Does anyone besides Michael Moore and CNN buy "tell all" books by former Bush staffers? The latest Bush back-stabber is former press secretary Scott McClellan. "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception" chronicles his time as Press Secretary and based on the attention-grabbing title apparently spends time blasting Bush as well as his various advisers. Great guy, that Scott McClellan.
Perhaps George Bush is responsible for a "culture of deception" in the White House, I don't really know. I do know this- if such a culture and practice existed during the two plus years McClellan served as Press Secretary, he was part of the culture, not some unwitting victim of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. Give me a break Scott. I love this telling quote from the book-
“The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. There was one problem. It was not true. I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the president himself."
I am supposed to believe poor little Scott "unknowingly" passed along information? Come on. I feel fool enough for thinking Roger Clemens might have been telling the truth, I'm not falling for this one.
McClellan worked closely with Bush since the 2000 presidential campaign, served as deputy press secretary for a time, and finally press secretary. It took him 6 years to note the dishonesty of his superiors before finally getting fired. That's right, he was fired. He didn't resign. This sounds a whole lot like a disgruntled employee trying to make a buck more than a morally convicted public servant who longed for the purification of leadership in America.
I'm glad the Bush era is passing for a number of reasons. If there was deceit and dishonesty going on, McClellan was no doubt part of it.
8 comments:
What terrible timing for McCaine and what great fodder for the Dem’s! In reading about this latest attempt to destroy Bush and keep McCaine out of the Whitehouse, with the New York Times and the “Chicken Noodle Network” pushing this book, just “consider the source”. Have to admit, there are plenty of nasty allegations that may seem convincing enough, but like you said Tony, this guy was FIRED, he didn’t quit! I know one thing, wicked plans only spread strife and a lying tongue will be found out. President Bush needs our prayers now more than ever.
If?
Jeremy,
Hey, I'm not on the inside. I don't really know what the truth on this stuff is.
El presidente de Estados Unidos Jorge W. Arbusto has had four White House Press Secretaries, Ari Fleischer, Scott McClellan, Tony Snow, and Dana Perino, while the jury is still out on Perino, Fleischer was the best. I use to watch Tony Snow on Fox News Sunday, and listen to his radio show before he became press secretary, and while he may have disagreed with the President based on his previous stances, he never made them public while he served as Press Secretary.
While no administration is perfect, while many may disagree with the Presidents handling of the war, the last person to be in the loop is the press secretary, at last check the press secretary is not a cabinet post, he is not an advisor to the president, nor does he serve the role in handling the nation’s affairs. That would be the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Director of National Intelligence, Chief of Staff, Counsel to the President and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
The White House Press Secretary responsibilities center on collecting information about what is happening inside the Administration and around the world, and getting that information to the media in a timely and accurate fashion, nothing more, nothing less.
So while Scott may have been hanging around the coridor I doubt very seriously he was sitting in on cabinet meetings and National Security Council meetings or having a two on one fast break with Rove and Libby.
I can only conclude that Scott McClellan is a descendant of these infamous men of history.
General George McClellan: a case of the slows.
Brutus: “Et tu Brute?”
Judas Iscariot: Was it worth 30 pieces of silver to be on the New York Times Best Seller List?
politics IS a culture of deception, and you only hear of people spouting it as such when they think it'll give them enough credibility to continue...
p.s. there is a huge difference in the confidentiality invested in the white house staff and the cabinet members. the white house staff does not have to be confirmed by the senate and this is generally accepted as a privilege that enables the president to insulate himself with his own people and people willing to support his agenda; whereas, those who are actually cabinet members may be necessary for executive bureaucratic process, but they are not by any means the president's white house "confidantes." all this to say that if anything, the fact that he was a staffer and not a cabinet member does not absolve him at all.
Powerful thoughts Rick! Saw the turncoat this a.m. on the Today show and he didn’t seem very convincing to me. I hope Bush does the righteous thing and lies low, like he did on the Dan Rather boondoggle. The media implies that he quit and was not fired? Don't know myself but I believe truth will be revealed and this will all go away.
Pastor Tony, I sent your blog to my very articulate brother in Tulsa. Here is how he perceived this situation: “I hecked out the blog site - Scott McClellan's book - there should be a confidentiality contract signed by White House staffers to prevent this kind of money grab and publicity. Like it says in Job 3 - "skin for skin, a man will give all that he has for his life (or money or his own integrity). Just one more example of politics' finest hour.”
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