Was it satisfying to learn that even George Bush's staffers think he lied the country into the Iraq war? Yes. Should we admire former press secretary Scott McClellan for telling us this now...as he prepares to launch a national book tour?
No.
Stabbing former colleagues in the back is a loser move, especially when you were complicit in the behavior and especially when you do it for personal gain in the context of pitching a book. If Scott McClellan knew he was telling lies for the White House, he should have just quit. If he decided to pass on lies at the time but regretted it later, he should written a short mea culpa focused only on himself--and one that was given away, not sold.
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No, the noble thing is to stand up, maintain the silence for the small, the powerless, the weak, when being interrogated or threatened by those who control everything. You've got this all backwards. But then many people in the upper levels of society convince themselves that there was something noble in their own self-enriching behavior which caused losses to others. It's how people rationalize. It's how people sleep at night. "Well, I may have done wrong, but I was noble because I didn't rat out Ken Lay." No, that's not noble -- that's just taking money to keep your mouth shut.
Bush's level of response regarding this matter will reveal how true Scott's book is. As of now it looks like you could swear an oath on it. In any case Bush should be happy he now gets to have a new war,
The War on Scotty.
I applaud Mr. McClellan for the courage to write this book and to endure the devastating personal attacks that he will receive from his powerful ex-friends for the rest of his life.
And Mr. Blodget, if you ever chose to write a personal memoir of your time at the center of the Internet bubble I would be happy to read that as well.
Moreover, he joins a long and consistant line of ex-staffers who have trashed this administration once they were released from their obligations. Are they all telling lies just to make money? If so they seem to have gotten their stories straight. A more rational view is that they are all people who are describing a shared truth and who are brave enough to stand up to their peers to do so. We need more people who are brave enough to face the formidable shunning of the Republican establishment and tell us the truth.
When the truth came out, he had lost all credibility, looked like a patsy, and had to resign in public disgrace.
We owe loyalty to those who are loyal to us. Bill Clinton violated his loyalty to Al Gore by letting him go out publicly and defend his president in the wake of the Lewinsky episode. Gore, from there forward, owed nothing to Clinton. McClellan owes nothing to Bush.
Recall, these ARE Republicans.
He may have taken him a while, but whatever.
As an American telling the truth here is what he OWES us.
His higher loyalty is to his country--not to his former boss.
Please---
We ARE talking about a Republican.
“that is not the man we knew.†But when Obama states the identical phrase about Rev. Wright, Obama is called untruthful. The Republicans that are shocked by the former Press Secretary are attempting to save face. The statements by Wright were outlandish, but the statements of Scott McClellan are not the same as Wright. The Republicans are shocked not as much by what he said; rather they are shocked by the mere fact that he is an insider speaking his mind in disagreement with the party line. If the Republicans can use the statement that, “he is not the same man they knew†and be believed why can they not extend that same respect to Obama when he rejects the statements of Rev. Wright? I smell a double standard.
Will people never tire of Nazi analogies?
Just to change things up a bit---maybe next time try using the "Boogie Man" or the "Wicked Witch of the West" or maybe "Dracula."
Example: "Of the sort the Shark from Jaws no doubt would have done if Police Chief Brody hadn't shot him first and he could have gotten out of the water in time to write a book."
See what I mean? Sure it doesn't make any more sense, but at least we haven't seen it a 1000 times already.