March 31, 2002

Historian's Fight for Her Reputation May Be Damaging It

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

The historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who is under criticism for copying passages she used in a book about the Kennedys, has undertaken an energetic effort to salvage her reputation, including appearing on television with David Letterman, speaking about plagiarism and working with Robert Shrum, a political consultant. She also is getting some help from Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

But her efforts may be backfiring with some fellow historians, who object to her recent appeals that "it is time to move on" even before she has disclosed the full extent of her errors.

Her public appearances also come at a delicate time. Ms. Goodwin, who won a Pulitzer Prize for an earlier book, is a member of the Pulitzer board, which selects the winners, and the board plans to discuss her continued membership when it meets this week.

Robert C. Darnton, a professor at Princeton and the former president of the American Historical Association, said, "If she is organizing a P.R. campaign to exculpate herself, that strikes me as unprofessional conduct."

Ms. Goodwin did not return calls seeking comment. Instead, Michael Nussbaum, a lawyer in Washington, responded for her, saying she was keeping previous commitments.

"She is going to continue to keep speaking engagements," Mr. Nussbaum said, "and the host organizations have indicated that it would be appropriate for her to address what is happening and how she is dealing with it."

In January, Ms. Goodwin acknowledged that in 1987 her publisher, Simon & Schuster, paid another author to settle accusations of plagiarism in her book "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys." Then, acting to pre-empt new accusations by Philip Nobile, a journalist, Ms. Goodwin admitted in an interview in February that she had failed to adequately attribute dozens of passages in the book.

At the same time, she revised earlier explanations of her mistakes, saying the problem was not a one-time confusion about her handwritten notes but reflected a more pervasive sloppiness. She declined to specify the sources of the copied material or the exact number of passages, saying that her team of four research assistants had not finished unearthing all her errors.

After her fuller disclosures, the Dole Institute at the University of Kansas canceled an engagement for her to speak. Ms. Goodwin sought to dissuade the institute, people involved said. Later, Senator Kennedy, a friend of hers, called former Senator Bob Dole on her behalf, a spokesman for Mr. Dole said. (The engagement was not renewed.) Mr. Nussbaum said Ms. Goodwin did not ask Senator Kennedy to call.

Ms. Goodwin was also asked to take a leave of absence from "The NewsHour," the public television program, on which she was a regular commentator. Dan Werner, president of "The NewsHour," said some people with the program suspected an organized e-mail campaign on her behalf was under way.

Mr. Nussbaum said Ms. Goodwin did not know of such a campaign. Mr. Shrum, the political consultant, did not return calls, referring them to Mr. Nussbaum, who said only that Mr. Shrum was an old friend of Ms. Goodwin's.

People involved with the Pulitzer Prize Board said Ms. Goodwin at first opposed the board's suggestion that she sit out its April meeting. She later agreed and released a letter saying that she was sitting out because the media attention was too distracting.

Three members of the board have formed a committee to evaluate Ms. Goodwin's case, including the accusations of plagiarism and her responses. The committee is seeking a researcher to examine Ms. Goodwin's scholarship, people close to the process said.

Mr. Nussbaum is dealing with the board on her behalf. He staunchly defended Ms. Goodwin's methods of research for the book that won her a Pulitzer Prize in 1995, "No Ordinary Time," about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

"Under the auspices of the law firm of Ropes & Gray, `No Ordinary Time' has been reviewed and checked," Mr. Nussbaum said. "Everything is fully credited and attributed." As for "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys," Mr. Nussbaum said Ms. Goodwin planned to issue a corrected edition. He declined to say when it would appear.