Former Bush Aide: McClellan Is Getting Ripped For Telling The Truth

In response to his scathing memoir detailing the "propaganda"-filled run up to war and seedy political machinations behind the CIA leak case, Scott McClellan has received withering criticism from his former colleagues. A money grubbing, attention seeking, devoid-of-principles hack has been the description of choice; "this is not the Scotty we knew," the most popular quote.

One former Bush aide, however, is sticking up for McClellan, arguing that the former Bush press secretary is "getting savaged for saying what everyone knows to be true."

Mike Turk served as the eCampaign director for President Bush's 2004 reelection campaign. As such, his tenure corresponded with that of McClellan's. No longer connected to the administration, Turk is now one of the few (if any) voices with connections to that crowd who are saying, quite simply, that the book "What Happened" is steeped in little more than truth.

"After watching McClellan on Today this morning, I think the reception his book received exemplifies the point he was making," Turk told The Huffington Post in an email. "People had high hopes for President Bush to bring America together after his election and after the attacks on 9/11. They felt disillusioned by the Administration's adoption of the 'win at all costs' partisan mentality in this town. I think the bigger point of Scott's book comes from the lessons he learned while playing a part in the permanent campaign. It's an exploration of how that mindset can lead to some really bad choices."

Indeed, Turk notes, he himself has been on the receiving end of Bush-loyalist scorn. After the campaign and his tenure at the Republican National Committee, Turk criticized the party for not fully embracing technological advances. "As a result I'm already on the watch list for the GOP establishment for some of my own criticisms," he said.

Earlier in the day, Turk left a message defending McClellan on the online service Twitter, which was highlighted by Matt Stoller on the site OpenLeft.

And while he has only seen the major excerpts of the book, Turk predicted that, ultimately, McClellan would be looked at optimistically. He suggested the memoir may stand up better to history than the Bush administration itself.

"While Scott's going to weather a fierce storm for writing it, just as Matt Dowd did with his New York Times piece, I think it ultimately will be regarded as a very personal look into the modern political machinery that so many people are sick of," he said.

Comments

[Hrotea]

McCLELLAN TELL-ALL BOOK CONFIRMS WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW,
BUT BUSH’S PART IN LEAK OF CIA AGENT PLUME’S IDENTITY IS NEW

By Hermie Rotea

Finally President Bush’s wall of treasonous secrecy has crumbled. It took his former Press Secretary Scott McClellan to expose the great deception in his phony war on terror. It was an open secret that Bush and Vice President Cheney have long misused the administration as a propaganda machine to sell their illegal and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

McClelland did the right thing and redeemed himself with his own conscience because, in effect, as White House spokesman he knowingly misled, though reluctantly, the United States and the world about the true situation. Of course now he is being crucified by Bush and his attack dogs as this and that son of a bitch. It goes with the territory.

But at least when Bush and Cheney and their partners in war crimes are brought to justice in the near future, McClelland could be excused from the lineup because he has told the truth.

Bush and Cheney have to be the biggest liars in the world for claiming that they had nothing to do with the leak of Valerie Plume’s identity as CIA agent. Karl Rove, Scotter Libby, Cheney and Bush lied that they did not do it. But with McCleeland’s disclosure as a former White House insider, now we have no doubt that they are all guilty as hell. That is treason.

[danoj]

She was a desk jockey with a husband who had an agenda of his own. who cares.

[1differentdrummer]

Yep, right out of Rove's script. $ for posting?

[doug108]

The right wing response to this reminds me of David Brock's Blinded by the Right, which has numerous examples of the same kind of thing that's happening to McClellan right now. McClellan had to know this would come. I would imagine he has his ducks in a row. Congress should subpoena him, give him immunity, and start asking questions.

[Indyfromny]

http://www.wexler.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl19_wexler/050808_mcclellanpressrelease.shtml

[balkanboy]

Good first step, Doug, let's pray there are people smart enough and with their hearts in the right place to do it!
We will be seeing a lot more whistleblowers in the months to come - I expect a crowd. It would not shock me if Condi wrote her memoirs to garnish a few extra publicity dollars? Who's next?

[tjwdraws]

I find it hard to praise McClellan for doing the right thing so long after it could have saved so many lives. I do hope that these better late than never revelations (confirmation of what we all knew) can save more lives in the future.

It is nice to see all the murderous, evil, and despicable reich wing scum spinning out of control covering their disgusting asses.

[doug108]

It is wonderful to see. They're throwing the whole machine at him. I bet Lieberman comes out in defense of the WH next.

[GeoLee]

I feel exactly the same way about Colin Powell and keep wondering why so many Obamicans want him in the next administration.

[PuritanDescendant]

Agreed. Powell turned out to be just another dumb loyal soldier lacking moral courage and conviction who let his good name be used to sell a war that violated his own "vietnam doctrine". Sadly, true courage is in rare supply these days.

That aside, isn't it possible to both laud McClellan and also criticize him for waiting? Just because he waited, or didn't speak when on the "inside" does not diminish the implications of what he says today.

[Diana]

I used to be unable to watch mcclellan because he came off as such a stupid propagandist. But I've changed my mind.

I give him great credit for leaving himself so vulnerable--and perhaps in actual danger--for finally telling the truth. I was very impressed with him tonight on olberman; he was articulate and seemed sincere. I think it takes a great deal of courage to go against everything/everyone you've ever believed. I hope I'm not wrong about the guy.

[PuritanDescendant]

Don't be naive. McClellan could never have stopped the war. The only force powerful enough to stop the Bush propaganda machine is the AWOL American Conscience.

[PepperzMom]

To me, the louder they (WH) yell, the more truthful McClellan's words are.

After all, why bother if it wasn't the truth?

[ReggaeFan]

the hit dog hollars

[circusfifthfloor]

Rove's fingerprints are all over everything in this disaster. This had to happen at some point in this country's history, and sure enough, little karl was a natural. Sadly, many American citizens have bought into this goon's miserable existence. Our citizens are remarkably­.....well, stupid. Smirkey had no clue what was goin down and he even repeated to the media time and time again how he was a "War president", shorty after some aid told him he was "now" a "War president" He didn't know....he didn't know. Did he? Astonishing eight years. Orwell is spinning, spinning..­.... CFF

[pennyfortheguy]

And there's nothing you can or will do about it. Try holding a bake sale or tie some ribbons on a tree.

[BadChristian]

All things being relative..­.
If Scott hadn't done what he's doing, he'd be worse than he is being.
He may have been being a bad human being, but he's being a better being every day that he's being a human doing better than was doing.
For that, I can say, without reservation, Keep on keepin' on, Scott.
Good choice goin' to KO.

[Guynemer]

The problem many Conservatives have with McClellan was best summed up by Mary Matalin, "he was either living a lie for decades or he's now spewing lies to make a living".

[CynicalSez]

About the railing on McClellan waiting to write a book as being self-serving and "why didn't he tell all he knew when he knew it". Think about that for a minute. Had he told anyone in the administration they would have fired him as they did all others that were not on the "team". Had he told the press at large they would have remained as complicit as they were then and obviously still are. A couple of news cycles and the story would have been buried by all the other outrage overload that this administration has used to such great advantage - so many outrages, which one to focus on.

Had anyone know what an inflammatory story he was writing who knows what sort of tragedy might have befallen him before it was published - I'm still concerned about that happening as a warning to others but at least his story is out there now. It must have been sweet revenge for him to have been spilling his guts after realizing how they used him as a simple tool for spewing their propaganda. Surely the more he contemplated what had happened the more he realized how wrong it was - such understandings don't always come clear till much later. Also he must have done some serious soul searching for having the guts to write the truth as he knows it about such an unscrupulous bunch - including the press.

I will order my copy of his book today.

[whathehell]

I agree completely with your post, and those who are complaining loudest are the most complicit in this criminal affair. It seems that most Americans need more proof of Bush and Cheney's deliberate lies, deception, and propaganda. Time to turn the tables and put those responsible for attacking a country, while ruining the US economy. These are serious crimes.

BTW, Amazon has a good price on the book.

[Indyfromny]

I keep hearing from the right, that it is inapropriate for Scott to come out with this book while Bush is still in office. As if somehow Bushs Presidency must be protected out of respect for his office.
I am hoping one day this office will have respect for me and the citizens of this country.
McClellen seems to have realized his former Bosses intent on being King is fundementally Un american!

[Diana]

Totally agree!

[ljwaldron]

Amen! you hit the nail on the head. If he had said one word, they would have canned him just as they did anyone else that disagreed with them.

[PuritanDescendant]

While I somewhat agree, I think you miss the nature of his book (though we won't know until it is actually released). McClellan has no smoking guns, no fact-definitive that shows some crime by the Bush Administration. There was not "telling fact" for McClellan to come out with when he left the Whitehouse.

All McClellan's bookd does (it seems) is confirm, from the inside, the general operational mode of Bush's cadre of martinettes, which is dishonest, piecemeal, and cynical control of public information for political security. In other words - PROPAGANDA.

[milo9]

To those who criticise McClellan for being late to the party, I would say I'm reminded of St. Paul on the Road to Damascus, as well as the movie "Tombstone. In the final reckoning, "a reformed Cowboy named Sherman McMasters (Michael Rooker) and other friends Texas Jack Vermillion and Turkey Creek Jack Johnson join forces to administer frontier justice." Wyatt Earp welcomed the extra guns and so should we.

[Indyfromny]

I have come to realize that Bush will never realize his COMPLETE failures as a leader.
With that said, it is left to future generations to decide his legacy.
I have to thank Scott McClellan for simply putting another nail in the coffin of the Bush years.
All Americans can agree that Bush/Cheney politics is poison to our country, and hopefully the next President can begin paving a more bipartisan road for the betterment of our country.
Hopefully the "Dinosaur Bush Politic" will die with his presidency.

[Johnbo]

One of the big issues that will come up when we elect a new president will be whether to continue and expand the investigations into the many crimes of the Bush Administration. Will they be pursued once the stonewall of the current Justice Department and White House is removed? And, more important, SHOULD it be pursued?

There are going to be many that argue that it will be too divisive or partisan like you seem to be doing. But, I personally hope that the system will work well enough to allow us to chart a new path WHILE we hold accountable the scum-sucking maggots of the Bush Administration that broke the laws wholesale in ways that have made this the most destructive administration in modern history. If we don't, we will be guaranteeing that we will see more of the same in the future.

[doug108]

I think there's still a majority of Americans that favor impeachment for both Bush and Cheney. The least they could is start hearings.

[Indyfromny]

Thank you for your comment.

I suppose many people will be disapointed when Bush walks off scott free. ( How about that pun?)

Bush is a lesson in bad politics. Most Americans understand that, I think.
Going after him once his power is gone will only impower his true believers further.
Its better to set a new course and move or rise above Bushs madness.

Just my perspective.

[PepperzMom]

"With that said, it is left to future generations to decide his legacy."

Nope...we can do that right now - failure.

[Indyfromny]

And I agree.

My point is for Bush to live long enough to realize history will not be as kind as he believes it will be to his Presidency. Scott has done his part to assure that. For that, I him.

[bobdob]

This is one of those situations Scott McClellan was talking about. CNN has already become complicit in the character assassination campaign, passing along Bush talking points as if they're facts. Poor Scott McClellan. If he was a Democrat, the blogosphere would declare him the King of Truth. As it is, he's got a little convincing to do.

[MACS]

.
The fact that bushies are attacking the messenger, SCOTT, is an endorsment of the veracity and accuracy of the facts in his book.
.

[duckfan00]

Oh yeah..big time...Mar­y Matalin,Dan Bartlett, Ari Fleisher, and Karl Rove are tripping over themselves to bury old friend Scotty....­kind of like the bullying tactics they used to get us into the worst foreign policy decision in US history...­hpoefully all of the above will be testifying before Congress one day...

[pennyfortheguy]

Don't hold your breath.

[rms]

It is very simple. Mary Matalin, Ari Fleisher, Karl Rove, Tom DeLay - the list goes on - are loyal Republicans first and foremost, and their loyalty to the United States and the Constitution is somewhere way down the list...

[momofsonofwar]

The movie continues.­...

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/5052768_aqnAC/1/303767245_EGP5R#303767245_EGP5R-X3-LB

Little Scottie has grown up!

[rockyroad]

Signing off . . . but not before I can excoriate Charles Gibson for stating that journalists' jobs are to simply ask questions, amass facts and regurgitate that which we have been told.

Hell no. Journalists are given great responsibility. Journalists are to investigate, question and annoy. That is your job. If you are not investigating, questioning and annoying, you are not doing your job.

charlie gibson . . . you are an utter failure. I respect nothing that you have to say.

[bumpersticker]

Hmm, I wonder where the flashing graphics for "Countdown to War" and the special overture music fits into to the "just the facts" claim of MSM? They are driven by marketing revenue, which is directly related to viewership, and this war was mother's milk to the bottom line - Number of Viewers. From the MSM perspective, the summation is by Garrett Morris's Chico Escuela of SNL - "Deese War bean vary vary good to me."

[rockyroad]

Bush banked on "this war being very good to him." According to McClellan, he wanted to go down as a "war-time president.­" Apparently those are always remembered best.

Going back to the Carter Administration, Carter said, "a war would be the best thing to happen to this economy." Carter didn't start a war, but his logic was not lost on his followers.

Historically, a war-time economy is a boom-time . . . historically, republicans support minimal government, states' and indivivuals' rights . . . dubya nuked all of those cliches.

He embarked on an unauthorized war of agression, politicized the media, exploded the size of government, engaged in a McCarthy-like campaign of accusing all of his doubters of being "un-American," consolidated the media and the energy industries, gutted environmental policies, and turned a deliberate blind eye to the mortgage industry.

Yeah America. This is what we get because we have a corrupt Supreme Court that sanctioned this disaster.

If anyone of your loved ones are among the more than four thousand dead or eighty thousand injured, my prayers are with you.

Brave new world.

[rockyroad]

Oh yeah, andL how could I forget,

In a distinct FU to the Geneva Conventions, terrorized POWs.

McCain. You shoud Sh*t in your shorts and then eat them. You and Hillary are a marriage destined to happen in hell. Lieberman will officiate.

[Indyfromny]

Bushs fracture and disloyalty to Scott McClellan should be the title of this discussion.
Its a microcosm of Bushs failures to lead and bring this country together after 9/11.

I wonder when Perinos book is coming out?

[ljwaldron]

First she has to learn to write.