How effective was this strategy, and why were so many journalists so not just willing to go along but eager to go along with this?

Well, the, the carrot was effective because, in the words of Kissinger's authorized biographer, Niall Ferguson, Kissinger had superhuman charm.

He was witty.

He was funny.

He cultivated an aura of mystery.

He had this way of appearing to share secrets.

He was able to make people he was talking to feel intelligent.

How did he want to be remembered, and was he satisfied with his own sort of myth-making ability of his life?