Word: mcclellan
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...lifelong politico and son of the first female mayor of Austin, Texas, McClellan joined the Bush team in 1999. At the time, he believed the bipartisan Texas governor might be "a leader who could make us believe...[that] we could change the destructive dynamic that dominated [Washington]." He tried his best to brush aside anything that might contradict that belief. Yet during the 2000 campaign, he was startled at Bush's ability at self-deception. When questions arose about whether the candidate had ever used cocaine in his past, Bush tells McClellan that he just doesn't remember...
Given the barrage of publicity and outrage that it has generated in the last day, you know what you're in for before you even crack the spine of What Happened, Scott McClellan's memoir of his nearly three years as George W. Bush's press secretary. It's not necessarily surprising that McClellan critiques his former co-workers. But the candor, anger and overall disappointment with which McClellan discusses President Bush and his policies is particularly surprising from someone previously presumed to be the most faithful of aides. On the fifth page of the preface McClellan bluntly writes, "History...
...someone whose chief job was spinning the press, McClellan seems surprisingly troubled by the way that politics dominates everyday governance. He claims to be especially concerned by the prevalence and toxicity of the "permanent campaign," where politics trumps policy on every issue. The architect of this was, of course, Karl Rove, whom McClellan praises in a variety off backhanded ways. "Karl Rove is not the problem," he writes. "Karl Rove did not create the excesses of the permanent campaign. Rather, the excesses of the permanent campaign created Karl Rove...
...deadline who need a quick and reliable source of specifics. And she has retained the easygoing self-confidence of the Rocky Mountain West, where she grew up spending summers and holidays at her grandparents' cattle ranch in Wyoming. Her delivery has none of Ari Fleischer's arrogance or Scott McClellan's anxiety. Many of her predecessors came from the antagonistic world of national campaigns, but Perino made her way to the West Wing through a succession of jobs in Congress and the Executive Branch, where life exists beyond the next election and reporters and spokespeople learn to live with...
...arguments for Bush's war strategy are both well known and unconvincing to nearly 70% of Americans. Even with the recent stabilization in Anbar province, Iraq is selling like California real estate and Chinese toys, and foreign affairs have quickly become Perino's weak spot. Before becoming deputy to McClellan, Snow's predecessor, her experience was in domestic issues. When hit with tough questions on Iraq, Perino often reverts to yawn-inducing talking points. In late September, defending Bush's decision to go to war, she droned, "Saddam Hussein decided to defy the international community. All diplomatic measures ran their...