Yesterday, quotes from former White House Press Secretary (twice removed) Scott McLellan’s new book were released. They are not too flattering to President Bush and to current and former White House staffers. Karl Rove and the White House immediately took to the offensive saying he isn’t the “Scott we knew”. If that’s the case, then they didn’t know him really well.
Of the four press secretary’s who served Bush, he seemed to be the only one genuinely uncomfortable behind the podium. Watching him press briefings such as this, it’s clear that with every passing word he gets more and more awkward about the tangled web he’s weaving. One particular quote stuck in my mind over the years and after reading about his book yesterday I was reminded of it once again:
“You know me by my record and your dealings with me. I am someone who has served as an advocate for the President’s agenda, and that’s part of my role; part of my role is also to help make sure the American people are getting an accurate account of what’s going on here in Washington”
I thought this then, and Scott’s book seems to confirm it now, that by staking his own reputation he considered himself credible and believed what he was saying as the truth. However, as time wore on he believed less of the garbage he was forced to spew and eventually resigned. His book seems to be a real life case of the Tell Tale Heart as he couldn’t live with the guilt of having mislead the American people.
Personally, I understand the dilemma Scott was facing. Even if he knew at the time that he was misleading the American people, he probably felt trapped. On the one hand he had his morals/ethics, on the other all of his friends and colleagues. He was part of this group of people since before Bush was president. He believed in them. He trusted them. You can’t just turn your back on them or throw them under a bus overnight–at least no decent, caring, loyal human being can. Very tough choice without a clear solution.
Scott may not have plunged into the deep end of the pool right away but he slowly worked up to getting there and telling the American people what many believe is the truth. And that’s more than can be said about the other ex-press secretaries.
One thing is certain, if his friends and colleagues at the time thought that Scott was fine with what they were doing to the country and his role, then they truly didn’t know Scott. Sadder for Scott is that the people he knew and trusted that journeyed to the White House with him from Texas to make this country a better place turned out not to be the same people he knew.
