Not that we needed him to tell us…but, his confirmation in his upcoming book puts any doubts to rest…Scott McClellan’s Shocking Revelation: Bush, Cheney, Rove and Libby are Liars
Quote of the Day:
“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.”
— Scott McClellan, in his new book, What Happened
MSNBC report: 04/21/08
“President Bush, Karl Rove, and other top administration officials were “involved” in misleading the White House press corps about the outing of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame, a forthcoming book from former Press Secretary Scott McClellan alleges.”
if he had only had the courage to tell-all when he knew-all, we might have been able to get rid of this oily group that much sooner…and how many lives in the Middle East might have been spared?
McClellan’s problem is not that he lied, his problem is that he was not as smooth at lying as was his predecessor Ari Fleischer.
McClellan’s problem may have been that he was lying without knowing he was lying. And I’d guess that he’s feeling a little betrayed, mad and very embarassed looking back on it.
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p>All of these people are smooth at answering questions. When I watch the (necessary) ferocity with which the WH press corps asks and follows up on questions, it’s amazing to watch the Fleischers or McCurry’s of the world stay on message without getting trapped.
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p>They seldom get caught in a lie and they usually don’t say something in a way that can get easily twisted or misinterpreted. It is a real talent.
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p>I’d bet the folks inside the WH press corps–who were directly lied to on a daily basis–are probably more sympathetic to McClellan than many others. They understand the position McClellan was put in.
He shares the blame for the fiasco. I read transcripts of his White House press briefings on many topics, and his respect for the truth of his own words was non-existent. He earned his track record, and he can’t talk his way out of it now.
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p>Only if they are as amoral and blindly partisan as… say… you…
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p>You say that like it’s a good thing…
I love it when someone thinks I’m a blind partisan. I get it from both sides. Truth be told I’m more a liberal dem than most. But not most here.
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p>I am going on the assumption that McClellan didn’t know that in his capacity of information distributor he was being given information that was untrue.
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p>Most reporters have been put in the same position. Someone they trust gives them information that the reporter then distrubutes, that turns out to be untrue.
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p>Sure, check. Sure, verify. Find a reporter that has never been given information that turns out to be untrue. Find a reporter that has never gotten something wrong.
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p>Is it a good thing to get something wrong? Of course not. Is it a good thing to recognize and understand someone that is having a common experience?
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p>Maybe my assumption is wrong. In which case, yes, McClellan is a scoundrel that not only lied knowingly, but is now lying about knowing.
…he were a stutterer*, which he was not. He was clearly uncomfortable in his position.
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p>Regarding your second paragraph, particularly When I watch the (necessary) ferocity with which the WH press corps asks and follows up on questions… I am somewhat reminded of Kevin White, former mayer of Bahston, who in the early 1980s was–shall we say–somewhat close to the vest as to run for yet another term as mayor. The day before White was to make his announcement, he (or his people, same thing) told a political reporter for the Bahston Herald that he would run again. An exclusive! The Herald ran with the story the next day.
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p>The same next day, White announced that he would not be running for a fifth term.
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p>Now, why would White have done such a thing? Because the reporter and the Herald had been his Nemises, and he wanted to get back at them.
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p>Closing the story up, the WH press corps does not ask ferocious questions, nor do they ask ferocious follow-up questions. Why? Because they want access. They don’t care whether or not what they can stenograph (is that a verb?) has anything to do with reality. As long as they get access, that’s all they care about.
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p>*Before I get flamed, I have nothing against stutterers, and have successfully interfaced with more than a few in my work.
Like many in this administration, young, starry-eyed Scott McClellan suited up for battle at the bidding of his masters, carried their water, and played hard. It took him the better part of a year to recover from the whiplash and realize he’d been tooled.
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p>I love how the Republicans talk about values, morals, and unflinching courage. I keep looking for a prominent Republican who actually displays these attributes.
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p>And I particularly love how Bush addresses this very theme to criticize the Democratic candidates:
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p>As McClellan shows, if any of Bush’s staff possessed “a set of principles from which they would not deviate”, they would no longer be Bush’s staff.
Do not blame McClellan. Go Black Friday shopping! Here is my shopping list: http://www.globalgmail.com/upl…
This is a dead Friday better than politicians.
This opinion piece about Scott McClellan’s role in the Bush White House is a must-read.
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p>Ties many things that many of us have thought, and said, into a cohesive read on the Bush administration that is probably dead on.