I know, everyone else in the world is up in arms because former White House staffer Scott McClellan has written a book attacking the Bush administration.
To the Right, he’s now demonized and hated. To the Left, he has suddenly become loved.
I have little to say about him …
Sure, it sounds like he’s backing up what I’ve thought about the Bush administration, that dissent wasn’t much appreciated. We already knew that, though.
However, that’s what has made him adored by the Left for this. He’s a long-time friend of George W. Bush, and he’s turned on his former boss. I have to point out to the Left, though … if Scott McClellan was of bad character and not credible while he was on staff, why do you suddenly trust him?
If it’s just because he’s saying something that you like, then that has nothing to do with him, just prejudice.
To the Right … before you condemn him, check your opinion of Dick Morris. Like McClellan, Dick Morris was a long-time friend and staffer of an administration. After leaving the Clinton administration (we’ll leave those circumstances alone because it’s more than a bit icky), he turned on the Clintons and was loved by the Right.
Is the credibility difference simply that Morris is attacking Hillary Clinton and McClellan is attacking George Bush? If so, then there’s no actual standard being used here … it’s just that Clinton-haters now like Morris and Bush-haters now like McClellan.
For the record … I have no interest in either one of them. After his downfall in the Democratic Party, I think that Dick Morris realized that in order to have a future, he had to do it as a Clinton-basher. It looks like McClellan did about the same. I’m not impressed with either one.
To both, I repeat the sentiment of many different commentators … If they had issues with the administrations of which they were part, they should have said something at the time.
May 29, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Scott McClellan’s book gives more weight to the sad fact that
Bush Lied – Thousands Died.
And now Fox “News” propaganda is still beating Bush’s war drums by lying about the truth of Bush’s lies:
“On May 28, 2008 Bill O’Reilly on Fox New’s “O’Reilly Factor” stated that Scott McClellan’s book was heavily edited by the publisher’s editor, although O’Reilly had also admitted he had not yet read the book. Brian Kilmeade on “Fox and Friends” echoed O’Reilly’s assertion, although he admitted that he had not yet the book either. On May 29, 2008, as a guest on MSNBC’s “Countdown With Keith Olbermann”, McClellan stated that ‘Everything in the book is a clear reflection of my views and everything in the book is mine’. Fox so-called “news” continues to be unfair imbalanced and unashamed. Brit Hume, Steve Doocey, Sean Hannity (all at Fox, of course) are all implying McClellan ‘did it for money’. If that were the case, McClellan would have done much better with a pro-Bush book. After all , McClellan would have Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and thousands of hours of right-wing talk radio to sell the book for him had it been pro-Bush. It’s what sells Limbaugh’s, O’Reilly’s and Ann Coulter’s book – right wing propaganda promoting right wing propaganda.” – Chris Aable
Bush Lied – Thousands Died.
Fox Lies that Bush didn’t Lie
And thousands continue to die.
May 30, 2008 at 2:34 pm
McClellan and Morris are both opportunists who flunked out and turned on their bosses to make money.
There is probably a kernel of truth in the negative things Morris said about Clinton and McClellan says about Bush. We can’t trust them though.
Their goal is to sell books not to tell the truth. We’ll know more about Clinton and Bush after their records are released.
May 30, 2008 at 10:37 pm
don’t hear this administration saying that Scott is not telling the truth – anyone heard from Collin Powell lately ?
May 30, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I think that the Econ Grad Student nailed it exactly … they each create buzz because of who they are, turning on the administrations.
Ruddy, you have a point about Colin Powell. I think that he’s generally been pretty quiet because he accepts responsibility for the decisions of which he was part. He left the administration, but isn’t going to trash it because he is, when it’s all said and done, of pretty decent character.
Terry – I quit paying attention to Fox a long time ago.
January 27, 2009 at 7:22 am
Terry – Chris Aable hit it right on. Even Rupert Murdoch admitted that he has a right-wing agenda, which is a total contradiction of Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Megyn Kelly’s lies that they are “fair and balanced”, especially after Fox had the brazen gaul to hire Karl Rove, the king of smears, lies and right-wing propaganda in the extreme.
Ruddy – Colin Powell at least had enough guilt and remorse to finally declare enough is enough, and publicly supported Obama, as have dozens of other Republican leaders.
Of course, we can hardly blame them after seeing Bush, Palin and McCain degrade the party even further with hateful attacks on millions of “liberals” who don’t agree with their “100 years in Iraq”. They don’t hate us “for our freedom”, they hate us for the policies of Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and George Bush.
A terrorist interrogator interviewed over 1200 of them, and not a single one stated they hate us “for our freedom”. Poor Bush is such a simple-minded disaster, the same Bush who saw “Putin’s soul”. McCain was just as wrong about “Palin’s soul”.
I’m sure Murdoch or his ilk will see to it that she gets a fat book deal to buy another $70,000 wardrobe while looking out for the “average Joe”….who was drawing unemployment while complaining about taxes.
January 27, 2009 at 9:27 am
So, Jim, you’re not a fan of the GOP, huh?
For the record, though, I think that there was a significant terrorist population before President Bush took office. Or was the 1993 World Trade Center bombing a preemptive strike based on al-Qaeda’s fortune-telling powers?
February 2, 2009 at 9:00 am
Wickle, I don’t think in terms of sweeping genearalizations and paint the GOP or any other group with one broad brushstroke. I clearly named individual names and stated why.
If you’re going to compare the volume of terror of 9-11 to the WTC, you may as well bring Bible-Belt terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols in to the mix of your confounding variables. The fact remains: Terrorism paled in comparison until Bush’s unpopular foreign policy rose it’s ugly head. I and millions of other “liberals” predicted Civil War chaos in Iraq if Bush invaded, and that’s exactly what has happened.
I am now predicting that Bush has created many generations of suicide bombers for decades to come, seeking revenge for Bush’s so-called “help”. – They’re still burning his image on the streets of Baghdad.
As Dr. Aable eluded to, I don’t feel any safer thanks to Bush, and any one who has studied the suicidal history of the tribal sects in the Middle East wouldn’t either.