Reading The Pictures: Scotty's Revenge

"One of these days he and I are going to be rocking on chairs in Texas, talking about the good old days and his time as press secretary," the president said. "And I can assure you I will feel the same way then that I feel now, that I can say to Scott, job well done."

-- From: "Top Bush Aide Loses a Post in Overhaul" (NYT . April 19, 2006)

With news that long-time aide and Press Secretary Scott McClellan has used his memoir to rip Bush a new one, this photo now makes complete sense. It led off a BAGnewsNotes post back on April 21, 2006 (In Which We Can Safely Conclude That "Smug" Is Finally Dead)speculating over the faces of McClellan, Rove and Bartlett as they watched Bush give a horribly obtuse defense of the Iraq war before the City Club in Cleveland.

Although McClellan had resigned two days before, it was done with all the amicability in the world. Still, The BAG's conclusion at the time -- considering the faces on either end, and paired with the lunacy coming out of the Oval Office -- was that this is what betrayal looks like.

Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq (WAPO)

For more of the visual, visit BAGnewsNotes.com.

(image: unattributed)

Comments

[condieshoes]

The only reason why McClellen has not be "suicided" like Jean Palfrey is that he kept his own counsel until now and kept his mouth shut while he was there.

GOOD JOB SCOTTY. I'm sure you feel a whole lot better having found your soul once more.

[milo9]

God bless Scott McClellan. May others come forward. The truth will out.

[NeoStar9]

It's clear why he didn't say anything before.

1. He would have been fired plain and simple. You don't speak your mind in that type of job since you are replaceable and I'm sure the pay was good. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that bit out. He was task with telling reporters what other people were telling him. It wasn't his job to analyze the information and to determine which bits to tell the reporters. He was just relaying the message.

2. He admits he was apart of the bubble and it wasn't until he left that he was able to really look back on the situation and see what it was really like. I wouldn't be surprised if CIA leak case is what allowed that bubble to originally be popped though even if he misgivings before that.

It really is a case of better late then never and it holds more water since he was on the inside. Just because he's making money off this doesn't mean what he is saying will be any less true if it is. I don't really have any reason to doubt it. He seems to be confirming what many already knew.

The way the Bush administration is trying to push back on this just makes what Scott is saying even more solid.

[NotMcCain]

I don't care that McClellan's own moral fiber is obviously not very strong. That's a given with anyone who would aid and abet George Bush. Think of how many fall into that same category. Being his press secretary is obviously, to anyone, a job that will require you to lie, over and over.

So McClellan bears some responsibility for the crimes of this administration, too. But he didn't set policy, he was hired as a tool of those who did. The idea that Rove, Cheney, etc. would have listened to McClellan's advice on anything is ludicrous.

I don't have much respect for anyone who would lie for these criminals for 8 years. But I do give him some credit for not continuing the cover-up, knowing full well the scope of repercussions that will now follow him forever (And knowing how they beat up on other "insider" critics like O'Neil and Clarke).

I'm looking forward to his first interview with Olbermann (!) tonight.

[ramblingjohnny]

Anybody want to take bet on who going to dish the dirt on the Clintons 2008 train wreck campaign?

[MrWhiskers]

Mark Penn, no doubt about it.

[athenasword]

I love that folks will get a different side of the story on the lead-up to the war. I love that he pulls the rug back on all the mis-information and propaganda the WH spewed. At the same time, it is really sad that Scotty waited so long. They hung him out to dry and he continued to stay silent and protect them for a good long time... I just don't understand his delay in coming out with his perspective.

[lobear00]

What your seeing now" is what would have happened if Scott would have spoken out sooner. This is where the "do nothing Congress (Democrats) should be starting up Investigations and not let the Republican Criminals in the congress stop them.

[ICanHasDemocracy]

The amoral sociopath believes in his cause because he refuses to listen to other voices, other perspectives. When his own people say he sits in a room with a blank stare and awkward silence ensues, does that paint a picture of cooperative government or leadership skills? No it points to a bunch of sycophantic jackals trying to make up an appeasement solution.

[rpence]

What's coming out of the White House isn't lunacy. They know exactly what they're doing and they enjoy being evil.

[darcy]

Dead right, rpence. bush isn't a bumbling idiot; he's a tool put in place to destroy America.

[profounddogs]

Yeah, the good 'ol boy network doesn't give a damn about anybody but themselves! You ain't part of the network, then forget you!

Scott's proven he's definitely not one of the good 'ol boys.

[Fletch17C]

Like many of you, my first thought when I heard about McClellan's book was, "Now you tell us." The more I think about it, the more I will let Scottie ride...a little. At the time many of these things were happening, Bush & Co. were at the height of their power, and even the press corps was afraid of them. This administration was a full-blown cartel. The "outing" of Valerie Plame was intended to get her killed as a way of enacting revenge on Joseph Wilson for speaking out against their deceit. Scottie was a lowly press secretary. If he had spoken out against BushCo back then, it's possible that he or a member of his family might have succumbed to an unforeseen "accident," or even better for Bush, a staged terrorist attack that would somehow justify the war. Sound like paranoia? That's what life has been like in Bush's America. I can't wait until it's over.

[swift goat pet for truth]

"even the press corps was afraid of them. "

The press was not afraid.

They were bought.
Corporate Media bought.

[Fletch17C]

"The press was not afraid. They were bought. Corporate Media bought."

I stand corrected. You are right. The only people in the press corps who were afraid were the underlings who were desperate to keep their jobs. The leaders of the corporate media (e.g., Sinclair, Clear Channel Radio, etc.) were bought.

[rroy]

I must admit after spending almost eight years living under presidential leadership(and I use the word very loosely)that can best be described as the lowest end of mediocre,accompanied by an equaly mediocre staff and cabinet,I have not been a politicaly content citizen!
I occasionaly watched Mr.McClellen"s pathetic perfomances as a talking head,and switched
channels after a few appaling minutes.Now to learn he has written a book severely criticising the person who he served as his mouthpiece,I shake my head in bewilderment?What the hell is it with American politicians and their help?It's like the inmates taking over the asylum!!
What is equaly despairing is we face at least another four years of equaly mediocre candidates-McCain and Obama-vieing for the oportunity to replace current mediocrety!
I am reminded of a saying who's origen escapes me,"whom the god's will destroy,he first makes mad"!

[Marlyn]

"mediocre candidates-McCain and Obama" ???

Don't even put McCane and Obama in the same sentence ... they are so DIFFERENT.
Barack Obama is the most special candidate America has seen for decades. But John McCane? Yeah, he's mediocre.

[rroy]

Special?What is so special and/or non mediocre about Obama?He's nothing more than a token cutsey runing in a High School popularety contest!
He voted against the war,now a brutal occupation,in Iraq.Just like so many politicians,five'll get you ten,he engaged in nothing more than a True or False quiz.He didn't know what was going on so he voted no,what the hell,he had a 50-50 chance of being right,and he lucked out.
The guy is in his first term as a U.S.Senator and he has spent two years of it running for another office,and blowing tax payer's $167,000 annual thou.his yearly salary.
He's a prima facia example of sophmoric mediocrety,who is hoodwinking the general public with his token cutseyness.

[johnqeniac]

OK, so you're a clintonite. The primary reason people detest bush (among the multitude of reasons) is that he recklessly took the United States into a completely unneccessary invasion of Iraq. Clinton voted for that invasion. Then, last fall, she voted to authorize a reckless and insane attack on Iran, having learned absolutely nothing. And most recently, in her desperate attempts to run to the right and sound like a neocon, she said to the world that she will wipe Iran off the face of the map, along with its 70 million population. She has endorsed McCain over Obama. McCain is a liar who has backed all the criminality and insanity of the bush junta.

Oh, and don't even think about comparing the child king bush to obama. clinton? maybe.

[LeonBNJ]

The outrage by current and ex-Bush White House officials is a good sign that McClellan is largely speaking the truth. Still, McClellan was part of the Bush spin and lie machine. He should have done the honorable thing and resigned long before he did. That he is still loyal to Bush says a lot of disturbing things about him.

[LibraMan]

Of course I am not going to buy his book, I have to save my money to buy $4/gallon gasoline!

[BeamMeUpScotty]

Perhaps McClellan isn't upset about being asked to lie for his president. Maybe it's the fact that he was not in on the lie. Rove admits McClellan was kept out of the loop. Loyalty is a two way street. McClellan was trusted to lie, but not trusted to know why he was lieing. It is, however, hard for me to believe that having worked with Bush as governor, McClellan did not know that this was business as usual for Rove and Bush.

[darcy]

Indeed, BeamMeUpScotty. He is far too naive to be a press liaison if he could ever have seen something positive in the evil bush.

[RabidRightRebel]

Many have asked why does he do this now? The answer is easy. Like so many of us he likely believes that people should both take responsiblity for their mistakes and be held accountalbe for them. Rove not only has not taken responsiblity but he seems to have been rewarded for his lies and deceipt. Given that it was Rove that ended McClellan's career it is quite likely that he wanted to return the favor.

[ramblingjohnny]

Why now well his book is not going to sell very well if he wait for after Bush is no longer in office. Not that I feel he is lying or anything and you have to understand that he left in 2006. Two years to write a book is not that long!

[swift goat pet for truth]

"Many have asked why does he do this now? The answer is easy."

He needs the money. He has no cred.
He has to be first out with his tell all, even if he makes up all the "facts".
Good copy matters, not facts.

He was a liar then. He is a liar now.

[JJK]

I didn't believe McClellan then, so why should I believe him now? As for "betrayal," it's Washington, what did he expect? As Harry Truman said, if you want a friend in DC, get a dog.

[wmbear]

WITH SCOTT MCCLELLAN, IT'S A CASE...

Of better late than never. Cons can't really counter his exposure of the utter mendancity of the Bush/Cheney war crime family, so they're basically reduced to trying to impeach (so to speak) McClellan's credibility. He's certainly a lot more credible now than when he was working for Bush, especially when the truth that he is speaking about Bush accords perfectly with what many of us already knew about this rich, privileged political criminal....

[filo]

McClellan could have waited until after the election.

I think we shouldn't shoot the messenger on this one.