MCCLELLAN COMES CLEAN

I'm guessing it feels good to take the load off.  Scott McClellan has a book coming out where he bites the hand that fed him for so many years.

"One of the worst disasters in our nation's history [Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath] became one of the biggest disasters in Bush's presidency," he writes.

"The perception of this catastrophe was made worse by previous decisions President Bush had made, including, first and foremost, the failure to be open and forthright on Iraq and rushing to war with inadequate planning and preparation for its aftermath."

Mr McClellan stops short of saying Mr Bush lied about the reasons for going to war in Iraq, but says his administration orchestrated the build-up so that force became the only real option.

Quoted by the Washington Post, he writes that "it was all about manipulating sources of public opinion to the president's advantage" and chides the media for failing to ask enough questions.

"No-one, including me, can know with absolute certainty how the war will be viewed decades from now when we can more fully understand its impact," he says.

"What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary."

When I used to see McClellan on TV, it always seemed to me that he looked very uncomfortable as he did his job.  Having to repeat and defend lies that weren't even his own, it looked like it was making him feel ill.  Very different from other White House spokescritters (like Tony Snow) who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the task.  I actually felt sorry for Scott when I watched him.  I'm NOT excusing him for lying to me, but it was clear that he wished he were somewhere else.

Comments

[Casey]

My opinion of him rose a bit when I read the book excerpts. It was also a reminder of how easily many people can be bought with a paycheck--a lot of people, forced to choose between speaking truth to power and paying the bills, would have chosen the bills, too, and it's hard to blame them.

I hope telling the truth now helps him ease the sense of frustration and ethical conflict he must have felt then.