Scott McClellan (background middle) shown here with the film's antagonist (foreground) and the merciless Cobra Kai sense.
So Scott McClellan is coming out with the first salvo of the inevitable post W. Bush fingerpointing wars. It turns out, ok sit down before you read this shocker, the White House made "a decision to turn away from candor." (AKA - they lied). WOW. Big news I know. Prior to now, this extremely insider information was available only to people with a functioning cerebral cortex and access to information sources other than Fox News.
I suppose this is significant because a Bush insider, a guy he brought with him from Texas, is the source. Maybe the media will look at criticizms from a source so close to the President and actually believe the things he says instead of listening to the inevitable denials. On the other hand, I think it's really obvious what's going to happen. McClellan will be subject to character assasination and any smear that can be brought forward in an attempt to move the discussion away from the substantive claims of the book. They've already started calling him a "disgruntled former employee." Worse is to come. I mean, it's not like this hasn't happened before. Or before. Or before. Or before that.
Look, it would be nice if at least the press were to learn some lessons from this. Scott basically calls them all a bunch of patseys. He said that the press wasn't critical enough, and that the White House was able to successfully play the media game and drive their narrative to achieve war the same way they worked the press during the campaing (calling it a "campaign mentality"). Sadly, when the heads, or at least the faces, of ABC, CBS, and NBC nightly news got together, they... agreed on what a good job of reporting they did!
Sigh. Some times the state of our democracy is really depressing to contemplate. The press is a really important part of our democracy (it is mentioned EXPLICITLY in the constitution) and it seems to be badly ill. The good news is that with the availability of foreign news sources, internet reporting and commentary, etc, the information is out there, and traditional sources of information are rapidly losing market share. Still, it would be nice if there was one network, ANY network, that had actually used critical thinking and questioned the claims of this administration BEFORE the war started.
And as Ezra says, no Scotty, you don't get any hero points. You were there in 2002. You were there in 2004. Now that this president is setting all time records for being unpopular you decide to come out and tell us you lied for your master. I don't think I'm reserving a chapter for you in the update of "Profiles in Courage."
UPDATE:
Kos points out here that one of the people discrediting Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neil was... SCOTT MCCLELLAN. I guess he will at least know what's coming.
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