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May 29, 2008
On McClellan
Just a few thoughts on this moment's big story (Scott McClellan is on Countdown as I write this):
The excerpts of What Happened that I have seen do not reveal so much as they confirm.
Is there an element of vendetta in this work? I'm not certain. One observation is that former Secretary of State Colin Powell surely feels, privately, as used and abused as McClellan. And I would love a Powell tell-all, in some ways; but I might see Powell as "above that." Take that for what it's worth.
Was publishing the book timed to punish the administration, the party, or its presidential nominee? My hunch is that the publication was timed as best it could be to maximize revenue for the publisher (and, in a much smaller way, the author).
Obviously the practice of employing secrecy and obfuscation in the White House is nothing new. Do you remember President Bill Clinton? President Richard Nixon?
That said, the use of these methods has undoubtedly risen—and taken on a new function—in the two most recent administrations. And in the current administration, the tactics have damaged our nation far more than did the more personal abuses by the Clinton White House.
UPDATE: I forgot to include this quote:
Governing has become an appendage of politics rather than the other way around, with electoral victory and the control of power as the sole measures of success...
Other takes:
Political News | By joe lance | 08:24 PM
Comments
Here's my take:
McClellan wrote the book because, although he had misgivings about the march to war while serving in the Bush Administration, once he got outside the "Washington bubble" he realized the GWB presidency is imploding to the extent that it threatens to tar the reputation of everyone who served in it. McClellan wanted his view to be out there in the marketplace of ideas, in part to have an impact on the historical record.
As you've alluded, Joe. The flaw in your premise is that all lies are the same. Nixon lied about a burglary, Clinton lied about adultery, Bush lied about a war. The relative impacts of all three instances of untruthfulness are very different.
As the t-shirt at a Democratic event said "when Clinton lied, no one died."
Posted by: Tom Paine at May 30, 2008 10:23 AM