About this title: In the bestselling book that provoked a media sensation, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan takes readers behind the scenes of the presidency of George W. BushScott McClellan was one of a few Bush loyalists from Texas who became part of his inner circle of trusted advisers, and remained so during one of the most challenging and contentious periods of recent history. Drawn to Bush by his commitment to compassionate conservatism and strong bipartisan leadership, McClellan served the president for more than seven years, and witnessed day-to-day exactly how the presidency veered ...
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Date Published: 05/2008
ISBN-13:9781586485566ISBN:1586485563
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Date Published: 2008-05-28
ISBN-13:9781586485566ISBN:1586485563
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. VG/VG, very mild edgewear to the dust jacket, edges of textblock a little soiled, interior clean, binding tight. read more
Description: Very Good. 1586485563 Thank you for looking at bookhaven1. Ships from PA. Hardcover books may have missing or torn Dust Jackets. read more
Description: Very Good. 1586487000 These books come with free tracking number from usps. Thanks for looking at bookhaven1. these books may have shelf wear and remainder mark. hardcover books may have missing or torn Dust Jackets. read more
Description: Good. 1586487000 These books come with free tracking number from usps. Thanks for looking at bookhaven1. these books may have shelf wear. hardcover books may have missing or torn Dust Jackets. read more
Description: Fair. 1586485563 Thank you for looking at bookhaven1. Ships from PA. Hardcover books may have missing or torn Dust Jackets. the books may be slighly bent. read more
The book he wrote was ABOUT interesting things, and that's why it's got three stars. I also appreciated his general handling of Iraq - it made me think about the whole long-term implications of the region slightly differently. The writing style was mediocre. He tries to be a somewhat dispassionate narrator, but ends up just being mostly boring. I listened to it on audiobook, and Scott himself narrated it. His vocal style is very George W. Bush-esque, and that got a little grating.
But I think the main issue I had was the content. Scott tries to paint Bush as this bipartisan, honest Texas governor who got to the White House pledging to root out the political way DC runs, and was taken down by his advisers, some personality quirks, and the 'permanent campaign' of the Bush White House, Congress, and the press, who likes to 'pick on people.'
First - I'll trust Molly Ivans' interpretation of Governor Dubya over your wool-covered eyes, Scott. Bush was a horrible governor, who didn't have to do much, and what he did do, he made worse. Trying to whitewash him as this great leader is a convenient trope that allows you to set yourself up as a betrayed non-prodigal son later in the book. There's a reason more people voted for (then) boring old Al Gore than your amazing boss - he was awful then, and he was awful as President.
Second - DC takes many queues from how the White House is run. And how the people who work there interact with the press and the national constituency. You were part of that, and while you take some responsibility, there was nothing keeping you from speaking up at the meetings you say you felt you had to remain silent at, or going to the press back then.
Also - the national press's major fault is trying to find conflict in issues where there might not actually be conflict, because they want interesting stories. They weren't just trying to 'pick on' you - your actions, and the actions of the White House you took flak for, were actually that bad. It wasn't unfair bullying. There was just so much the WH had to answer for, and the press was treated with such disdain, that I'm sure it started to feel one sided. Most of the time I would wonder why they weren't hitting you more often.
But you get three stars because it was an interesting peek partially behind the curtain of the west wing and because it was novel to get your perspectives on White House machinations in a somewhat honest fashion. Most Bush aides never seem to tire of repeating their same old talking points, and while you were guilty of this as press secretary, you at least seem to try to come to terms with the Bush years with something approaching honestly and self-reflection."
"This is a good view from inside the White House bubble, from the experience of the White House Press Secretary, who actually was a career politico with roots in Texas. Initially impressed by his entry into the inner circles, he eventually becomes disillusioned.
I think liberals should give McClellan credit for stepping out of the party line. McClellan does clearly admit that the Bush administration misled us into the Iraq war ("What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary").
True, he may not appreciate the tremendous consequences of the Iraq adventure, -- but then again, the guilt could be too much to bear.
The book includes a discussion of the Plane affair, and other tricks. In at least two instancess, the author expresses the deep sting of being deceived by Rove, and even the President himself.
It's interesting that McClellan thinks that the "culture of deception" has some roots in the behavior of the Clinton administration. Food for thought."
"I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I heard about it on the Diane Rehm show, then found it on the "new" shelf in the library. I expected just a "here's what happened around me" kind of book, but it was much more than that.
Mostly I was surprised that McClellan really had a point; namely, that what's wrong in Washington is the culture of permanent campaigning. He argues that elected officials used to use campaign tactics to get elected, then got on with the business of actually making decisions in service of what was best for their constituents and the country. Words like 'compromise' were part of the working vocabulary. But now everything post-election continues to be a campaign, as it was pre-election.
McClellan frames all of his experience in the Bush White House from this perspective. Yes, he's telling the story of his time there, but always casting light on how the permanent campaign was playing out, and who and what that served.
While he's strongly Republican and a huge Bush supporter, he's also quite even-handed in his critiques about both political parties and what Bush did well and did wrong. And actually, as a non-Bush supporter (to put it mildly), I was fascinated to read about someone's reasonable admiration of the man. It actually raised my estimation of Bush, which I certainly wasn't expecting!"
"This book pretty much covers the entire period that Scott McClellan worked with President Bush, starting during the lead up to his run for the republican nomination. As far as the major historical events he discusses, I'd say the big three are the Iraq War, hurricane Katrina, and the leak of Valerie Plame's identity and ensuing investigation. He presents these events from the point of view of someone not only within the administration, but who also largely supported the administration at the time. He's critical in some areas but never tries to avoid accepting his own responsibility for many things. All in all I'm glad I chose it for pre-election research, as it shows some of the ways that the current administration failed even though it had good intentions.
An interesting point is that the book left me with a more favorable impression of Bush than I had before, which is sort of contrary to what some of the negative criticism of the book would've had you believe."
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