Think Progress

MSNBC: White House Officals Are ‘Flat Out Angry,’ Calling McClellan ‘Traitor,’ ‘Benedict’

When Scott McClellan resigned as Press Secretary on April 19, 2006, his White House officials colleagues heaped praise on him:

President Bush: “And I thought he handled his assignment with class, integrity. He really represents the best of his family, our state and our country.” [4/19/06]

White House Counselor Dan Bartlett: McClellan “served this country and this White House very well during very difficult times.” [On Hardball, 4/19/06]

Former Press Secretary Ari Fleischer: McClellan enjoyed “the trust and confidence of the president” and “was flawless in his performance, especially when you read the transcripts.” [4/20/06]

Yet news of McClellan’s tell-all book seems to have soured White House officials’ impression of him. Current Press Secretary Dana Perino said McClellan was obviously “disgruntled,” while Fleischer said he was “heartbroken,” and Bartlett called the book “total crap.”

MSNBC’s Kevin Corke reported this afternoon that White House officials, on background, went even further, calling McClellan a “traitor” and likening him to Benedict Arnold. He said the White House was “upset,” substituting that word for a word he said he could not repeat on television:

CORKE: I have heard on background they are upset. I’m using the word upset because that’s not the word they used, and it is not the word I can say on TV. Another person said they are flat out angry about what transpired here. I heard the word “traitor” and “Benedict.” I think another person said to me, not far from here, it was like a shot to the gut when you are not looking. [...]

O’DONNEL: Quickly Kevin, a White House staffer said to you on background — they used the word “traitor”?

CORKE: “Traitor.” Absolutely. And I raised my eyebrows, and he said, It is what it is.

Watch it:

The right wing is circling the wagons to go on damage control. National Review’s blog, the Corner, insisted today that McClellan was a Hamas apologist. Michelle Malkin derides McClellan as a “turncoat,” and Commentary’s Jennifer Rubin calls the book “catty” and its author a “hack,” and dismisses McClellan as “probably the worst White House press secretary in recent memory.”



119 Responses to “MSNBC: White House Officals Are ‘Flat Out Angry,’ Calling McClellan ‘Traitor,’ ‘Benedict’”

  1. ForTruth says:

    “I said no onions on this godddammed hamburger!”


  2. Leftside Annie says:

    Hey, Scotty – welcome to our world!

    How does it feel?


  3. Bobwurst says:

    Why can’t scotty be a Hamas apologist, a hack and the worst press secretary in recent memory and still be telling the truth?


  4. Bob Loblaw says:

    Let the denials begin…


  5. maddarter says:

    NRO Corner has been hilarious. Let’s see …

    1. he was a bad press secretary
    2. he should have spoken up at the time (how do we know he did not privately to Bush and would Bush ever admit it?)
    3. he is like a “substitute teacher” (per a reader)
    4. he is adding nothing to history
    5. he said he liked a class taught by Sara Weddington

    We also hear a lot of turncoat, betrayal, etc.

    But nothing about whether he is actually WRONG about any point.

    How about a little sense of betrayal by Bush to conservatives? Bush let his minions and right-wing pundits defend his fraud for years.


  6. spencers mom says:

    Traitor? Yes, to the American people with his years as a liar and shill.

    Traitor? Are you sure you want to put that word on the table, BushCo? Because if so, we have a LOT of questions about YOUR behavior over the last 7+ years.

    Treason, high crimes, failure to uphold the oath of office, etc. Impeachment, anyone?

    PEACE


  7. Evergreen2U says:

    Past “performance” is no assurance of today’s truth.


  8. Brain From Planet Arous says:

    I would not be too tough on Scotty. At least he is attempting to come clean. If we get Ashcroft, Rump-Smell, Rove, Powell, Rice, and Flesicher to tell all, then we have a jackpot. I wonder if they will after Bush moves to Paraguay?


  9. maddarter says:

    We have seen the law/order shows on TV.

    The detective causes a gangster to turn (betray) and testify against the other gangsters. Yeah, the turncoat is cutting a deal and getting a benefit, but the people in the know are not nuns, they are fellow gangsters, say the prosecutor. The defense says that the turncoat is just a scumbag murdering liar and how do you believe him.

    We hope the jury will see the truth and see that the turncoat might be a scumbag, but the defendants are the bigger scumbags.

    On TV at least, justice is done.


  10. Freedom Rebel says:

    Where was all of this outrageous indignation over the lies to the American People about Iraq or the torture that this administration allowed? The right-wing can try to do damage control all they want, it is not going to disappear or be forgotten.

    None of them got this angry over Feith’s book, and he thought they were all wrong in their descisions. Well, Dana is going to look frazzled tomorrow answering questions. I can’t wait to hear the spin she comes up with.


  11. Linus says:

    “…Commentary’s Jennifer Rubin calls the book ‘catty’ and its author a ‘hack,’ and dismisses McClellan as ‘probably the worst White House press secretary in recent memory.’”

    Obviously Ms. Rubin hasen’t seen any of Dana Perino’s performances!!


  12. raynman says:

    It all comes down to whether the media decides to focus on what McClellan is saying, or what is being said about McClellan.

    In the past, the bloodletting has become the focus at the expense of the real story.


  13. Alecto says:

    I smell the fear in the Reichwing water.
    This is just the beginning of the parade of whistleblowers. In threee months it will sound like a friggin Orchestra.
    Thank you Scottie the flop-sweat king.


  14. jamie says:

    Of course he’s a traitor. He spoke the truth. That’s the very definition of being a traitor in the Cheney/Bush administration.


  15. jb says:

    A traitor to the traitors.


  16. drago says:

    Someone from the Bush Administration finally speaks the Truth and the rest of them can’t handle it.

    That’s because it’s been so long that someone was honest that they are beside themselves. Pathetic.


  17. Vincennes says:

    jamie Says:

    Of course he’s a traitor. He spoke the truth. That’s the very definition of being a traitor in the Cheney/Bush administration.

    Absolutely! And I’ll do one better. For these guys, you have to be a Republican first, Christian second and American third. But they’re just names anyway. All these guys want is power to control everyone. Any deviation is not tolerated.


  18. livelongandprosper says:

    Great comments people!


  19. Badmoodman says:

    Jennifer Rubin … dismisses McClellan as “probably the worst White House press secretary in recent memory.”

    – - We won’t truly know McClellan’s place in press secretary history until many, many years into the future. A Press Secretary can’t be judged in such an arbitrary snapshot of history without seeing the big picture as time passes.

    (Ok, excuse me while I dislodge my tongue which is firmly embedded in my cheek.)


  20. Ms_Joanne says:

    It’s always about Bush; protecting them, their inner circle, the republicans, etc., ad nauseum.

    Never about America.

    Never about what is right.

    Never about lies and corruption.

    Only about Bush.

    Fu(k Bush! And fu(k the people in this administration who put party and all else about our fu(king country!

    Goddammed I am pissed!!


  21. blue state bob says:

    Traitors calling others traitors?

    Isn’t that the pot calling the pot a traitor


  22. pbg says:

    There’s a germ of truth in Jennifer Rubin’s evaluation: after a while, Scotty had the face and moves of a guy horribly uncomfortable with the lies he was being forced to tell.
    He looked like a milquetoast guy who desperately wanted to become a drunkard but didn’t dare because that was wrong too.
    I’m glad my fanciful sympathy for him wasn’t all misplaced.


  23. specialist f says:

    Poor scotty,doesn’t he remember the bush/co creed…”Loyalty above all else”.


  24. questioneverything says:

    The inconvenient truth, however avaricious, is still truth. I applaud his publisher for getting this out now and not after the 2008 election. Think about that.


  25. livelongandprosper says:

    For these guys, you have to be a Republican first, Christian second and American third.

    DING DING DING!!!!!!

    Vincennes, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head. Very good observation.


  26. Paul W says:

    The right wing is circling the wagons to go on damage control. National Review’s blog, the Corner, insisted today that McClellan was a Hamas apologist. Michelle Malkin derides McClellan as a “turncoat,” and Commentary’s Jennifer Rubin calls the book “catty” and its author a “hack,” and dismisses McClellan as “probably the worst White House press secretary in recent memory.”

    The responses are as predictable as they are laughable. Of course there was a propaganda campaign, McClellan is only confirming what we already knew.

    http://progressiveworldreview.com


  27. wisedup says:

    We can’t be WRONG, we’re republicans!…reality never lies,otherwise is it a LIE. You knew you were lieing Scotty,just like Dana, and you won’t sleep good ever.


  28. katy says:

    zooey (before i forget, again… but, i have been away all day) -
    driving out to my mom’s i listened to the last 10 minutes of randi… she agrees with your take on this…
    i can paraphrase closely:
    ‘this isn’t a man who found his conscience. this is a man with NO conscience. he’s written this book to make a buck!’

    i didn’t get to listen to much radio today… haven’t been able to get all the stories… listening to keith now…

    but i thought you would appreciate that.


  29. paleolib says:

    Who knew pudgy little ineffectual Scotty would be the one to strike a nerve. We knew he didn’t believe the garbage he was spewing from the flop sweat and rapid blinking but who could foresee the venom from the true believers when the first member of the Texas Mafia cuts and runs. Ten hours ago I thought this story would be gone by the weekend. I still don’t belive the MSM can let the criticism of its own culpability in the Bush disaster linger. The shrill response of the right wingers watching their collective meal ticket die makes me wonder however if Scotty will actually have some staying power.


  30. katy says:

    it’s too bad this story didn’t come out BEFORE malkin & co
    got rachel ray’s donut ad pulled…

    they sure needed something to betch about, and now they got it!


  31. Shayne says:

    Ohhhhhnoooohhhh. Bushco is flat out angry and feels betray. Well welcome to our world dirtbags. Now they know how we feel.


  32. darlineishere says:

    Truth sometimes hurts…..Would they all be so angry if it were not the truth. I find that the angrier the one “outed” is the more apt it is to be straight talk truth. Good for Scott……I knew every time I watched him that he was lying for someone.


  33. darlineishere says:

    And some of you want to vote in a little clone who will finish what Bush has started?


  34. pete says:

    While I enjoy seeing some of the bodies being dug up, I really hope this doesn’t piss Bush off enough to make him to nuke Iran. I fear Scotty’s “revelations” may have made the chimp more dangerous than ever. I think now would be a good time to direct our prayers, wishes, hopes, spells and incantations towards generals with the will to thwart Bushco. Otherwise the next tantrum could be a mushroom cloud.


  35. Mr. Evil says:

    A little OT but, this is in regards to the Bush/Cheney Iraq War for Profit. It is saddening and sickening.
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=chXjCtkymRQ&feature=related


  36. Zooey says:

    katy Says:
    May 28th, 2008 at 10:06 pm

    Thanks, katy. :)
    I don’t think we’re alone in that thinking.


  37. YouCantHandleDaTruth says:

    They are angry and that’s good thing


  38. Mr. Evil says:

    Dunkin Donuts today’s Worst Persons In The World on Countdown. What’s pussies they are caving to the likes of Michelle Malkin. Because of a scarf. A fu(king scarf!!!


  39. Mr. Evil says:

    Oops, didn’t need the ’s after what. No matter, no more Dunkin Donuts for me. They don’t deserve my money and will not get any.


  40. Shayne says:

    Almost every Dunkin’ Donuts in the Chicagoland area is run by Pakistanis and that didn’t bother the corporation one little bit. At least they weren’t Mexicans, right. Maybe that’s why they’re so sensitive about the jihadi scarf thing, hits too close to home.


  41. marlow says:

    Don’t quite know what to say to this. One of the cockroaches has ripped the roof off of the nest and all the other roaches are scrambling around in the sunlight, screaming “TRAITOR!” in their little roach voices. Reminds me of when the Oogy-Boogyman got ripped open and all the bugs and worms and spiders fell out and got cooked (Santa himself squished the very last one). Youv’e been a cockroach, Scotty, but thank you nonetheless and welcome to the daylight. It’ll be tough for awhile.


  42. Truthdoctor says:

    Donuts are really not good for your health. Stop eating them. But Rachel Ray has some good recipes. Try the others.


  43. Truthdoctor says:

    Scott McClellan is an interesting guy. Don’t know his motives or all of his sources. He was a messenger and wasn’t in on all the deliberation and meetings. Interesting that he has such careful and clear memory of things which were said and done months and years ago. No doubt some facts are either incorrect or embellished. Determining what is truth and what isn’t quit true may be difficult to determine. Depending on your point of view, you can use his words to say anything you want to. But that doesn’t make it true; nor does it make it untrue.


  44. Truthdoctor says:

  45. techsong says:

    If these are the names these republican scumbags are calling Scott I guess it’s all true. They just validated it all. Scott just did a “country before party”. He’s a hero in my book.


  46. techsong says:

    Expect much more of this type of truth telling from others in Bush’s inner circle once Bush leaves office. Scott was just brave enough to do it before. Thanks Scott


  47. southrnbelle says:

    He better watch his back!!


  48. southrnbelle says:

    BUT, he’s no hero!!

    This GUY, like all the rest of them, is UTTERLY beneath contempt.

    What – does he think this blasting of the White House admonishes him?????

    OOOHHHH — Mommy —- Georgey and Dicky made me do it!!!!!!!!!

    This is like Dr. Mengele writing a “Tell All” book blasting Adolph Hitler!!!!

    Scott McClellan’s hands are as bloody as any of these sociopaths!!

    Further confirmation that the Republican Party is unequivocally incapable of accepting responsibility for ANYTHING!!!!!!

    I don’t know who he thinks is going to buy his book!!

    The intelligent, educated, peace-loving citizens of the United States (the Democrats) won’t give a penny to the post-mortem ravings of a pathological liar, and the brain-washed, terrified, war-mongering citizens of our country (the Republicans) won’t give a penny to someone who has broken the “Holy 11th Commandment” laid down by their Republican God, Ronald Reagan (the Second worse President in history), “Thou Shalt Not Criticize a Fellow Republican.”

    November 5th is going to be glorious day when the Republicans will finally hammer the last, bloody nail into their coffins of torture, death and destruction; and the rest of us can begin the process of leading this country out of the wilderness in which it has been wondering for the past 8 years!!!!!!!!!!


  49. Keith says:

    Yeah, southernbelle, there might be another “suicide”. He always looked very uneasy and flustered to me. I hear that Monday Kitty Kelly comes out with a book about the Bush family including W doing cocaine at Camp David while his dad was pres.

    How come the 935 recorded lies was not a news story, but saying that W misled is?


  50. gummitch says:

    Truthdoctor Says:

    Scott McClellan is an interesting guy. Don’t know his motives or all of his sources. He was a messenger and wasn’t in on all the deliberation and meetings. Interesting that he has such careful and clear memory of things which were said and done months and years ago.

    Yeah, it’s weird. It’s almost as if someone working in the White House would take notes. Crazy! “Wow. Maybe I can get a book out of this. I’ll just write this stuff down and in a few years get a big fat contract.” What a retard! Who would ever think that, right?


  51. pete says:

    Awwww. Does t-doc have memory problems? I can’t speak for anyone else, but, I can remember 30 year old conversations. Word for word.

    Oh! That’s right. trolls don’t have human brains.


  52. Jane E. Schneider says:

    Hey, gummitch, my sarcasm meter just exploded. You owe me a new one. :)


  53. Shayne says:

    Truthdoctor Says:
    blah, blah, blah, I’m just another bootlicking troll, blah, blah, blah.


  54. Mr. Evil says:

    Scottie Boy is going to be on Countdown tomorrow night. I hope Keith digs deep.


  55. VerbalKint says:

    John Kerry Says:

    When you really get down to the bottom line, Mc Clellan didn’t offer anything new!!

    You’re right, he really didn’t offer anything new. He merely confirmed what is already widely known, that the Bush administration lied this country into an unnecessary war.


  56. Zooey says:

    *yawn*

    The John Kerry troll was obviously a child left behind…


  57. Zooey says:

    Scotty is conducting a little CYA, and remains a Bush water-carrier.


  58. VerbalKint says:

    Scotty is conducting a little CYA

    Yup. I don’t give him much credit for his belated encounter with the truth.


  59. Jane E. Schneider says:

    I predicted that Tucker Carlson would respond to McClellan’s book with “It’s old news”, and, sure ’nuff, Tucker didn’t disappoint. What a maroon.

    I think that the John Kerry troll is really Tucker Carlson.


  60. 5th Estate says:

    Just about 2 years ago when McClellan’s departure was imminent I wrote ( in my long since ignored blog) about how I’d kind of miss him:

    More than a just a Grima Wormtongue or an Igor, Scott McClellan has been nothing less than Bush’s personal robot—devoid of personality and self awareness, capable only of mimicking speech and following simple programming.

    Nonetheless doesn’t he deserve something better than the scrapheap? Has he not faithfully followed Republican Robot Law?

    1. A Republican Robot may not injure George Bush or, through inaction, allow a George Bush to come to harm.
    2. A Republican Robot must obey orders given it by George Bush or Republicans except where such orders would conflict with the First Law
    3. A Republican Robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

    Despite his current (and self-serving criticisms of his former colleagues) Scott’s continued “admiration” of Bush still makes him a BushBot. His primary GOP-logic circuits may be damaged, but the backups still work.


  61. Witch1 says:

    Seem’s they dost protest to much..Hummmm…..Blessings


  62. Jane E. Schneider says:

    Great post, 5th Estate. Thanks for bringing it out of mothballs. ;)


  63. Jane E. Schneider says:

    Hey, witch, blessings to you! G’night!


  64. 5th Estate says:

    Thanks very much Jane!


  65. pete says:

    And still, so far as I have observed, none of the “inner circle” has claimed that Scotty’s “revelations” are inaccurate or untruthful. It’s just more of the same. When someone reveals the crimes the messenger gets crucified, on “character issues” while the allegations are ignored.

    Though I still wouldn’t be surprised if Scotty suffers a “cerebral hemorrhage”. The rabid neocons are PISSED!


  66. pete says:

    I always enjoy your contributions 5th Estate. Keep fighting the good fight.


  67. republicanSScareme says:

    The Republican Party is the Nazi Party. Pass the word.


  68. DallasNE says:

    Gee, the Whitehouse is providing confirmation on McClellan’s charges of propaganda and spin. Imagine that.

    Well, Bush made his nest and now it is all messy. Too bad.


  69. Shayne says:

    Hey John Kerry, what flavor are those boots?


  70. Shayne says:

    Oh and bootlicker, I mean John Kerry, Scotty is one of your’s. You guys “own” him. Whatever he does is your problem not ours. We’re just here to enjoy the show.


  71. Briseadh na Faire says:

    What private hells one must weave, a willing tool for war;
    The inner workings of soul deceive becoming to lies a whore;
    When recompence demanded at last, to quell truth’s Almighty thirst;
    Will Grace to such an one hold fast, or to Hell! by Truth, he’s curs’d.


  72. Max-1 says:

    .

    After lying to the press and public for years, providing coverage for treason and tyranny, Scott McClellan comes clean about the truths he failed to address HONESTLY!

    Once a LIAR – always a LIAR!

    Scott appeaser McClellan needs to be held accountable for his role in spreading lies that cost innocent lives; Assisted treason; Hiding the truth on Bush Terrorism and torture; The usurpation of the Constitution and the violation of Americans Rights.

    PERIOD!

    Had he said something when it counted, he might have been forgiven… but then, that’s living in a past that can not be redone, now isn’t it…!

    .


  73. Max-1 says:

    http://wexler.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl19_wexler/050808_mcclellanpressrelease.shtml

    Wexler: McClellan Must Testify Under Oath Before House Judiciary Committee

    Former White House Aide’s Revelations Make Out Case for Obstruction of Justice by Rove and Libby in Valerie Plame Case
    (Washington, DC) Today Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) called for former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify under oath regarding the devastating revelations made in his new book on the Bush Administration’s deliberate efforts to mislead the American people into the Iraq War.

    “The admissions made by Scott McClellan in his new book are earth-shattering and allege facts to establish that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby – and possibly Vice President Cheney – conspired to obstruct justice by lying about their role in the Plame Wilson matter and that the Bush Administration deliberately lied to the American people in order to take us to war in Iraq. Scott McClellan must now appear before the House Judiciary Committee under oath to tell Congress and the American people how President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and White House officials deliberately orchestrated a massive propaganda campaign to sell the war in Iraq to the American people.”

    “The allegations by this former top White House aide – that Rove and Libby deliberately coordinated their stories in order to obstruct justice in the Plame case, that the President deliberately disregarded contradictory evidence related to Iraq, should outrage every American and Congress must respond by initiating immediate aggressive oversight starting with an appearance by McClellan before the House Judiciary Committee. Any continued obstruction by this Administration to prevent White House officials from appearing before Congress cannot be tolerated by this Congress in the face of these shocking revelations.”

    Congressman Wexler has led a nationwide campaign in favor of holding impeachment hearings for Vice-President Dick Cheney. Congressman Wexler is Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee and a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Judiciary Committee.

    ###


  74. republicanSScareme says:

    The Bush hacks accuse Clellan of being a traitor to George Bush, but they are traitors to their country. If the American public ever starts hanging Bush appointees, they will be on the list.


  75. 5th Estate says:

    very kind of you pete, and likewise. ANd now for bed. Goodnight all.


  76. labdad95 says:

    Scotty struck a nerve. considering all the wrong-wing hubbub, it must be true. As the the old saying goes, the truth hurts. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving gaggle of gaggles.


  77. wisedup says:

    How do we know he’s not lieing now?….just to sell books? Once someone lies to me, the trust is broken forever.


  78. Gregor Samsa says:

    I don’t believe McClellan’s book will reveal much beyond what we all already know: Bush fixed the facts around the policy, he misled the public, withheld information from Congress, aggressively belittled anyone who dared criticise his push for an invasion of Iraq, and prefers to live in a bubble.

    In other words, this “tell all” book and “insider’s view” of the Bush administration is nothing of the sort. I am unconvinced by McClellan’s sudden contrition, and tend to believe this is a calculated move by powerful people in the Republican party to distance themselves from George Bush. I also think it’s rich in McClellan’s version to blame everyone else for buying the claptrap he was selling at the time.

    On the upside, it seems to me Pres Bush has angered too many people in the Republican party, who cannot walk away from him fast enough because they now see him for what he is: A failure of a president not worth spending time & money on.

    Being a loyal Bush kool-aid drinking follower is getting harder by the day at this point…


  79. pete says:

    I agree wisedup. Liars are always suspect. However, I allow a little leeway to those who have been misled. And, when a liar’s words confirm facts which independent sources have uncovered, the words gain relevance.


  80. Keith H. says:

    Wait…I-think…(puzzled look)…yes….yes-it-is…There’s some dissension in the ranks !


  81. dotmafia says:

    Scott McClellan Does A Hans Fritzsche

    Hans Fritzsche, Chief of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry’s Radio Division.

    Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, 1946

    “Between these criminals and myself there is only one connection: they merely
    misused me in a different way than they misused those who became their physical victims.”

    “In really serious questions of policy and the conduct of war I did not commit a single falsification and did not consciously tell a single lie.”

    “But decisive for such a news machine is not the detail but the final fundamental basis on which propaganda is built. Decisive is the belief in the incorruptibility of the leaders of the State, on which every journalist must rely, and this basis is shaken by what has become known today of mass murders, of senseless atrocities and by the doubt in the honesty of Hitler’s protestations for peace.”

    “I am convinced that Hitler and at least some of his colleagues had deliberately lied to the people, in some important instances, right from the beginning of their political career, and, something that is not so important to history, I personally consider that, on these points, I have been deceived.”

    “The main guilt of people such as Fritzsche is that they did know the actual state of affairs, but despite this, proceeding according to the criminal intentions of the Hitler Government, intentionally fed the people with lies or, to use an everyday expression, ‘threw dust in their eyes.’” ~ Ferdinand Schoerner


  82. Evil Spaniard says:

    Call the WAAAAHH-MBULANCE :D


  83. Doc Rock says:

    The chickens have come home to roost!


  84. Chocolate Jesus says:

    >How do we know he’s not lieing now?….just to sell books?

    Because the vast majority of people around here have been saying almost the exact same thing. Because its true. There were no WMD. THe justification for war was bogus. If anything, he’s being too charitable toward bush. We know whats he’s telling know is very close to reality because, well, his story coheres very coherenently with the reality we here us before the. Sorry pal, the “he’s a liar so how do we know he’s not lying now” routine has been tried by many a defense lawyer and usually failed..why, because almost always, as in this case, there is additional evidence to support the assertions currently being made.


  85. JustJohn says:

    And the talking point is “I/We are ‘puzzled’”.
    Puzzled as in we went to war ‘cuz’ we could?
    Weren’t there PNAC and other documents that pointed that out specifically?
    Scott McClellan is NOT the “Whistle Blower” that I think is still out there, ready to come forward, the issue will become the destruction of evidence to support that person’s claims. Whoever it is, will have saved the documentation and we will see not ‘puzzled’ but ‘shocked’ become the talking point. Is this the beginning of the end of…………..
    “Welcome to the age of reckless unaccountability”


  86. Chocolate Jesus says:

    I suspect McCelland had mixed motives in spilling these beans. Did he hope to make a buck? Sure. Is the extend of his boss’s perfidy and deceit begginging to bother his concise as well? Quite possibly…While I am not so naive as beleive Scotty was a naive chump who didnt know his bosses were slimeballs, I actually do beleive that rove and libby told him they wernt involved..why spill the beans about thier involvement to a low level operative like scotty when it would be easier to keep the truth safe in a much smaller circle? I think in most circumstances, if someone doesnt know the truth, the path of least resistance is to lie to them instead of telling them the truth then asking that person to lie about it.

    Frankly, I dont care what MCC’s motives were, nor do I care if he’s rewarded for them. I consider it just as valid as money given out by crimestoppers or the “rewards for justice” that were given out to those who gave relevant info about terrorists. I consider the current united states government to be fraudulent, criminal, and illegitimate as any terrorist hijacking a plane would be. Their lawyers assert the presidents right to do anything he wants, including the sexual torture of children. If those are the sorts of people you wouldnt call criminals who need to be brought to justice, i dont know who is..


  87. Nevar says:

    Won’t this be a hoot if McClellan is the final turd down the toilet of the Bush White House that causes the whole thing to back up?


  88. misshusseinmolly says:

    wisedup Says
    May 29th, 2008 at 1:56 am
    How do we know he’s not lieing now?….just to sell books? Once someone lies to me, the trust is broken forever.
    _____________________________________________________

    I think if McClellan was lying, his detractors would be calling him a liar. Instead, they are calling him a traitor, a Benedict Arnold, a turncoat, the worst press secretary, and even a Hamas apologist. But they’re not calling him a liar.

    If he made up all his allegations, don’t you think that an accusation of lying would kind of be at the top of the list of the White House loyalists?


  89. Shayne says:

    wisedup Says:

    How do we know he’s not lieing now?….just to sell books? Once someone lies to me, the trust is broken forever.

    So don’t buy the book, none of US are going to. But please, get a clue.


  90. hanshiro says:

    When Scotty turns state’s evidence or provides documents against the bush administration, I’ll begin to give credence to his “come to Jesus” moment. Until then, I ain’t so quick to swallow the trickle of “former bushies who’ve seen the light.”

    These people, like Scotty and Colin, are accessories to 1 million+ deaths and scores of dead Americans. Making money off their years as a whore and knowingly destroying the Constitution doesn’t exonerate them in the least…

    If I were an angrier man, I’d advocate the interested readers to find and download the book illicitly online and deny Scotty his 30 pieces of silver for betraying America.

    Crime should not pay handsomely…


  91. Exit Stage Left says:

    misshusseinmolly Says:
    I think if McClellan was lying, his detractors would be calling him a liar. Instead, they are calling him a traitor, a Benedict Arnold, a turncoat, the worst press secretary, and even a Hamas apologist. But they’re not calling him a liar.
    If he made up all his allegations, don’t you think that an accusation of lying would kind of be at the top of the list of the White House loyalists?

    An excellent point. I wholeheartedly agree.


  92. hanshiro says:

    80. Gregor Samsa Says: In other words, this “tell all” book and “insider’s view” of the Bush administration is nothing of the sort. I am unconvinced by McClellan’s sudden contrition, and tend to believe this is a calculated move by powerful people in the Republican party to distance themselves from George Bush.

    I agree, and there’re also those two little words in publishing that can make or break a book’s revenue: “Shelf life.”

    The fact that Scotty chose now to publish this “well, DUH!” treatise on what most of us knew about bush’s insanity potential as far back as 2000, means that it will be way older news when the republicans are bum-rushed out of the White House in January. Scotty gotta make his blood money while the public will cough it up (under the assumption that there’s anything new, which doubtless there isn’t; just a variation/rewrite of Conyer’s “Constitution in Crisis.”) before relegating bush and his nightmare to the reviled dictators pile.


  93. Truthdoctor says:

    It is a beautiful day in D.C. The President is still in the White House, Congress doesn’t have a clue, people all over the country know how to “fix” this mess, we are headed in the wrong direction (according to the same people). Like I said, it is a beautiful day in D.C.


  94. Truthdoctor says:

    No body cares about Scott McClellan. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.


  95. Truthdoctor says:

    In another eight months things will change. Obama will probably be president with a veto-override majority in Congress(not that Obama will veto anything) and we’ll see how things go. Be patient, my friends.


  96. Truthdoctor says:

    Prejudice and hatred can blind one to the truth.


  97. the Lone Voice of Reason says:

    You’ll see more of this guaranteed. The GOP is a bunch of slimy effers, they’d sell their own mother out let alone throw the chimp under the bus.


  98. shoeless says:

    John Kerry Says:

    And (surprise!) it now comes out that good old George Soros is behind the publisher of the book…

    Thanks George. It’s good to know someone is willing to get behind the truth.


  99. shoeless says:

    Truthdoctor Says:

    No body cares about Scott McClellan. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.

    Where have I heard this before? Oh yeah.

    No body cares about Paul O’Neill. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.

    No body cares about Richard Clarke. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.

    Nobody cares about Jack Abramoff. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.

    Nobody cares about Alberto Gonzales. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.

    Nobody cares about Valerie Plame. Ask the average man on the street who she is and not one of ten can tell you.

    Nobody cares about Scooter Libby. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.

    Nobody cares about Katrina. Ask the average man on the street what she was and not one of ten can tell you.


  100. Leporello says:

    Can anybody help me with a puzzling question a few of these comments raised for me? The enemy of my enemy is my friend, that concept’s clear. However, the trator to the traitors, what is he? Thanks in advance.
    Impeach Cheney and Bush and Save the Constitution!
    Abu Ben Hussein Leporello.


  101. shoeless says:

    Truthdoctor Says:

    Prejudice and hatred can blind one to the truth.

    Is that the forward to McClellen’s book?


  102. upside99 says:

    Gotta be tough for BushCo when someone with that much inside info and privy to the discussion on the spin architecture finally gets a conscience.

    Too bad it took this long but maybe the timing will finally make it more important over the next 6 months, uncovering the slime pit in the WH and the right side of the aisle in the House and the Senate.


  103. LividLib says:

    A traitor, huh?
    That’s what the Nazis called Colonel Stauffenberg.
    We can only hope McClellan has more success with a book than Stauffenberg had with a briefcase.


  104. shoeless says:

    Leporello Says:

    Can anybody help me with a puzzling question a few of these comments raised for me? The enemy of my enemy is my friend, that concept’s clear. However, the trator to the traitors, what is he? Thanks in advance.

    Still a traitor. McClellan admits that he kept quiet all those years because he put loyalty to Bush above loyalty to his country. Traitor is forever.


  105. nanlichi says:

    The most damning thing about Scotty’s book, and the part that throws the rightwingers into a pissy fit, is that it is not anything new but confirms what we have been saying all along.

    Before he was adjudicated pResident, Bush’s autobiographer showed a draft of his book to the handlers and was fired and replaced by Karen Hughes to finish writing the book. One of his observations was that Bush wanted to be remembered as a “War President” because it would improve his chances of being remembered.

    Now Scotty confirms this egolomaniac’s push for Bush’s War. I don’t remember the whole quote but something to the tune of … a war creates chaos and in the chaos is an opportunity to bring about sweeping change…. Well, the dumbfck got the chaos part right.


  106. ninique says:

    notice how they said traitor and not liar.


  107. Shayne says:

    Truthdoctor Says:

    Blah, blah, blah, spam, toll, spam, troll, blah, blah, blah.


  108. rmwarnick says:

    I too am waiting for a loyal Bushie to point out anything in McClellan’s book that’s not true.


  109. Leporello says:

    Shoeless,
    many thanks. Wish I could argue with you, but you’re right. Treason is still treason, no matter what spin Anyone puts on it. That’s what this entire Administration’s going to have to deal with.
    IC&B&STC!,
    ABHusseinLeporello.


  110. ninique says:

    nanlichi Says:

    The most damning thing about Scotty’s book, and the part that throws the rightwingers into a pissy fit, is that it is not anything new but confirms what we have been saying all along.

    Before he was adjudicated pResident, Bush’s autobiographer showed a draft of his book to the handlers and was fired and replaced by Karen Hughes to finish writing the book. One of his observations was that Bush wanted to be remembered as a “War President” because it would improve his chances of being remembered.

    The problem is that is that he’s too illiterate to look like a War president. Regardless of the outcome of the war, he still sounds like an ass when he says things like, “oh, I can’t play golf for the troops, waa, waa, waa”


  111. freeman says:

    Yes Scotty your a traitor but to whom , the country or our synchophantic presidency ? Donate the proceeds to your book to the orphans in Iraq and the children of our dead service people and I’ll be happy to support your immunity from prosecution as I believe will the entire left wing blogosphere , Scot free .


  112. nanlichi says:

    Someone needs to point out to Bush that he has already pretty well locked up a position in history and will be well remembered, long after the names of Ford and Reagan and Carter are long forgotten. Names like Benedict Arnold and Jack the Ripper share the same notoriety.

    If he wants to leave an even more indelible mark, maybe consider committing hari kari in the Oval Office as atonement for his sins.

    200 years from now every one will be able to answer the trivia question about the President that spoiled the pelt while still in office.


  113. laketahoeblue says:

    Traitor? So what? Since when does loyalty trump honesty?


  114. Jane E. Schneider says:

    ——————————————————————————–

    hanshiro Says:

    If I were an angrier man, I’d advocate the interested readers to find and download the book illicitly online and deny Scotty his 30 pieces of silver for betraying America.

    Crime should not pay handsomely…

    May 29th, 2008 at 8:14 am

    There’s always the library.


  115. Truthdoctor says:

    I am offended.


  116. curious says:

    So Scotty is disgruntled, a traitor etc. Well as for being a traitor these people should know. I bow to their expertise on the subject. They certainly have the experience from doing it themselves.

    I don’t like Scotty. I don’t like anyone who worked for these criminals. And I would not buy a book of his anymore then I would of old Newt’s. They all write books after they leave. Some kind of enlightenment happens when they leave office. It’s too bad it doesn’t happen while in office when it can do some good. But alas. They come to Jesus, so to speak too late. Is the book self serving? Probably. They usually are. I wonder when dippy Dana Perino will write hers.

    I last heard that old Alberto G. could not find a job. I love that. And someone else who left the Whitehouse. But think of this one of the memo torture writers, attorney Yoo is now teaching law at UC. At Berkley I think. Amazing, I wonder if he teaches ethics?


  117. SteveSOD says:

    “…it has also come out that Mc C’s editor didn’t like the original draft and rewrote a LOT of the book himself!!”

    Your proof? Oh, that’s right. You have none. Man, you must’ve had to go shoulder-deep in order to pull that big of a lie from your arse. Jackass.


  118. SteveSOD says:

    “No body cares about Scott McClellan. Ask the average man on the street who he is and not one of ten can tell you.”

    Man, is this wanker “truthdoctor” for real? Really? How can someone be so ignorant, stupid and utterly wrong about everything?


  119. SteveSOD says:

    BTW, the name “truthdoctor” is quite ironic, considering you’re doctoring the truth just like your Connecticut-born, false-Texan, alcoholic, cokeheaded, spoiled rich, adult child of an idol: George Of The Bungle.



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