Are Bush, Dick Cheney & Co. looking forward to new Bob Woodward book?

Bob Woodward is at it again. The White House and the rest of us can get set for the whirlwind.

And if President Bush doesn't like the way he comes off, he can blame the guy who works down the hall, National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley.

The prolific author of Watergate fame is about to publish his fourth volume on the history of the Bush administration, and the publisher says it "declassifies the secrets of America's political and military involvement in Iraq."

White House officials, according to Politico.com, hope it will reflect "more favorably on Bush" than Woodward's earlier "State of Denial."

After all, it covers the final three years of the administration -- a period that includes the "surge" in Iraq, to which officials seem to unanimously point as a sign of success after the deluge of bad news leading up to 2007.

Quoting publishing sources, Politico is reporting that the book was completed three weeks ago and is due out on Sept. 8, under the title "The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008."

The report says Woodward, a Washington Post editor, gained the cooperation of a wide range of administration officials, who were encouraged by Hadley to cooperate.

Among those who sat down for Woodward interviews, Politico reports: Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, and, of course, the president. Twice.

There's not much planned in the way of a roll out -- only lengthy, juicy excerpts in the Post itself the day before publication and an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" the night before publication.

-- James Gerstenzang

Photo: Elise Amendola / Associated Press