Call me cynical, but I'm calling 'Bullshit' on McClellan's little sob story.

First paragraph from a WaPo story about how McClellan's colleagues were floored by his statements and new book:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/28/AR2008052803041.html?hpid=topnews

Scott McClellan was the ultimate Bush loyalist. He went to work for George W. Bush when he was Texas governor in 1999, helped Bush gain the White House in 2000, and then came to Washington to defend the president for the next six years on such issues as the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina.

...more...

And a little background from Wikipedia:

Born in Austin, Texas, McClellan is the youngest son of Carole Keeton Strayhorn, former Texas State Comptroller and former 2006 independent Texas gubernatorial candidate, and attorney Barr McClellan. McClellan's brother Mark McClellan headed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and formerly was Commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration. McClellan is the grandson of the late W. Page Keeton, longtime Dean of the University of Texas School of Law and renowned expert in tort law.

After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin, where he was president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Texas Alpha Chapter, McClellan was the three-time campaign manager for his mother. In addition, he worked on political grassroots efforts and was the Chief of Staff to a Texas State Senator.

Karen Hughes, Governor Bush's communications director, hired McClellan to be Bush's deputy press secretary. McClellan served as Governor Bush's traveling press secretary during the 2000 Presidential election. McClellan became White House Deputy Press Secretary in 2003. McClellan replaced Ari Fleischer, who stepped down as White House Press Secretary on July 15, 2003. McClellan announced his resignation as Press Secretary on April 19, 2006. Many newspapers at the time reported that McClellan was forced to resign due to the Valerie Plame issue and handling of Hurricane Katrina relief. On April 26, it was announced that Fox News pundit Tony Snow would succeed him in the position.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_mcclellan

So let me see if I've got this straight.

His MOTHER was a serious player in Texas politics. He was her campaign manager THREE TIMES in TEXAS ELECTIONS.

His FATHER is a lawyer in Texas.

His BROTHER is also involved in both TEXAS and FEDERAL government, and his GRANDFATHER was a reknowned expert on tort law.

So HIS WHOLE IMMEDIATE FAMILY is heavy into law, politics and government in Texas, going back three generations.

He himself was a state Senator's Chief of Staff, in a state where the congress has more constitutional power than the governor.

KAREN FREAKIN' HUGHES hired him on to be Press Secretary for the 2000 campaign, and then for the Office of the President...and she's a goddam hammerhead shark...d'ya think she'd let an innocent, credulous, trusting little lamb become the mouthpiece for the whole show?

He was fooled by their lies and duplicity, he says on TV today. "So bad, I trusted Bush's rhetoric from 2000, and I was just so misled."

Um...BULLSHIT.

He was raised in a family of Texas players, worked for more players, and was sharp enough to get hired on to be pretty much the most important PR flack in the galaxy. He dealt with Cheney and the rest during the campaign, and long afterwards.

He wasn't duped, or fooled...unless he lied to himself.

The guy on your TV is trying to bullshit his way out of Hell, I think. I don't buy it for one stinking second.

all the public humiliation.

I don't think he cared then-- or cares now-- about what the truth is, or was.

He just wants to be able to stand in front of a microphone and be abused until he's had enough to go home and spank himself silly.

Or do you use it in the fight for truth and justice?

Not crazy = me.

Nice. :)

...in their Homeland Security budget.

I'd say Scotty is more like the infamous thief who regrets not a bit all the robberies he committed, but is very very very sorry he's now among the "exposed" and likely to go to jail (or at least pay the price)

...everyone who is so shocked--shocked--that Scotty would say such things!

truly....

Maybe his (very) nervous system couldn't handle the overload, and broke down. A lot of people have had abrupt changes of feelings and opinions -- and a lot of people have tried to bullshit their way out of Hell. It will probably take a little time before we know what happened. From historical precedent alone, we can expect a whole lot of interesting revelations once Bush is out of the White House.

At this point, I really don't know what to think about it, and I'm not going to rush it.

--p!

Its very apparent.

He just wants to sell books.

Only in America!

Let them devour each other live on TV. I've been so looking forward to this. :rofl: I'm lovin it. :popcorn:

It should be interesting as the press and all the president's crooks go after him though.

He is a weasel. But he's biting the leg that kicked him. He is doing this to get back at people who humiliated him, and for money. But we can use his book to our advantage for the November elections.

now? Inquiring minds want to know....

out...

I do think brother Mark was tagged with what has become the Medicare prescription plan debacle, but if he remains hard core RW, he probably doesn't care...

that RFK hesitated to run against LBJ in '68 was because he knew it would be viewed as the Kennedy family versus LBJ. I think if McClellan's brother came out against Bush today, it would be used to distract from the information Scott has brought forth.

Jenna's wedding and he's pissed. All kidding aside, he probably didn't like being pushed out and replaced by Tony Snow. After all, he was such a loyal liar for Bush.

up he turnedcoat to make a buck. I doubt he's sincere now. He had no soul then, he has no soul now. The only thing rattling around that butternut squash he calls a head is, cha-ching.

:sarcasm:

Of course, you may have some other reasons for defending the a-holes.

What those may be, I haven't a clue. :crazy: The real question is WHY?!

they know it is coming down the pike

he sees that the repukes are going down in flames this Fall, and he wants to make sure he comes out on the "right" side now, plus he can make a little bit of change in the process.

Scotty will be the first to plea bargain and sing like a birdie.

:) I view this as highly suspicious and wonder about the timing. Thanks, Bill. Please come back to UNC and talk to us!

If this is the beginning of the deserting rats, one can only imagine what is coming up! :D

to cover their collective asses. He held up very well on the interview on Today, coming off as a disillusioned idealist. He stuck to it and was believable. That is great in my book. Anything that outs the sociopaths in the White House elates me!

This book is a gift from heaven for American progressive forces. I can't understand quibbling about the purity of his intentions. Let's not hobble ourselves.

there isn't any way on earth that Scotty didn't know what was going on. We have 125k just on this board alone that don't buy into this shit.

I most certainly think it's payback. Maybe the McClellan family as a whole have been royally fucked by the BFEE.

Couple of reasons why.

First, his mother. Any type of support from Bush and his family while she was running for Governor would have assured her of winning. If she was looking for that in return for her family's loyalty to then Governor Bush she didn't get it. Her career in Texas politics is for the most part done and there's no legacy following it.

Secondly, and I'm only guessing and conjecturing, but could there have been rifts between his brother when he was head of FDA and the administration? Another Mike Brown situation?

Thirdly, is the BFEE starting to lose it's grip? The old man's in his 80's. The top leutenants (James Baker comes to mind) are also getting up in age. There are NO viable replacements (does anyone seriously believe Jeb, Skippy, or Neil). Does anyone think the 3 Stooges of Bush are really capable of running this organization that took decades to build?

No, Scotty wasn't duped. His fat little ass (as well as the whole family) have been feeding off the BFEE for years. Well, guess what, the restaurant's closing and they're pissed about it.

Your point is an excellent one and has been on my mind since this broke - she turned against the republicans (and Bush's legacy in Texas) to run as an independent. She outspokenly trashed Bush's successor, Governor Goodhair, and especially the educational "reform" legacy Bush left. It's obvious there is no love lost there.

These people know the political wind is turning and they aren't going to be left behind in the flotsam.

And it's no surprise that someone that close to Bush would acquire his penchant for putting his own needs above everyone around him - he seems to have had some outstanding tutors in that subject.

the part where he says he was lied to. He had to have known more- much more- than what he's saying.

However,

Look at the way the rightwing pundits have responded. The vehement vitriol and dumbfounded disbelief on their part may as well have been read from a script. You can almost see the outrage being manufactured- nay, cultured in a vat- even as you watch them. Also notice- they're almost all saying the same sorts of things. I recall the same sort of response when Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies was released.

Those things tell me everything written in the book is, in the main, true. Their own measure of outrage exposes them.

As you said, they did this to Clarke, to O'Neill, and even people outside the administration, like Michael Moore. You know they're spinning when they can't refute the claims, so they simply go after the source with personal attacks.

Blast faxes, websites known only to the Repuke cognescenti (sites hidden to search engines by ROBOTS commands perhaps)? It's amazing how these campaigns are instantly coordinated across the entire country and media outlets.

Of course, if you make yourself into a tool, what do you expect? He was perfectly willing to toe the party line in the face of all evidence to the contrary on Iraq, on Plame, and so much more.

Personally, I think he wasn't in the loop on Plame and that, when he asked Rove and Libby about it, he was actually stupid enough to think they were being frank with him. Much like Powell at the UN, he put his credibility on the line for people who were lying to him. That's where this all comes from. That's when he went from Bush loyalist to disgruntled employee. If that caused him to reevaluate the whole pack of lies that the Bush administration piled up, that's fine by me.

those he was loyal to. He finally figured it out.

lol

The next few weeks should be good.

with famous Katie "you guys rock" Couric trying to critique the coverage. And Charley "closet republican" Gibson declaring that "we did a pretty good job in the run up to the war"

No, McClennen's book is a good thing because it brings the whole lying fuck disaster that is the Iraq war to the forefront again. But the media is enjoying it's opportunity to bring out Bush loyalists to bash the fuck out of McClennen. And the media is really enjoying the FACT that they can point the finger at the Bush administration, see it's not our fault, "they" lied to us. God forbid the media would have done it's fucking job and dug for the truth instead of parroting the administration's lies day after day.

Who knows what McClennen wants. If he wants redemption, go to fucking Iraq and help aid workers there. I didn't believe McClennen's bullshit then and I don't believe it now.

and have been saying that this was the case from the first moment this was'announced'.

It means there really must be a lot of incriminating evidence to distance one's self from. :shrug:

Or do you REALLY think the Press Secretary sits in on all of those high-level meetings when they discussed gutting the Constitution and committing treason?

He was told what to say by people he trusted and found out later they led him down the garden path...

This is his 'fuck you too'...

Scotty was a doe-eyed true believer, that's true.

This morning on NBC Today Show, he said he admired Chimp and in the case of going into Iraq, "gave him the benefit of the doubt" in terms of the reasons for going to the war though he said that privately thought it was happening a bit quickly. I believe that Scotty realized that he was played the fool; his reputation trashed, then discarded when his usefulness was over... and B*sh of course bears the ultimate responsibility for that happening. I think this is way more about reclaiming his reputation, payback, and certainly in his Republican world, he has lost way more than he gained.

This is not a David Brock-like conversion; he probably still identifies with Republican Party purported values and ideology, but he realized the depth of perversion that went from the top and humiliated him, so decided to pull back the curtain, for his own redemption and perhaps higher purposes, to educate the public.

I am not so cynical about this one, and think Scotty's flip is a GIFT... all of the critiques from the left that the MSM has ignored for years have just been validated by a B*sh insider, and now history books will use Scotty's words to record his presidency as a monumental shit-stain- straight from one of their OWN mouths.

I ordered the book on Amazon- Scotty: take the couple of bucks I just threw you and buy yourself a beer!

:rofl:

in full view of the non-politically wonky is nothing but a plus for us going into the GE and well beyond.

When the average detached American realizes how s/he was duped by the lazy lapdogs in the press we will all benefit in the long run.

That they've been duped just like Scotty- or, rather than duped, they've fallen down on the job and not done their due diligence for the past 7 1/2 years. Remarkable. We on the left (and even middle) have seen all this clearly for years- it's like they've discovered their own assholes to my eyes/ears.

Better late than never? Not. Too much harm has been done.

i can't see any good coming out of what scott is selling for the white house

nt

but unlike Brock who made a political conversion, I think Scotty has rejected the conduct of Chimpco but not necessarily the purported values and prinicples of his Republican roots.

In 2004, one of our "work horses" for the Kerry Campaign in my neighborhood was a guy who was a converted Republican. He said that the Bush Administration no longer represented the Republican Pary that he (and I) grew up with. So whether McClellan has had a "political conversion" depends on how your define the terms.

for many years. When Bush was approached to run for president--with his feet propped up on his desk--he glanced over towards Karen Hughes and they both died out laughing. Karen Hughes quotes this scenario herself. Bush--as many now know--is a dumb ass who cared nothing about Texas politics. He was an oil man who LOVED baseball. If he could have had the choice between baseball commissioner and president, he would have gone with commissioner.(maybe somewhat cynical, but close)

I do think there was a lot of loyalty shit going on--looking the other way--but politics in Texas now is really changing. I think the infrastructure of the GOP--which is the fundies here--has been hit hard with scandal.(I know one personally that affects a huge mega-church preacher who donated thousands to Bush) That and the fact that the generation is changing. The young people hate Bush. My nephew, who is in his mid-twenties--has never been politically active and could have cared less. We talked about politics several times and when election 2000 happened, he couldn't have cared less. It was frustrating. Now,it's a VERY different story here. Not only is he very active, he campaigned for Obama, and is a delegate in his region. I'm so proud of him. He said the "wake-up" call was he and many of his friends realize that Bush is a serious hazard to their health! Many in this generation are seeing the light and I think that is changing the demographics.

I always hated watching Scott spew his shit standing up at that podium and I often wondered, after his mother "saw the light about Bush" how he could continue to spew the lies. Maybe she did have an influence on him writing the book. Maybe not. I just wonder if he worries for his safety, especially since ol' Dick probably isn't too happy.

I lived in Texas during 1981-1996. I knew (intimately) persons involved (heavily) in the Texas Republican Party. After Clinton defeated bush*1 and Anne Richards was elected governor, I chided my Republican friend that the bush* family was banished from DC and hopefully from politics. My friend--with a smile on this face--informed me that Anne Richards would be a one-term wonder and another bush would sit in the White House and first would be the next Texas governor. I almost peed my pants when he told me the fix was in, and George W. would be the next Texas Governor and then the next bush* in the White House.

My friends father worked for Rainwater and the Bass Family. Their connections were impeccable, as was their "information."

when it happened. A lone voice, then and still now would be chewed up and spit out by the media, they would have crushed Scottie, but he played smart because he knew firsthand what they would do to him.

Knowing what he knew the best way for him (Scottie) to tell the truth, without being railroaded by the media is exactly how he did it.

Get alot of the truth out there at one time, make money while doing it, all while protecting yourself a bit from future criminal cases, which Scottie knows are coming.

Now the truth is out there and the media didn't report it, now the media not only has to crush the truth but they have to crush the man (Scottie).

Scottie beat them at their own game.

Just a theory. :)

I'd go one further and say I think he's still a tool of BushCo. But even if I'm wrong on that he's still a liar, and a cowardly self-serving liar at that.

I'm not sure what he's up to, but he needs to testify under oath.

...only a Nazi juggernaut which no one has seen fit to stop. I have no definite opinion among the plausible scenarios on this thread, though I probably would after months of study, which I will not undertake.

You ask, d'ya think she'd let an innocent, credulous, trusting little lamb become the mouthpiece for the whole show?, and my first thought is, "quite possibly, yes... Who more convincing to play the role?" That is what "they've" done a thousand times over. Rule number one: first implicate EVERYONE in the crime, and since integrity is such a rare commodity (decreasing as one ascends the ranks of the pathocracy), there can then be no turning back.

But, more importantly, your argument that he was not duped or fooled unless he lied to himself, is equally true of our entire political class, including, on the whole, the Democratic Party. So, where does that leave us?

is proven to be false. Scott believed in Busholini. Scott believes that those around the Boss are the ones that perverted the vision of the Boss & led him astray. Scott still "likes & admires" Busholini. The betrayal came from Cheney, Rove & Libby in Scott's view. He was played for a fool by them & he knew it all along but couldn't quit until things became unbearable. That's how I view it, so far.

my showroom full of bridges.

It just smells to me.

he is getting ready for the inevitable trial that is to come in his lifetime

State evidence... that is the term I believe

Or he's trying to avoid a trip to The Hague with the rest of the cheney*/bush* gang.

Whatever, SING SNOTTY SCOTTY, SING!

the point that you gag on it and have to start looking around for something else to drink. I think it's especially so for people who are true believers more so than than for the guys who are in it for personal advancement. I'm giving Scotty a benefit of the doubt on this right now. I believe in the near future we will find out exactly how innocent he was or wasn't. The truth will have to come out because now he's on his own and no one has got his back.