Thursday, May 29, 2008

Conservatives Try To Quash Interest In McClellan Book: ‘I’m Bored,’ ‘More Concerned About American Idol’. The right wing is trotting out a variety of counter-attacks to deal with the explosive allegations found in former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s new book. Yesterday, defenders repeated they were “puzzled” by the book, “as if,” the New York Times noted, “Mr. McClellan had undergone some kind of emotional breakdown.” By afternoon, attacks were more charged, with White House officials calling McClellan a “traitor” and “Benedict.” By last night and into this morning, Fox News pundits were insisting the book is the work of a nefarious, left-wing publisher. Now several prominent conservatives are dismissing the book by insisting that no one outside of “people who follow Washington issues” really even cares about McClellan’s allegations: Ari Fleischer: This is a very Washington and people who follow Washington issue, and people tend to read these types of books. What is interesting, Bill, is TV shows, for example, millions watch the news at night, a great selling book only sells about 100,000, so it’s kinda gonna be a self-contained story. Bill O’Reilly: McClellan says Mr. Bush did not handle Katrina very well. Gee, I’m stunned. He says the president used propaganda to justify Iraq. Again, is that a bulletin? … McClellan also believes that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby conspired in the Valerie Plame case. Forgive me if I’m bored. Newt Gingrich: No. I don’t want to shock you, Alan, but I actually don’t care. … I mean my lack of interest in Scott McClellan’s personal odyssey of self-discovery is a negative. I’m more concerned about American Idol than I am about Scott McClellan. Mary Matalin: I don’t care, like Newt, I don’t really care to analyze this kind of betrayal. Watch a compilation: Despite what these pundits suggest, Americans are paying attention. McClellan’s book rose rapidly yesterday to become Amazon’s number one bestseller. McClellan’s story has dominated the airwaves, with three major appearances today and at least three more — including a stint on the Daily Show — in the next few days. The public is sure to pay particular attention to McClellan’s charges about manipulating Iraq intelligence. A poll from Februrary showed that a majority — 53 percent — of Americans believe the White House “deliberately misled” the public about the existence of WMD in Iraq. [Think Progress] 4:17:28 PM    comment []

Former Bush Aide: McLellan Is Getting Ripped For Telling The Truth In response to his scathing memoir detailing the "propaganda"-filled run up to war and seedy political machinations behind the CIA leak case, Scott McLellan has received withering criticism from his former colleagues. A money grubbing, attention seeking, devoid-of-principles hack has been the description of choice; "this is not the Scotty we knew," the most popular quote. One former Bush aide, however, is sticking up for McClellan, arguing that the former Bush press secretary is "getting savaged for saying what everyone knows to be true." Mike Turk served as the eCampaign director for President Bush's 2004 reelection campaign. As such, his tenure corresponded with that of McLellan's. No longer connected to the administration, Turk is now one of the few (if any) voices with connections to that crowd who are saying, quiet simply, that the book "What Happened" is steeped in little more than truth. "After watching McClellan on Today this morning, I think the reception his book received exemplifies the point he was making," Turk told The Huffington Post in an email. "People had high hopes for President Bush to bring America together after his election and after the attacks on 9/11. They felt disillusioned by the Administration's adoption of the 'win at all costs' partisan mentality in this town. I think the bigger point of Scott's book comes from the lessons he learned while playing a part in the permanent campaign. It's an exploration of how that mindset can lead to some really bad choices." Indeed, Turk notes, he himself has been on the receiving end of Bush-loyalist scorn. After the campaign and his tenure at the Republican National Committee, Turk criticized the party for not fully embracing technological advances. "As a result I'm already on the watch list for the GOP establishment for some of my own criticisms," he said. And while he has only seen the major excerpts of the book, Turk predicted that, ultimately, McLellan would be looked at optimistically. He suggested the memoir may stand up better to history than the Bush administration itself. "While Scott's going to weather a fierce storm for writing it, just as Matt Dowd did with his New York Times piece, I think it ultimately will be regarded as a very personal look into the modern political machinery that so many people are sick of," he said. - The Huffington Post News Team [huffpolitics on The Huffington Post] 11:33:52 AM    comment []