The People of the United States vs. McClellan

What if we took Scott McClellan's new book, What Happened, for what it is: a confession of treason?

What if, instead of salivating all over the rear end of this lowest of toadies, we understood his memoir -- otherwise a grave crime against many trees -- as a plea? As in plea bargain: I will name names, I will give up my higher ups, in exchange for leniency in the eventual legal proceedings that I hereby admit I so richly deserve?

In other words, instead of welcoming him on Countdown and Fresh Air and Meet the Press, what if we treated Scott McClellan as a weak-willed, deceitful felon who aided and abetted an enormous crime that resulted in the deaths of four thousand American soldiers and half a million Iraqis, the displacement of several million civilians, and the theft of several trillion dollars? What if we treated him as someone who deliberately deceived the public in order to advance an agenda which he knew to be against the will of the people and which has resulted in the weakening of national security, the degradation of our military, the crippling of our economy, and the international demonization of our country?

They convicted and executed the Rosenbergs for far less.

Of course, none of that will happen. No, Scott McClellan's disgusting gravy train of a book is too good a story, the equivalent of political crack. Rather than treating the former Bush enabler as what he has admitted he is -- a criminal -- the media is rolling out the red carpet, treating him like a chastened hero trying to make up for past misdeeds. Even when they're beating him up, they validate the idea that Scott McClellan is newsworthy, that he belongs in their comfortable armchairs, rather than in a six-by-eight cell.

Call it George Tenet Syndrome -- there's no one sexier, no one whose word carries more weight, no one more deserving of a seven-figure book deal, than a repentant sinner.

(Thought of in those terms, let's just go ahead and call it George W. Bush Syndrome. Just think how much damage could have been avoided if the press hadn't been besotted by a spoiled ex-drunk who came up with cute nicknames for the reporters?)

It might be too much to ask that the publishing industry refuse to publish the crap written by people like McClellan, Tenet, David Frum, et. al., all of whom seem to be under the impression that they shouldn't be held accountable for their crimes because they were too stupid to realize they were committing them at the time. (And it's true, the U.S. Supreme Court has lately gone a bit soft on executions of the mentally incompetent -- so how about we settle for life in prison? May I suggest Abu Ghraib?) It might be too much to ask that PublicAffairs, McClellan's publisher, recognize that "I was just doing my job" is no more a valid defense now than it was at Nuremberg -- and I don't remember anyone there being sentenced to a lucrative book deal.

But I don't think it's too much to ask that Keith Olbermann and Terry Gross not waste their airtime, not pretend this man has some kind of authority or insight that your average parakeet couldn't muster. We've heard it all before -- how the intelligence was cherry-picked, how Bush always knew he was going to war, how mean old Karl and Scooter lied to poor li'l Scottie... There is nothing new here, no smoking gun, only testimony by someone who we all knew at the time was lying to us anyway. And as testimony, the proper place for it to be heard is in a courtroom, preferably while Scottso is wearing an orange jumpsuit with a big number stenciled across the front. It certainly doesn't belong on my television.

But of course the media's interest in repentance is more than mere voyeurism. The media have a vested interest in the rehabilitation of war criminals, and in the idea that those who took this country into an unprovoked and disastrous war can find forgiveness simply by mumbling some mea culpas and wearing a hairshirt -- and they can even get rich in the process.

What a country!

As McClellan lucidly -- if unoriginally -- points out, he and the rest of the traitors could not have done what they did without the complicity of the press. And we're not talking about the Washington Times and Fox News here, we're talking about the so-called intelligent press, the so-called liberals like Thomas Friedman and George Packer, neither of whom, to my knowledge, have gotten down on their knees and begged forgiveness for helping Scottie beat the drums. We're talking about Judith Miller, who managed to turn the New York Times into the NeoCon Newsletter and who will undoubtedly one day publish her own memoir of her terrible "ordeal" in which she admits to her "indiscretions" and offers juicy insider details about Scooter Libby's boxer shorts. And she'll once again be the talk of the town, just like McClellan and Tenet, treated as celebrities rather than as the power/money/attention whores they truly are.

It would be a small down payment on restoring this country's dignity if we pulped these books, locked up their authors, and sent every last penny of their royalties to the widows and orphans of our dead soldiers, and to the organizations that are going to have to rebuild Iraq and protect its people.

And it would be a further installment if we could at last tell ourselves the truth -- that what Scott McClellan has done is nothing less than betray our country, by knowingly helping his superiors betray our country. If you can find a better definition of treason, let me know -- or better yet, write a book about it.

Comments

[dogheaven]

If McClellan really had a moment of clarity or a change of heart, he should have walked into Conyers or Waxman's office and had a talk with them.

He's cashing in and we're buying it.

[OzDanJoaquin]

What "lucrative book deal"?

Public Affairs (McClellan's publisher) is notoriously tight-fisted and industry sources have McClelland getting an advance in the $30-35,000 range. It was definitely, according to the publisher, well under $100,000. Compared to the 6 & 7 figure advances paid to other ex-Administration authors, that's laughably small. Whatever else McClellan's motivations might have been in writing the book, personal enrichment is obviously not among them. If he had just kept his criticisms to himself he would have found considerably more lucrative renumeration in right-wing think tanks, the conservative lecture circuit or as a trustworthy mouthpiece for a Fortune 500 company. For example, the equally mendacious former Pentagon spokesman Larry Di Rita is now pulling a very comfortable 6 figure salary as a spokesman for Bank of America....

[ElkoJohn]

`
all it takes is 51%
of the american voters
to place the good of the Republic
above the office of the president

and if they elect a criminal president
then they must correct their mistake
and punish the offenders

''my president right or wrong''
will cause the Republic shall fall
.

[bgregs]

Actually, under the electoral college rules as they currently exist, you DON'T need 51%, you simply need a plurality in 11 states, and the rest of the country be damned. Granted, those 11 states (under current rules) will NEVER vote together, since the three largest states in the nation are there, and they are all "safe" states......

[Michale32086]

So, I am guessing that you are believing every part and parcel of McClellan's book EXCEPT the part where he states that Bush nor his administration lied or attempted to deceive the American people.

There is a word for that.

It's called hypocrisy.

Michale.....

[LouisPWu]

What an incredibly stupid utopian view of thw world in which we live. If the Bush Administration had its way, we'd know nothing! At least we have this much, and for that tiny peek into the cesspool that Bush/Cheny created, I am thankful--and hopeful that someone might have the courage to try to IMPEACH.

[luziannagirl]

No, LouisP, not utopian and certainly not a stupid view.

Some of us feel that McClelland should be treated in the same manner as any other criminal coming forward with knowledge of crimes, and confessions to crime. His information should be gathered by the appropriate authorities and it should be come part of the public record. Plea bargaining (though I'm not fond of it and have a few problems with it) can also be done behind closed doors, as is usually the case . Published in a for-profit-tell-all, no. Going on TV talk shows and book tours, no.

Media glorification of criminals and their crimes is a big part of the public discontent with the direction in which our country is headed.

[LouisPWu]

More utopian nonsense. The president and vice president are going to do exactly what they want to do, and no one is going to even whisper the words, 'War Crimes' because Washington D.C. is a closed society and they make the rules. We can get angry about it, we can rant on the web about it, but the bottom line is that we're not going to do a damned thing about it--because we don't have the power to do anything about it.
I have no idea what you think is going to happen to Bush and Cheney, but my guess is that they are going to live well and get paid lots of money for making speeches after they leave office. So, your rant (and the rant that started this thread) are just impotent noise. At least McClelland finally came forward with his version of the truth. The one who could really lift the lid off the cess pool is Colin Powell. Do you think he'll be saying anything?
Bottom line: You're upset over McClelland telling us just a bit of what he knows. So, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? PERSONALLY? OTHER THAN RANT?

[Michale32086]

Can you even consider the SLIGHT possibility that the reason there hasn't been any impeachment is that there is no grounds for impeachment??

Is that even SLIGHTLY possible??

Michale.....

[JBS]

Actually? NO.

[LouisPWu]

If Bush knowingly lied in his SOTU speech when he talked about WMDs, yellow cake, aluminum tubes, and the spectre of mushroom clouds, that's grounds for impeachment. I think he knew the thruth, I think the lied, and I doubt that anything will ever be done about it - except some other member of Bush's administration might write the truth 20 years from now when he or she needs the money from a fat book contract.

[bgregs]

As opposed to, say, getting a BJ in the Oval office???? Because we ALL know that THAT'S an impeachable offense, not that whole treason against the United States Government thing!

[luziannagirl]

AFA wrote, in part, "It might be too much to ask that the publishing industry refuse to publish crap written by McClelland..."

My response is both "Yes" and "No".

Yes, it is too much to ask of a corporate press and publishing industry in an oligarchy where predatory industrialists call all the shots. The publishing industry and the mainstream media infotainment industry have way too much short-term monetary profit to gain by it to do otherwise, and post-Reagan, there's nothing to stop them from doing so.

And, no, it is not too much to ask of the press and publishing industry in a functional democratic representative republic

Unfortunately, that's not what America is at the moment.