In McClellan's Own Words...* (Excerpt from Scott McClellan's blockbuster expose', "What Happened")

In McClellan's Own Words...* (Excerpt from Scott McClellan's blockbuster expose', "What Happened")
Steve Young
Posted November 23, 2007

When we walked into the Rose Garden together, surrounded by roses and gardens, for the first time I knew that my dream had come true. I would be working for was the most powerful man in the world, the one who makes the decisions that could send America into years of peace and prosperity or decades of death and destruction.

But enough about Dick Cheney.

I'm kidding, of course. President Bush was my boss and the Commander-in-Chief. No lie. I mean, not about that.

First let me say that there were great arguments between myself and my publisher over the title of the book. We had played with others. "I'm The Luckiest Guy In The World, Except Maybe For Dane Cook," and "I'm No Ari Fleischer. Really I'm Not. He Was The Guy Before Me," but my editor felt that the shorter the title, the more room they'd have for the "30% OFF" sticker at Costco's and Sam's Club, which to me seem like the same place. I mean all you have to do is look at their food court signs. But they swear their different companies. I don't buy it.

I always felt that just plain "Scott," with my picture on it would have been fine, but my editor said people might think I was just telling a story about Scott Glenn or that I was Scottish and that the extra "t" was a cover typo, which I'm told could be devastating to sales.

I had a problem with just "What Happened." I felt left too many possibilities. It could be read as a question as in "What (The Hell) Happened?" like I was overwhelmingly intimidated and confused by the entire experience. Kind of like "shock and awe," but without the Fox News graphics. Or it might be construed as a preface to a longer title, as in "What Happened...To Integrity." Thank God for the Writers Strike. No telling what that scallywag Jon Stewart would do with it. At least when Leno makes it funny you know he doesn't hate the country.

As White House Press Secretary, I spent nearly three years as a confidante to President George Walker Bush. Not close confidante where he would tell me his inner truths, but confidante in the way he would tell me a kind of truth that he wanted me to pass on to the American people. Like the "truthiness" Stephen Colbert, who spoke at the White House Press dinner, speaks of. By the way, President Bush thought Mr. Colbert's speech was interesting and unique. See, that's not exactly the inner-truth, which would be that he thought the speech "left a smell that a thousand matches couldn't get rid of."

But it was the seven fateful words President Bush said when he introduced me as his new Press Secretary that I'll never forget.

"I've known Scott for a long time."

There was one problem. It was not true.

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