McClellan: Selling Out to Sell his Book (& secure his fame)
Scott McClellan, perhaps the least distinguished of White House press secretaries in recent years, has now found himself the center of a media firestorm. It’s not unusual in this media culture for such mediocrities to gain such attention Usually when they do, they have something the media wants to sell or promote.
In most cases, their fame doesn’t last very long. I doubt that he has the staying power of a Paris Hilton or Madonna. Some people do find Hilton attractive while the latter has a passable singing voice and a talent for understanding the music industry and pop culture. McClellan, well, um, what qualities did he have? Um, Um. . . . .
Wait a second, how did he ever get this job in the first place?
Whatever the case, he has shown himself to be a person of incredibly low class, one who would sit silently by while supporting an Administration (which he now claims was) pushing propaganda and deception or as one who would sell out the man who gave him the job which put him in a position to achieve such prominence.
Last night on FoxNews’ Special Report with Brit Hume, Charles Krauthammer said as much (pretty much nailing it in my view):
Frances Townsend, who was the president’s terrorism advisor in the White House, said earlier today that there were lots of meetings in the White House among the advisors with lots of give and take and questioning, and pushing back, and that in these meetings Scott McClellan said nothing.
You also heard others have said — Ari Fleischer, who was his predecessor, and who was close to him, said that Scott McClellan never shared any of these misgivings in public or in private.
So you’ve got to ask yourself what kind of man collaborates on what he now says was deceptive propaganda to drag America into what he now calls an unnecessary war, and does it without ever privately or publicly saying anything, and without doing the obvious, which is to resign.
And the answer is one of two things — either he is the most dishonorable man in Washington, staying in a position and collaborating in what are essentially high crimes that he now asserts, or this is a guy, a young man, who sort of left under a cloud, who had one of the most undistinguished careers as a Press Secretary ever, who was legendary for his incoherence, and who doesn’t have a lot of big future on the side, is going to cash in on the one chance — the book — by telling stuff like the scurrilous stuff he has in the book about overhearing the president talking about alleged cocaine use in a telephone discussion.
That kind of stuff, I think, is — he knew that that would sell, and that’s why he did it.
Let me repeat, what kind of man collaborates in what he now claims is deceptive propaganda?
But, I don’t think at the time McClellan thought he was pushing propaganda. I don’t think he thought very much about what he was doing. He just did it. After he left the White House, he had a choice to spend the rest of his life in honorable oblivion or to spin his story to fit the narrative the media wanted and so become an instant celebrity. For fifteen minutes at least.
We’ve seen this all before. Four centuries ago, Christopher Marlowe wrote a pretty good play on a similar topic. As did Goethe just over two hundred years later.
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McClellan is Faust? Not quite.
As always we must read between the lines. We hear charges of “misleading” and offering “propaganda” but no specifics. If he actually had hard evidence of lying, as opposed to theatrical characterizations would this not have come out even before pub day? To date, the offenses described in these dire tones by the chanting of the media heads has always turned out to be no more than the Bushies accenting the facts that supported their cause and minimizing those that did not. The so-called Downing Street Memo is typical. If these actions are anything worse than the tried practice of rhetoric I’m dying to see the support. A good question though, for the Bushies; if this guy is the bad apple he now seems to be, how in the hell was he hired to be the PR face of the administration? He was always obviously glowing in the 40 watt range, flubbing easy questions to which I knew the Bush line and supporting facts far better than he did. What does Press Secretary pay again?
Comment by megapotamus — May 29, 2008 @ 12:27 pm - May 29, 2008
Answer: McClellan is the son of an erstwhile Republican ally, former Texas state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and more or less grew up in the ranks.
Problem is, the Peter Principle kicked in; he rose to the level of his incompetence.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — May 29, 2008 @ 12:30 pm - May 29, 2008
Hell, I have been asking that question since the day he took the podium. I NEVER understood why that blubbering idiot, that couldn’t put together a coherent, confident statement on anything, was tapped to replace Ari Fleischer(sp?)
Comment by Robert — May 29, 2008 @ 12:33 pm - May 29, 2008
“Problem is, the Peter Principle kicked in; he rose to the level of his incompetence.”
Amen to that.
Comment by Robert — May 29, 2008 @ 12:34 pm - May 29, 2008
I have no comment….just to say that this book, the news accounts and the postings/responses here are going to keep laughing for quite some time.
2: Actually…I do have a comment. Bush did the same thing…
Comment by Kevin — May 29, 2008 @ 12:53 pm - May 29, 2008
Lefties say McClellan is “coming clean” or “telling the truth”. But that has a built-in contradiction: McClellan showed a false face to the people around him for years, by his own account, so why should any rational person credit him now?
Having said that: I would like to know more about what his book actually says. I mean: How bad are his specific claims? I don’t want to buy his book, but maybe I can browse it in Borders - or can someone post a link to an accurate summary?
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 29, 2008 @ 12:59 pm - May 29, 2008
(”accurate” meaning, non-leftist, non-Kos, non-Huffpo, etc.)
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 29, 2008 @ 1:00 pm - May 29, 2008
If the left makes a hero of McClellan by taking him at his word, then they will honor a man who, by their definition, is both a coward and conscious collaborator.
Coward in that he never once spoke up to challenge the propaganda and deceit he now claims.
Conscious collaborator in that he knew he, for three years, continued to push what he knew to be deceit and propaganda.
Do they really want to honor such a person?
Comment by GayPatriotWest — May 29, 2008 @ 1:05 pm - May 29, 2008
That question assumes that the left understands the concept of honor.
The dishonorable honoring one of their own? Isn’t that the definition of a self-reinforcing delusion?
Comment by Robert — May 29, 2008 @ 1:13 pm - May 29, 2008
So, Kevin, since the Bush administration kicked your liberal ass for years, what does that say about you, since you were beaten by an incompetent?
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — May 29, 2008 @ 1:21 pm - May 29, 2008
#8 - GPW, we know the answer is “yes”.
When the Left (Olbermann) used to think of McClellan, they were happy to highlight his mediocrity:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3170048640834620407&q=McClellan+Olbermann&ei=Kdo8SMX_EI6IrQLRwb2CBA&hl=en
Thought for the day: Is McClellan gay? In the video, he looks and sounds sort of fat-ugly-gay to me. And he used to work for his mom. I’m just wondering if this is another case like David Brock or Andrew Sullivan: a gay guy on shaky ground to begin with, turning under the influence of the people he wants to have sex with. This is a total shot in the dark; if McClellan is heterosexual, OK, fine.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 29, 2008 @ 1:23 pm - May 29, 2008
Wow. Google “Scott McClellan gay”.. I’m not the only one who has wondered before.
Mary Matalin never thought much of McClellan, it seems:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/mary_matalin_on_mcclelllans_bo.html
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 29, 2008 @ 1:28 pm - May 29, 2008
From Time’s blog:
WHOA. What part of that turned out to be false? Armitage was the leaker. That’s in the public record. Rove and Libby weren’t involved. Libby was prosecuted for something ancillary.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 29, 2008 @ 1:31 pm - May 29, 2008
OMG. Time’s article also says this:
(1) How can you “secretly declassify” something? Is McClellan nuts?
(2) How is LETTING THE PUBLIC IN on the intelligence somehow unsavory?
(3) And yet notice that EVEN MCCLELLAN ends up saying, Bush didn’t lie.
Pathetic. If that’s the best McClellan has, all this truly is a tempest in a teapot…
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 29, 2008 @ 1:36 pm - May 29, 2008
Thought for the day: Is McClellan gay? In the video, he looks and sounds sort of fat-ugly-gay to me. And he used to work for his mom. I’m just wondering if this is another case like David Brock or Andrew Sullivan: a gay guy on shaky ground to begin with, turning under the influence of the people he wants to have sex with. This is a total shot in the dark; if McClellan is heterosexual, OK, fine.
I think we would be better served by focusing on his actions and words, rather than trying to bring his sexual orientation into things.
In short, whether he’s gay or not doesn’t matter, nor should it.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — May 29, 2008 @ 1:40 pm - May 29, 2008
Was he lying then … or is he lying now?
Comment by Julie the Jarhead — May 29, 2008 @ 2:38 pm - May 29, 2008
And again, IF true, the big scandal in that would be….?
And, IF actually scandalous (which I doubt), the special prosecutor missed it by…..? (McClellan perjuring himself?)
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 29, 2008 @ 3:09 pm - May 29, 2008
10: No, that would actually be an incompetent surrounded by soulless political operatives and lots of family money. He is a shining example of someone who had no single personal, distinguishable achievement whatsoever in his life until his family stepped in with money and power to get him where he is today.
And by the way, they haven’t “kicked my ass for years”. Once again, you adhere to the false assumption you and your ilk love to spout that all democrats attach all failures and successes to the government. gimmee a break. I do quite well thank you very much, and the incompetent president we have had nothing to do with it.
Comment by Kevin — May 29, 2008 @ 3:51 pm - May 29, 2008
I seem to recall when the President came on TV explaining what was about to transpire. He said “we are in this for the long haul”. I have never deluded myself that this was an in and out war.
And, no words describe Scott……Liar, traitor,creep…..
In case you haven’t heard Tony Snow has backed out of an appearance for health concerns. Gosh, everyone say a prayer for him. He was a GREAT PS.
Comment by patriotmom — May 29, 2008 @ 4:15 pm - May 29, 2008
[This commenter has been repeatedly banned from this blog due to his consistent violation of the community terms of conduct.]
Comment by chandler in hollywood — May 29, 2008 @ 4:17 pm - May 29, 2008
[...] left has now anointed a man who, if he is currently speaking honestly, defines himself (as I noted previously) as both a coward and conscious [...]
Pingback by GayPatriot » Left’s New Hero: Coward & Conscious Collaborator — May 29, 2008 @ 4:37 pm - May 29, 2008
Hmm… I’m not sure what angle what be best to go with here. We could do the “Bush lied!” and present the evidence:
[Bush on McClellan's 2006 resigning]: “And I thought he handled his assignment with class, integrity. He really represents, you know, the best of his family, our state and our country.”
Or perhaps insert a Homeresque “Doh!” and label this as “Ain’t Gonna Happen Now, Sucka!” with just a wee touch of “Things Bush Wants To Forget Saying”:
[Bush on McClellan's 2006 resigning]: “One of these days, he and I are going to be rocking in chairs in Texas talking about the good old days of his time as the press secretary. And I can assure you, I will feel the same way then that I feel now, that I can say to Scott, job well done.”
I guess we should stick with the tried-and-true meme: BUSH LIED, MCCLELLAN…er…oh whatever!
In all seriousness, this sounds all sounds pretty contrived to me…
Comment by John — May 29, 2008 @ 5:51 pm - May 29, 2008
First you say that you won’t make an ass of yourself, but you couldn’t help it and you did.
Brilliant.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — May 29, 2008 @ 6:40 pm - May 29, 2008
McCain-Fleischer in ‘08.
Comment by Jeremayakovka — May 30, 2008 @ 4:11 pm - May 30, 2008