McClellan On Libby Verdict: White House Needs To ‘Get Out There And Talk About This’

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/07/mcclellan-get-out-there/

McClellan On Libby Verdict: White House Needs To ‘Get Out There And Talk About This’

Last night on Larry King Live, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan echoed Joseph Wilson’s call for the Bush administration to finally come clean about their actions in the CIA leak case. “I would be advising the White House to get out there and find some way to talk about this,” McClellan said.

Watch it at link:

While serving in the White House, McClellan orchestrated the White House’s stonewall on the leak story. Time and again, he claimed he could not answer questions about “an ongoing investigation,” even when the questions were unrelated to the investigation.

McClellan claimed last night that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby had lied to him. “Knowing what I know today, I would have never said that back then,” McClellan said, referring to the assurance he gave the public that Rove and Libby were not involved.

McClellan didn’t talk about this quote, leaving it to the current Press Secretary to explain it:

If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday that the White House will continue its “principled stand” of not commenting on the leak issue.

Transcript:

MCCLELLAN: And I think, Larry, it will be interesting to see if the White House can sustain not talking about this through the appeals process. They sustained it for this long, but I think they would be better served as a communications advisor now. I would be advising the White House to get out there and find some way to talk about this in enough detail to answer some of questions that David brings up that are still hanging out there.

GERGEN: That’s really interesting, Larry, that he would have come to that position. That’s a very brave decision to take because I’m sure there are former colleagues of his who would like not to go down that path.

MCCLELLAN: Of course, the lawyer’s always the first to say it’s a legal matter. We’re not going to talk about it. But that’s not always the best advice from a communications standpoint, as David knows.

David Gergen sound like they know what they're talking about.

Politically, the Bush administration may be beyond the point of salvation or redemption. If they do choose to talk about the Libby case, what would they say? "Well, hell -- I hope Fitz doesn't find about all the rest of the crap we're doing..." ?

And is there anybody in the entire administration who CAN talk, even if they did choose to go that route? Certianly not Dubya. Condiliar's speech is a circuitous mess. Cheney is either defiantly dishonest or completely delusional. Tony Snow more and more looks like he'd welcome the Rapture, or another Great Flood -- just about anything that would get him out of having to defend an undefendable administration.

Even Reagan's people had enough sense to bring in Howard Baker.

Not these guys.

I am so sick and tired of hearing the whiners in this administration (and Congress) say "If I had only known then what I know now." They are all liars and posers, covering their collective butts.

The American people are a bunch of sheep who don't react to anything unless it affects their day-to-day lives. Wait until we wake up one morning to the news that Bush has attacked Iran--there will be plenty of outrage when the countries in the Middle East cut off our oil supply.

I seem to remember that Ari was getting info that Scottie wasn't.

Well, the right not to incriminate oneself is a pretty important one, but one that this administration seems determined to void for everyone else. I wonder what principle their stand is grounded on? Me first and fuck you?

Dana has become part of the human stain.

info which we know today was NOT BAD. And they knew it then.

He tries to come across as an innocent fall guy, but McClellan should have known and done something, since he's such a Fine American.

"He lied to me." "He misled me."

Seems to be the excuse of the year, huh?