Scott McClelland And The Politics Of Magical Thinking

Why are so many people mad at Scott McClellan? Bob Dole, for just one example, is mad enough to spit nails, and in fact he pretty much did just that. Yet, McClellan is only saying what most people already know, that George W. Bush is a stubborn man who cannot be dissuaded once he makes his mind up as to the correctness of his position, and he has a tendency to believe his own spin-propaganda, in other words. Of course, not only is the Bush Administration and its supporters mad at McClellan, it would seem a good many members of the media are on the defensive as well, due to their roles during the opening days and phases of the Iraq War.

In other words, although they have refined their positions over the course of the following years, at the time in question they acted to a degree, in some cases, more like cheerleaders than objective journalists, even though they should have discerned that the run-up to the war amounted to-

*Selling the American people a bill of goods by and on behalf of influential people within or in some way connected to the Administration.

*Partisan politics.

*Last but not least, what amounts to simply hard-core ideological purposes.

If you hear about Scott McClellan driving off the edge of a cliff or jumping out of a seven story window sometime over the course of the next several months, don’t be real surprised. I have a feeling there are a few people with either high positions or strong connections to the current administration that have a great deal to hide, pertaining to this and quite a few other matters. McClellan sets a bad example, from their perspective. An unfortunately tragic “accident” would send a clear signal-if you don’t have anything nice to say, shut the fuck up.

More than a few within the mainstream media seem to have adopted that attitude early on in the run-up to the Iraq War. Now they have to live with the consequences-as do we all.

McClellan’s book, even if viewed as the perspective of a disgruntled former presidential staff member, does not so much lay bare previously hidden facts as it positively affirms what has been in clear view for at least some three years now.

For the most part, while the Bush Administration was using a complacent media to sell us on the shock and awe, we all fell for the shuck and jive.

The worse part of it is, it was probably unnecessary. At the time, the American public largely would have supported any effort to remove Saddam Hussein. The Democratic Party would have been hard pressed to stand in the way. Instead of using a legitimate pretext-such as the myriads of UN resolutions that Saddam violated again and again, his clear intent on building a WMD complex at some point, his support for Palestinian suicide bombers by way of cash awards to their families, the constant shooting at our jets over the No-Fly Zone, etc.-Bush used Colin Powell to present, with dramatic flair, flawed evidence of the existence of chemical and biological weapons capabilities in addition to actively seeking uranium for purposes of enrichment.

In the meantime, all such evidence to the contrary was either ignored or buried. Now, it is what it is. We followed the drumbeat that led us to the bandwagon, and we threw ourselves under the wheels. McClelland was, at a pivotal moment in history, the little drummer boy for a delusional and messianic vision of a Middle East where chaos is supposed to pave the way for lasting peace and prosperity.

I don’t go so far as to say this book is an attempt at making amends, and that money is not a primary consideration. That would be every bit as delusional. On the other hand, that makes it no less worthwhile. At some point along the road, Scott McClellan took a good look in the mirror, and saw the face of Baghdad Bob staring back at him.

However self-serving it might be, I for one want to hear what he has to say. He'll be on Meet The Press this Sunday. Russert might want to take notes. Then again, he really doesn't have to.