The latest in the stream of tell-all books is Scott McClellan. OOOOOO, wow, a former Press secretary. The press, who had to combat McClellan, and who McClellan accuses of being too easy on the Administration (ah hummm . . .), is going nuts!.Politico.Com calls this one of the "most shocking revelations". Know what I say? BFD! Too little too late.
Look for him on the standard book tour, starting at NPR and ending up on the Daily Show, Colbert, and then the weekend news shows. (These guys must all use the same booking agents). For the last 4 years, we've had one tell all after another- a stream of people trying to ease their guilt by confessing to the public, telling us what we all pretty much knew. However, aside from Richard Clarke, it seems that no one apologizes. It's as if confessing is enough. They rightfully condemn the Administration, but then seem to act as if they were victimized in some way. Spare me!
It's just irritating now. Unless someone is going to be tried for treason, I'm no longer interested in their confessions.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Where's the Apology?
Posted by USWest at 8:45 AM
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14 comments:
I feel the same sense of tired outrage, USWest. McClellan knew his job was to lie to the press: that is precisely what he signed up for and that is precisely what he did. Regarding the Plame scandal in particular, I understand McClellan is upset that he was deceived and misused by Cheney and others--but really, why should McClellan be surprised at such treatment? Was McClellan really so naive as to believe that the men who paid him to lie to others would not lie to him? Frankly, it is poetic justice.
Even so, I still think it helps that McClellan came forward and told the truth, even though he presents himself as the hapless victim rather than the willing perpetrator. Redemption has to start somewhere.
You can't sell books by praising Bush. Not today. So McClellan sells out to make some quick bucks. That tells me he's still a conservative Republican, no matter what he says.
He wants it both ways. He runs around saying he still likes Bush, still admires him, still thinks he's very sincere.
What!? Wasn't his beloved Bush who said, "you are either with us or against us?"
And the guy is saying stupid things like, "We didn't set out to spin the media. It's just how things work in Washington." Well there is a logical fallacy there. If that is how Washington works, then you made a conscious decision to play the game. What he really means is that the Administration believed its own propaganda.
Also, the press secretary is the PR guy. No one tells him anything. He's just a hallow microphone, not a policy wonk. That's why Tony Snow could sort of do the job. I remember that classic scene in West Wing when CJ goes out and tells the press that there will be no attack against a given country, only to find that her colleagues had lied to her. The episode centers on this very thing- keeping the Press Secretary out of the loop.
Funny, in all the interviews I've heard thus far, McClellan is still spinning the press, avoiding direct questions, still wanting to control the conversation and the press is letting him do it. Nothing changes.
Yes, the press is shocked, SHOCKED to find that there is lying going on here.
Of course they have to pretend like this is a bombshell. If they don't then they have to admit that people like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have been right all along.
Doesn't McClellan also say that Bush admitted he was the one who gave the order to leak Valerie Plame's name?
This is all old news...we have known about these liars and treasonous bastards for quite some time...but nobody does anything. Jesse Ventura for President!
It's just as bad as all the generals who retire and then say "you know what, I thought it was a bad idea to get all those kids killed with such bad planning, but rather than speak up or quit, I just played along. Sorry moms and dads." I paraphrase because I care.
I found a link to this ad on Daily Kos. It uses the McClellan hubub to bash McCain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeaqwYBqSHA
This whole book thing started to really piss me off with Douglas Feith started peddling his piece of crap, "War and Decision". His book was a vain attempt to explain why no one lied and really, we shouldn't think bad of the Bush Administration. He ran around saying that the Administration isn't bad. The administration thought through the situation in Iraq, they just didn't express it well to the public. He claims that no one was mislead, the Adminsitration honsetly believed that what they were telling to the people, it's just that they were wrong sometimes. "Errors," he says to John Stewart, "are not lies." huh??? Let them all boil in oil.
Wasn't he also called the "dumbest f#@%in guy on the planet" by Tommy Franks?
And I think it was Jay Garner himself who said, Jay Feith was “incredibly dangerous” and his “electrons aren’t connected.”
Isn't it Scott McClellan? [looks confused]
I'm hoping Jon Stewart really gets stuck into him (we manage to get ahold of the Daily Show down here in Aus), could make for a pretty uncomfortable interview.
And no shock here either - the ideas that (a) some politicians lied and (b) some guy who used to work with them is making money from a book sadly ceased to be new well before I was born I think :-(
You can watch Jon Stewart Clips on ComedyCentral.com (I don't have TV) Usually you can see a whole episode by watching several clips.
It is Scott Pombat! I corrected that! Good catch!
I thought it was, but then equally Mike McClellan could've been some American I hadn't heard of (there are quite a few of you after all), hence the confusion...
historybuff - isn't it great how freaked out people get when you tell them you don't have a TV? When I first moved to Oz, I ended up with one of my friends insisting I borrowed a spare he had, because my apartment was apparently weird without one :-)
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