame before Lewis Libby is supposed to have mentioned her to any reporter, and that Woodward, an assistant managing editor with the Washington Post, apparently did not discuss this information with Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. until October of this year, a situation which made Downie unhappy, and gave his deposition Monday to Patrick Fitzgerald. Woodward is a journalist who has successfully kept secrets before, but much of this week's discussion supports the view that he should have revealed the Plame matter to his own editor much earlier. Note that former Post Exec Editor Ben Bradlee defends Woodward. Several observers point out that the fact that Woodward made the rounds of the talk shows commenting on the woes of other journalists bound up in the Plame affair without revealing that he was also involved now makes him look somewhat less than candid. See comments from some blogs here and here. Read a Washington Post article by Jim Vanderhei and Carol Leonnig on Woodward's involvement here. See Woodward's own statement here.