Scott McClellan and No War For Barbeque

I've been trying to wrap my head around the very serious corporate media's reaction to Scott McClellan's book, so let me know if I've got this straight.

• The Bush administration lied about the justifications for the invasion of Iraq, and each lie was obfuscated by an active propaganda apparatus and a willingly narcoleptic corporate news media.

• Further, many Americans recognized this nefarious plot from the start, but were mostly shouted down as unpatriotic crazies by the far-right talkers and bloggers -- not to mention the aforementioned narcoleptic corporate news media. Thoughtful Americans like Phil Donahue, the presently-named McClatchy news service, then-State Senator Barack Obama and most liberal bloggers at the time were categorically marginalized as being moonbat zealots for questioning the administration's motives and methods.

• It wasn't until around September of 2005 when a hurricane and several breached levees washed the sleep out of the eyes of those who had previously guarded the administration's crimes and incompetence. You know... all of those Bush supporters in the "liberal" media.

• And this week Scott McClellan has confirmed all of it. And it's big news. That is, if you ignore previous works by other administration insiders like Christine Todd Whitman, Paul O'Neill, Paul Bremer and, of course, Brownie.

Yet what are we seeing from certain players in the very serious corporate media? Well naturally they're stampeding in the direction of the nearest camera in an effort to self-pardon their obvious and utter failure to engage in a critical investigation and interrogation of the administration prior to- and during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

And worse: they're continuing to ignore the herd of screaming, exploding elephants in the room.

The game isn't over, news people. The occupation is still on. More wars are being planned. The administration remains mostly intact and all of the players are out there somewhere. Some own telephones. Others have e-mail. But rather than scrambling into an angry, betrayed frenzy and demanding answers of everyone with a very serious haircut and West Wing credentials, all we're hearing are excuses -- sorry ones at that -- from our very serious newsies when, in fact, reporters like David Gregory ought to be digging in and saying, We're sorry. We, the press, the only private industry explicitly protected by the Constitution, failed you. Now we're gonna get the bastards!

Instead, we hear this:

MATTHEWS (reading McClellan's text): "The 'liberal media' didn't live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served." David...

GREGORY: I think he's wrong. Uh, he makes the same kind of argument a lot of people on the left have made. Uh, I tried not to be defensive about it. I've thought a lot about this over a number of years. And I disagree with that assessment. I think the questions were asked. I think we pushed, I think we prodded. I think we challenged the president... If there wasn't a debate in this country, the American people should think about 'why not.' Where was Congress, where was the House, where was the Senate, where was public opinion about the war. What did the former-president believe about the pre-war intelligence... The right questions were asked.

Yarp? Really?

Okay, let's say that the tough questions were asked. Of whom? David Gregory was tasked with questioning Ari Fleischer, Scott McClellan (after the invasion had already started), and the President himself. But it goes without saying that the White House spokespersons who stood before that blue curtain famously repeated the same predictably lockstep responses. So bully for you, Mr. Gregory. You asked a series of blue curtain people "the tough questions." (If you recall, Helen Thomas did, too, but she was shoved to the back of the room.) Regardless, why didn't your network spend more time asking tough questions of people who actually might have had something revealing to say? Why didn't your network spend more time reporting about all of the evidence that disproved the administration's case -- evidence which was being actively reported by Knight-Ridder/McClatchy and others?

The answer was previously revealed by Andrea Mitchell in 2005.

"I think there has been self-censorship since 9/11 or after 9/11 -- there was sort of a rallying around -- an understandably patriotic effect and I think that reporters were less challenging." NBC News' Andrea Mitchell on "Real Time with Bill Maher" -- 9/23/05

Meanwhile, CNN's Jessica Yellin reported today that network executives killed stories that were critical of the administration.

And my own experience at the White House was that, the higher the president's approval ratings, the more pressure I had from news executives -- and I was not at this network at the time -- but the more pressure I had from news executives to put on positive stories about the president.

Jason Linkins reported that Yellin worked at MSNBC prior to the invasion. Shocker. So we can't help but to wonder out loud: did David Gregory and his colleagues do everything they could to make sure the serious business of war wasn't entered into lightly? Or did they -- both willingly and via professional coercion -- take a nap?

Which was it, Mr. Gregory? You have special access to the White House. We don't. You have special access to very serious people with very serious Texas accents. We don't. The American people counted on you and your colleagues, Mr. Gregory, to discover if these very serious people in the White House were lying about a very serious war. And, when it was time to earn your credentials, you failed to do your job because -- why again?

And if you and your colleagues had broadcast to the American people -- in prime time and with as much ferocity as others possessed when reporting about Monica or shark attacks -- that the administration's case was false, most of the American people might have ultimately believed you. So don't thrust the burden of your failure onto the people with, "If there wasn't a debate in this country, the American people should think about 'why not.'...where was public opinion?" Sadly, too many Americans were hysterically-blinded by patriotism and the fog of September 11th at that time. Yes. But it's the press/media's responsibility to cut through the hysteria and to present the objective reality -- so we don't eventually have to confront the failure and the guilt. As we all are right now.

Even in 2004 when the President was up for re-election, very few of the so-called "liberal" cable news hosts made the argument that four more years of George Bush meant four more years of war. But, oh well. Senator Kerry was an elitist who asked for Swiss on his cheesesteak, so... No White House for him! Concurrently, no-one seemed to care that the Pentagon was feeding military propagandists to the cable news networks in order to positively spin the war. What about that, Mr. Gregory? Can these trespasses be blamed on the people -- the opinion polls?

So what happens now?

Well, of course there's the BBQ! (cue banjo music)

The Republican candidate for president of the United States wants to bomb Iran. He wants to continue the occupation of Iraq. He declared that he would be Hamas' worst nightmare (whatever that means). But... Senator McCain has a killer recipe for goddamn dry rub, so step up to the coleslaw and ice-cold Busch beer -- it's time to ignore more Republican justifications for war! Why? Because Senator McCain is awesome.

Yes, while many of the top-shelf cable news reporters are making excuses, the Bush administration and the McCain campaign are making plans for more wars. But they're also making ribs for all the very serious reporters! So never mind all that. Pass the sauce.

Hell, Senator Clinton threatened that she would "obliterate" Iran, but our very serious corporate media at the time was busy scaring white hillbillies with continuous coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons.

And as of this writing, I can't seem to track down a single cable news clip in which one of these very serious reporters pivots the direction of the McClellan debate and asks the very appropriate question (the screaming, exploding elephant): what happens to the administration now? What ought to be the legal consequences of lying a nation into war? Who ought to be held accountable and when? Other than the climate/energy crisis, I can't think of an issue more crucial at this moment in our nation's history.

But instead, it's a week-long roundelay of mea culpas from our very serious corporate media. And the drumbeat for endless war continues...now with the zesty aroma of pulled pork and slaw. Delicious.

Bob Cesca's Goddamn Awesome Blog! GO!

Cliff Schecter will be speaking at the AFL-CIO this Friday evening. More info here.

Comments

[deminmo]

Maybe we should all be held accountable. If you disagreed with
the invasion of Iraq, whether it be reporters, or citizens, why didn't
we stop it? Because you were labled anti-American, a Liberal, a
Communist and many other bad words.
Right now before Bush and Chaney begin a real War with real nukes,
why don't we take all the information from all of those books, and
begin to really take a stand for America?

[HawkOnTheLeft]

I sure remember this part. In an upscale business-oriented restaurant, a person across the table called me a "traitor" simply because I said Iraq might not work out as well as we hoped. And he said it loud enough for several near-by tables to hear.

Hey, I have a family to feed. I shut up and thought "Maybe I'm wrong - I sure hope so." Even a Hawk doesn't start a knife fight when his opponent has a gun.

[rancone]

Is Move On Wrong with this petition:
People who helped lie this country into an unnecessary war should not be rewarded for it. Scott McClellan should donate all the proceeds from his book to a group that helps Iraq veterans—like Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.”

The above petition is not very insightful to the work or political world. Scott was hired to do a job he trained for. Many have had jobs that did not turn out to be the job they interviewed for. That Scott has verified from a distinct vantage point that the job was only propaganda and the President's ill reliance on the Cheney/Rove dominance is useful. Going forward the question is the usefulness of this book in the struggle to take back this country from the neo-con/religious fundamentalism union eating at the heart of the republic. No. - Scott no more than any other law abiding citizen - should be "told" what to do with earned wages. No. - We do not "shoot the messenger" - but look at the message - and is it useful. Please pull the petition as it is misguided. Don't say many people like the petition, 60 million people voted for Bush in 2004. This is why we have a republic - even with its faults that allowed this - it does minimize the tyranny of pure democracy. pacbell.netbell.net

[mydogshakespeare]

How can anyone expect the MSM to call Bush to the table to account for his misdirection and propaganda? After all, doing so exposes their own complicity. Plus, extra-marital mischief and sex in the oval office is a much more important story if, for no other reason, it sells!

[Garvagh]

Great piece, Bob! Hillary Clinton's astoundingly idiotic statement that she would order the murder of tens of millions of Iranians , if Israel were attacked, should have ruled her out on the spot as a serious contender for the presidency. It was nearly as bad as John McCain's singing a ditty about bombing Iran. One reason the mainstream media try to cover up their gross incompetence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, is that the hidden agenda of hijacking Iraq as a means of enabling Israel to keep the Golan Heights and much of the West Bank, was something to be kept concealed from the American public.

[THINKB4USPEAK]

The runup to the "war" should have included Santa and the Easter Bunny.

[darker]

Do the American people ENJOY THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE too much to stop listening to the CORRUPT REPUBLICAN-OWNED MEDIA??

Republicans control corporations, they pay for advertisement, and they control The Media. This is NO SECRET.

Bush-Cheney's mission accomplished is the NANNY STATE FOR THE RICH and corporate welfare queens -- while YOU pay, pay, pay taxes into their pockets. Iraq invasion is FOR PROFITEERS and so is all else connected with the FILTHY WHITE HOUSE. It needs pressure washing!!

[mydogshakespeare]

Time for a revolution. "The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson. He was thinking of a 20-50 year cycle... we're long overdue.

[Sebastian11]

Way before the 2004 election, John W. Dean--tried to warn the American people about the Bush corrupt administration, in his book, "Worse Than Watergate.­" Bill Press in his book, "Bush Must Go," Richard Clarke's book, "Against All Enemies," and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr's. book, "Crimes Against Nature," also warned the American people about the Bush and Cheney "culture of deception". The warnings went unheeded, and they were re-elected in the 2004 election. The propaganda tactics of fear mongering intimidation, and secrecy worked.
Scott McClellan/s book, "What Happened Inside the White House..." is again telling the American people about the corruption and moral decay in the White House. Even though, the evidence of his exposure is overwhelming, the White House is trying to discredit him by attacking him personally, without addressing the charges. They are calling him a Judas,
but The analogy does not fit. Judas betrayed Jesus Christ. McClellan is devulger
of Bush's misdeeds. Stopping the "lie on its tracks," and telling the American peole the truth is not a betrayal, it's a revelation.
As Bob Cesca implies in his article, the corporate press is running scare and passing the buck, for allowing Bush to highjack the American Government, lied the American people into war, and violate the Constitution.
Let's hope McClellan's revelation get the American people to clean the White House of so much deception and corruption. But let's not forget that McCain is not the solution, he is part of the problem.

[LISABONA]

I read Bob Dole comment about McClellan. He is right. I'm not a Bush supporter, I cried for every single man and women, who died in Iraq,senselessly. I also detest traitors,Judas, as James Carwel said.You never can be a trusted person,friend,if you are not loyal. My "motto" in my life was, to be loyal,loyal not to a person,loyal to my PRINCIPLES. Why, he didn't left the WH? A honorable person,would never "bite" the hand, that feed him. Scot McClellan, was who he was,because of G.Bush. Now,, he admire for Obama, if I would be in O's place, I won't be happy to have characters like him,.Richa­rdson,Edwa­rds, and those,who once shered " piece of bred" with the Clinton's now,they turned their back to them, in change, for a piece of
bone". . For me the real friends are those, who will not just laugh with me, but they would cry with me.

-

[quest44]

The news media hasn't given us the news in a long time. Even the primaries has turned into a three ring media circus looking more like a soap opera than an election process.
Media is just as culperable as anyone else who participated in this lie by deed or looking the other way !

Now as far as loyalty is concerned LisaBona .I see you state your motto in life was to be loyal,not to a person but loyal to your own principles ,then you go on to say Richardson and Edwards weren't loyal friends to the Clinton's because they changed their support to Obama.
What if it was their princles that made them make that switch ? What if they knew the corruption taking place in her campaign and refused to be part of it ? I am sure after this latest plan of Hillaries to take her campaign all the way to the convention ruining the democrats chances of winning in November because who ever has the nomination would have less than three months to campaign against McCain ,,Cavel will probably turn his back on her also ! Why would any Democratic candidate do such a thing ruining the parties chances of winning in November ?If you think less than three months is plenty of time for the nominee to campaign against McCain you are as naive as I thought you were.

[littleblackcat]

LISABONA, you can be tiresome. James Carville is hardly considered testimony carved on stone tablets. Loyalty is a grand and good thing AT THE RIGHT TIME!!! The nation is as screwed up as it is and the war in Iraq came about thanks to the "LOYAL bushies" who stood by their man no matter how stupid he was. Loyalty means staying with the ship FOR A WHILE and hoping what you are witnessing are the struggles of someone trying to get a handle on a situation and the mistakes made are just that. You hope that wisdom, common sense, and an awakening to the conditions "on the ground" as it were, are going to kick in at any minute. When that doesn't happen, then it is time to do something. It takes some people longer than others and in the case of bushit's "friends", since he surrounds himself with those whose intelligence is not going to outshine his (and it only takes a dim bulb to do that) it is going to take them a bit longer to come to their senses. None of this is "NEWS", merely corroboration of what was suspected by thinking people. FYI, real friends will give a pat on the back when merited, and a kick in the ass when needed.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

These are the fruits of convergence and concentration of ownership.

The media needs to be broken into much smaller pieces that will compete to keep each other honest.

[Rmtns]

now here's the total truth! Corporate media needs to be downsized and immediately so!

[John1001]

What really appalls me is the volume of vitriolic comment directed at McLellan in areas like the Comments pages on CNN - usually right of center, yes, but not fanatically right-wing. I could expect a few people to consider him "hypocritical" or "disloyal," but I would expect most to be supportive of someone who regrets having been conned into bad positions and wants to set the record straight Especially considering the huge level of disapproval of Bush and his war. . .I didn't see the guy who wrote "Blinded by the Right" - an similar account of one's eyes being opened - getting the same level of obloquy.

Somehow, Americans unfortunately still accord a certain mystical aura to the presidency and its surroundings, even when they rationally disapprove. This is partly because they have no monarchy where such vague devotion can be safely attached, so as not to create an unwarranted aura round the leader of the government. Read a good article on this today..gee­z, where was it... how our reporters say "Mr President" and Bush says "Bob" or "Tim." (Shades of the MD mystique, anyone?) In the UK they were calling the PM "Tony."

[Rmtns]

Right of center? My bullshit meter is now pegged! Have you never watched CNN? One viewing of Glen Beck will cure you of your delusions. CNN ought to send him back to the bar that he crawled out of, there he could be regaling his hillbilly buddies on what's wrong with Merika.

[johnwinner]

Yep, we finally got Bush by the shorthairs! - oops, there's Hillary rushing in with pardons for all Bush sycophants, getting pardons for Bill's misadventures in Columbia in return - nope, business as usual, ho hum.

[Jaradan]

Oops, meant to write.." a naval officer who's being deployed to Iraq to FIGHT on the ground."

[Ironfox]

Let me repeat part of a comment I posted last night.

Any one familiar with Social Psychology will recognize that this form of cognitive dissonance is to be expected. In real life, people do not automatically recognize or acknowledge their errors. Rather, they typically obfuscate, minimize, and deny.

If any one is waiting for contrition from these bozzos, don't hold tour breath.

[Jaradan]

Excellent post, Bob! I was one of those people who used to argue with my friends and family (some were in the military at the time) about this war being stupid and predicated on phony reasons. I was called unpatriotic by all and worse by others. To this day, I still have a mildly antagonistic relationship with a relative who is an officer in the Navy and who's getting deployed to Iraq. Think about that for a minute. A NAVAL OFFICER is going to Iraq to find ON THE GROUND. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. And yet he remains steadfastly loyal to this administration. It's quite scary.

I am offended by Mr. Gregory's lame attempts to turn this around and place the blame on the American people. It is not the American people's jobs to be informed. But it is your job, Mr. Gregory to inform us. So the responsibility to report the facts is on THE MEDIA. There were many other people like myself who were against this war in 2002. However, most of those dissenting opinions weren't covered. The ones they did cover were attacked and accused of being unpatriotic, a communist, socialist, a terrorist, against the troops, etc.

If the President keeps saying we have a reason to go to war and the media is backing him up, how is the American people supposed to get the information to negate this?

[JackG]

You raise an interesting point. One of Bush's most successful lies was "I'm a uniter, not a divider." He then proceeded to be the most divisive president in our lifetime. My friends and I who opposed the war and other Bush policies avoid even discussing current events with those we disagree with because rataional discussion is impossible with these people. Bushism has become a religion to them and they have the daily dose of fortification from Rush and the other wingnuts preaching to the choir.
The situation has become so eggregious that you can't tell these people a Bush joke. They take offense. These are the same people who joined us in laughing at Clinton jokes because we shared a common bond: a sense of humor. Bush and his media acolytes have destroyed civil discourse and in some cases, friendships.
I disagree with your contention that's the American people don't have a duty to be informed. Although the media was guilty of dereliction of duty in the runup to the War, many of us knew we were being fed bullshit. There was enough information was out there. The majority of Bush voters believed that Iraq was involved in 9/11, so the lies worked. If more people took the time to educate themselves regarding what is going on in the world, people like Bush wouldn't be in positions of power today.

[deminmo]

I disagree. It is everyones obligation to be as informed as possible.
History tends to repeat itself when people fail to pay attention to the
details.

[Mr. Cobb]

Busch is pretty good beer for the money. Sheesh, other decent beers have gone up over a dollar a can now.

Drinking a cold one now.

[THINKB4USPEAK]

I like Heineken. More buzz for the buck.

[RRonin]

I laughed my ass off watching Gregory get into high dudgeon at McClellan's charge that the MSM didn't do it's job in the war frenzy of 2002/2003. As Cesca pointed out, the reporter who asked the tough questions (Helen Thomas, God bless her!) got banished to the back of the press room. It was obvious that nobody else was gonna ask tough questions and join her in a broom closet down the hall. What a bunch of jackals. What the MSM won't acknowledge is that the First Amendment isn't a license to obsess over flag pins and nutty preachers, but a CONTRACT with the American people to INFORM them with WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW to be effective citizens. Democracy will not work without an educated and informed citizenry. Even as I type this the talking heads on cable are yapping about a priest acting like a jackass at Rev. Wright's church. Obama wasn't even in the state! But just keep telling yourself, McCain's a maverick and right is wrong and up is down....

[LorettaSingbiel]

"the reporter who asked the tough questions (Helen Thomas, God bless her!) got banished to the back of the press room."

And that's what's wrong with the "executive priviledged" BUSH ADMINISTRATION.

Let the history books show that the Democrats, and the tiny number of Republicans, who voted NO on giving authority to George W. Bush to wage war in Iraq (and virtually everywhere else) anytime he wished, in October of 2002, were right on every score.

Those courageous Congressional members had stood up, to little notice, to say the right thing, and were publically tarred and feathered, labeled as unpatriotic, left-wing fringe, out of step with the country, and branded as moonbats and traitors back in the dark days of 2002. To this day, they have never received the appropriate recognition for having resisted the systematically orchestrated lies and fear tactics, nor have they received the appropriate thanks and apologies from those who were absolutely, undebatably, undeniably, 100% wrong in their horrific assessment of what will go down as perhaps the greatest policy mistake in American history.

Phil Donahue's "Body Of War" Docomentary displays their moral courage to stand up to the SHAMEFUL propaganda campaign for war in Iraq.

The real evil-doers amongst us are beginning to FINALLY have their masks pried away for the first time, in the middle of what will be seen as one of the darkest periods this country has ever known.

OBAMA '08!
HOPE & CHANGE!

Stay safe, healthy and happy,
Love, Loretta

[gregjones]

McCLELLAN: AMERICANS SHOUD'VE PAID MORE ATTENTION !!! It is amazing watching the media squirm from the truth that they were all major accomplices in the Bush Regime's deception campaign regarding the entire Iraq invasion. From the over 6 so-called military experts who appeared over 4500 times on cable news lying to the American public (were paid by Pentagon to lie), to the former Bush staffers who had been telling us that we had been lied to (O'Neil, Richard Clark and now McClellan) with very little if any coverage on cable news, anyone who watched cable news regularly could see the non-stop 3rd World style media manipulation. Bottom line....TH­E MEDIA HAS BETRAYED AMERICA ! Even now, as the media works tirelessly to discredit McClellan, you can see the wheels of deception turning in CYA lockstep. Media folks that we trusted are revealing themselves to be complicit through their desire to join the Regime's discredit campaign. David Gregory, Chuckie T, Anderson, Wolf and even Andrea Mitchell is asking the question why is Scotty speaking out now, without reviewing the fact that her own husband Alan Greenspan waited until he left the Regime to expose that we invaded Iraq FOR THE OIL ! (as he wrote in his memoir). The real story behind McClellan's book is not just how the Bush Regime has betrayed and deceived America...­.but how THE MEDIA was the #1 chief accomplice. America should demand an investigation of the media ! HEADS SHOULD ROLL !!!!
B4B