As yours truly was leaving the White House a short time ago, I spotted famed Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward at the Northwest Gate making his way on to the grounds.

"I'm Bob Woodward, and I have an appointment," he politely told the Secret Service agent, before being buzzed into the security shed.

The New Republic reported just yesterday that administration officials were concerned about Woodward's plans to write a book about the inner workings of the new West Wing team, and that White House counsel Greg Craig has circulated memos dictating protocol for dealing with writers "researching books and articles on the White House."

Officially, the White House says it is not adopting a press strategy to respond to Woodward. Ben LaBolt, an Obama spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that the Craig memo "was not issued in relation to any inquiry related to a specific reporter or author." Still, there is reason to think that Woodward might make the administration particularly anxious.

One reason: "Obama's White House is known to hate process stories, exactly the sort of exhaustive, in-the-room descriptions of high-level debates at which Woodward excels," TNR notes.

No word on who Woodward was meeting with.