Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan may publicly bash his ex-boss President George W. Bush but he also has some kind words for the man.Scott McClellan spoke Tuesday, Oct. 21 on the Texas State University campus as the keynote speaker for the university’s Mass Communication Week. He fielded questions from Dr. Tom Grimes, the audience, and people watching the live video stream on the Mass Communication Week website.
McClellan is best known for his controversial memoir covering his days as press secretary for the Bush administration titled “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception.” Before writing his book McClellan had worked with
Bush since 1999 when he became Bush’s gubernatorial spokesman.
“During the course of his duties Scott encountered a climate of isolation…and falsehoods that he was asked to repeat and support. And he wouldn’t do it and he couldn’t do it,” explained Dr. Lori Bergen while introducing McClellan. “He parted 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and wrote a book.”
McClellan’s book surprised many reporters and White House officials by placing blame directly on Bush, calling his policies misguided, and admitting that Bush made some critical mistakes. “McClellan’s tone is often harsh,” wrote Mike Allen, the chief political correspondent for Politico.com.
While speaking harshly of Bush’s administration, McClellan also spoke of his fondness for his former boss. “Yes he [Bush] has this personal charm about him and that’s why I still hold a lot of personal affection for him,” said McClellan.
“I was surprised at how much McClellan took up for President Bush,” said Texas State senior Rachel Butler who attended the speech. “It was interesting to hear him say how much Bush truly cares about our country, even though he talks about all of the lies and bad decisions Bush made.”
Although McClellan spoke negatively of the policies concerning the Iraq war, saying “candor became secondary,” and “contradictory intelligence was ignored or discarded,” he still retains the ability to genuinely respect Bush as a person.
Photo by Colter Ray
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