Bush Was Not "Forthright" About Iraq War

Well, no SHIT, Sherlock! Scott McClellan, who took over for Ari Fleischer in 2003 (IIRC, Fleischer quit because there was too much BS going on), wrote a memoir on his time as the The Idiot's press secretary. Click for full article.

A couple of pertinent quotes, not just about Iraq, but about Hurrican Katrina as well, another disaster Bush, I mean The Idiot, COMPLETELY F****D up.

Iraq:

Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says in a new book that President George W. Bush "veered terribly off course" and was not "open and forthright on Iraq," Politico.com reported on Tuesday.

In the memoir due out next week, McClellan also says Bush relied on "propaganda" to sell the war and says the Washington press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to it, according to the Web site.

Katrina:

McClellan also takes the administration to task for its performance after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, saying the White House "spent most of the first week in a state of denial," Politico reported.

McClellan blames former Bush senior adviser Karl Rove for the photo of the president seen observing the disaster during an Air Force One flyover.

"One of the worst disasters in our nation's history became one of the biggest disasters in Bush's presidency. Katrina and the botched federal response to it would largely come to define Bush's second term," Politico quoted the book as saying.

General:

McClellan's 341-page book, titled "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," takes a much harsher tone than White House officials had expected from the president's former aide, Politico reported.

In the memoir, McClellan is said to claim that Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, misled him about their role in the CIA leak case. Libby was convicted last year on charges related to the investigation into who blew the cover of former CIA analyst Valerie Plame, whose husband was an outspoken Iraq war critic.

And finally:

The White House declined comment.

Yeah. Duh! What the hell are they gonna say when this guy was told to lie to the public despite the proof in front of him.

I don't normally read non-fiction, but I think I'll read this one. And remember, this guy is a "long-time Bush loyalist and fellow Texan" who says he still "admires the president," who was "ill-served by top advisors."

And one more quote from an AP article: 

McClellan said Bush's unwillingness to admit mistakes and belief in his own spin contributed to turning the president into "not quite the leader I once imagined him to be." He faults Bush for a "lack of inquisitiveness" and "a degree of self-deception that may be psychologically necessary to justify the tactics needed to win the political game."

Bush "convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment," McClellan writes.

Hm. Yes. It's called being a pathological liar...