In this conglomeration of NBC footage we see a united and somewhat White House orchestrated response to Scott McClellan's new book. I particularly found the remarks of retired Senator Bob Dole to be offensive.. come on Bob.. a Kansas Bob can do better than that!
I agree with one observation of how the Bush-bots want to shift the focus off the issues surfaced in Scott's book and onto his betraying loyalty to the president and breaking ranks with the Bush-bots. It is like my friend Jim said last week.. if what he writes is true then somebody needs to go to jail.
If you have a few minutes please watch the video and let me know if you agree or disagree with my assessment.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI haven't followed this closely because frankly none of this surprises me. Neither the allegations in the book nor the denial and the distraction from the issues Scott discusses to his loyalty. The repetition of the talking points is fascinating. But, it seems very Rove-like to me.
I agree with you about the Bush-bots. What is sad is a lot of the American people fall for their manipulations.
Peace,
Brian
Wow, do we disagree! I thought what Dole wrote in his published email was right to the point - he told McClellan that if he'd had any principles, he'd have resigned if he disagreed with the policies of the President he served. Further he should admit to publishing this badly argued book simply for the money and the visibility in the Republican party.
ReplyDeleteThe smell of treachery is hanging in the air.
I don't agree with how Bush has managed the war, nor what he's spent, nor how he's expressed any social conservatism at all, although I admire his steadfastness and loyalty, and he's got a hell of a lot more integrity than Bill Clinton, but no President deserves the treatment he's receiving, fueled by the media's attitude.
I'm with Therese Z on this one. I have no particular love for the present Bush Administration and have at times literally groaned over the mistakes GWB and his advisers have made. But the remarks Bob Dole made about McClellan are dead on. If McClellan had any true integrity, honest convictions, and serious doubts about our involvement in Iraq, he should have resigned his post and said his piece years ago. And Bob Dole is hardly alone in expressing his feelings in this. Liberal Democrats are saying the same thing, not for McClellan betraying GWB, but because they feel he betrayed the USA by not speaking out when it would have counted.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I feel about McClellan just about the same way I feel about Robert McNamara's outrageously pathetic mea culpa (another book) for his support of Johnson's Viet Nam policies. If you want absolution for your sins, bub, look to God, not me!
I see Scott McClellan as a man who greatly admired and was greatly influenced by his leaders in the Bush White House. He was in his early 30s when he worked there. I think that his views of these leaders changed as he matured.. much in the same way that some changed their views of the leader on Enron and WorldCom. I can relate to that journey.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteI agree. (Hopefully), we grow and mature. The guy was young and impressionable while working for Bush and maybe he got caught up in the "do the right thing at all costs" mentality that seems to predmominate politics. I admire him for having the wisdom to be able to change over time and the courage to step up and say how he feels now.
Peace,
Brian