Rove calls McClellan a left wing blogger. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fKMX9HCjycM&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fKMX9HCjycM&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
I am sure that there is a lot of truth to McClellan's accounts. That being said, this is actually a damned good deal for him. The right will buy the book to see what awful "lies" and "half-truths" are being said about Bush. The left will buy it so they can read it and think "I knew it!" Both sides buy the book (note how many in this thread are trying to get a copy). McClellan will make a bundle, and he didn't even have to embellish much. That dude is a winner on this one.
So you disagree with the "fact" that landing Air Force One in hurricane zone on short notice would siphon off huge amounts of resources that had other, more important work to do? I think you are being somewhat blinded by your hate... I bet there are people that work with you that don't actually have an actiive part in putting out fires. People, including Rove, have jobs to do and so they do them.
Well let's be honest. If you read this book without at least thinking about the motives behind it you'd have to be pretty gullible and/or dense. This book is already #1 at Amazon. And LOL to the notion that this book was written for the good of the people. It was written for one reason only...to cash in. If you like this, here's another memoir you may be interested in... But unlike that book, none of this information be verified. Seriously. There may be truth to some of it, but it's just a guy writing about "what happened" from his "vantage point" that has no possibility of being investigated or verified. I love how some of the same people who are usually so critical about sources of information, are taking this book to be a vindication of everything they always thought. Hypocritical in my opinion.
Selling a book, making money, and telling the truth aren't mutually exclusive. He can be doing all of the above. His vantage point is one of a trusted insider, who served this President, and was the mouth piece between what the administration knew, and what was told to the media.
Yes the idea of landing air force in Katrina sucking up resources needed elsewhere is complete BS. If it isn't BS then I ask you, is it OK to siphon off resources from our troops and the rebuilding effort in Iraq every time Bush has been there. Safety in Iraq is easily more difficulty than safety in NO. Was it OK for Bush to siphon off resources when he toured ground zero after 9/11 when they were busy with the recovery effort? Because Bush landed there, and walked around with his megaphone posing with firemen. Why is it that the only place it's not OK to siphon off resources from is NO?
And yet, when the White House was asked to comment on the book, they only said things criticizing McClellan's loyalty. Not once would they comment on the actual content. When they were asked directly, they said "there's no need to respond to the content". If it was untrue, they could easily say that. But they chose instead only to attack the author for disloyalty.
When multiple insider sources report the same behavior and tendencies by the Bush Administration, you'd have to be an idiot not to see the pattern: Politics trumps policy and governance. "Permanent campaign" Intelligence, data manipulated to support forgone conclusions. Propaganda aimed at the American people. Gross incompentence. Various aspects of the above have been reported in depth by the following insiders: Scott McClellan Richard Clarke John DiIulio (head of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives) "It's the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis." Paul O'Neill (Treaury Secretary) Bush was like "a blind man in a room full of deaf people."
all the points made by Scott M are [not new. M's published opinion validates the points previously made by others.
Bump. He will be on Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight. Maybe McClellan can get immunity when the inquisition into the Bush presidency begins in the next administation.
You completely disregarded the first part of my post. Here it is again with the main point bolded for your reading pleasure: Did he lead a Cabinet meeting to clarify roles and responsibilities and establish priorities for resources? No. Did he call the Governors and offer anything besides meaningless platitudes? No. Did he do anything prior to Katrina's landfall? No. Did his government follow the protocols set up by his own Department of Homeland Security before, during, and after landfall? No. Did his administration do anything besides besides decide what kind of photo-op they would have the President pose for? No. I think I have come around to literally hating the guy, and I certainly hate his administration and what's been done to this country and what's been done in the name of this country. But it's not a blinding. raging hate. It's cold and analytical and informed by a sense of tragedy. This administration had the ability and the resources to dramatically lessen the effects of Katrina... indeed they had many, many people from the National Weather Service to the Coast Guard to EPA and others within their own Executive Branch begging them to do more days before the storm hit. That they did not... that they willfully ignored the pleas and intentionally disregarded the information put in front of them... for Katrina and a bunch of other incidents... has earned them the contempt of almost 3/4 of Americans, me included. I'm one of those guys who has a support job. I rarely go and actually fight fire... and certainly not on any large fire. On large fires, our ratio is about 5-1 for firefighters to overhead. When we have a really big one, we get some economies from various functions and hit 6-1 at about the 1200 person mark. We are not, however, answerable to someone who would suggest we take a picture of some firefighters looking brave and resolute instead of protecting the public, preserving homes, and putting the fire out. We don't have someone developing talking points for us that blames the local volunteer fire department for not stopping the fire during the initial attack.
I would just love it if ole' Scotty had a few hundred of those 5 million missing emails stashed away somewhere for safe keeping.
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The best part of all this is the Bush admin isn't even making any special effort to debunk the claims or the person making them. They're just saying he doesn't seem like himself.
What Bush has done is worse than Watergate, but I doubt it will destroy the Republican Party. He has created the Iraqi Syndrome which will take the joy out of elective war for a while. It is ironic since one of the principle motives of the neo-cons as you see with Basso, McCain and even Bush I was to undo what they called the Vietnam Syndrome and get Americans to be more supportive of foreign military adventures.
Just heard that the publishing company that is doing the book, does not pay more than $100,000 for an advance. So his money deal wasn't that big. I don't think someone who was as loyal as McClellan would sell out for under 100 grand if money was the only motivation.
