Former Press Secretary Scott McClellan Publishes Tell All Book

Scott McClellan, former press secretary to President George W. Bush, is about to publish a book, entitled What Happened, that contains blistering criticisms of his former boss. McClellan covers mostly familiar territory, including Iraq and Katrina, but also rumors of cocaine abuse.

McClellan's criticisms, which include suggestions of deception over the War in Iraq, are so harsh that many critics in turn suggest that McClellan was cashing in by stabbing his former boss in the back in print. Others suggest that McClellan was trying to cover for his own short comings as press secretary, when he often seemed intimidated by the White House press corps during news briefings. McClellan was eventually replaced by Tony Snow.

Almost every modern Presidential administration has had former aids publish "tell all books" that have seemed critical. The authors of such include press secretary Larry Speakes and Budget Director David Stockman who worked for Reagan, John Porhoretz who worked for George H. W. Bush and George Stephanopoulos who worked for Bill Clinton. In each case a book will come out, the media will chew over it, and sooner or later (usually sooner) they will fade into obscurity. The long term legacy of a President is invariably determined years after a President leaves office, when some perspective can be had.

Reagan, who left office under the Iran-Contra cloud, is now considered a world historical figure, on par with Lincoln and FDR, largely on the basis of his role in the defeat of the Soviet Empire. Bill Clinton, who left office relatively popular, is now considered either an inconsequential President at best, and at worse someone whose incompetence probably contributed to 9/11, according to the findings of the 9/11 Commission.

Reaction noted on talk radio and in the media even suggests that McClellan's book may have the opposite effect. The spectacle of a former staffer repaying the loyalty of his boss with an attack book might generate a backlash and actual sympathy toward President Bush. Some have noted that McClellan never expressed the criticisms he is making in his book while still in the White House, even in private, nor did he resign in protest.

Nevertheless, George W. Bush's long term legacy, that will likely be determined by the outcome of the War on Terror, lays in the future. Right now he has relatively low approval ratings that have to be taken into account by Senator John McCain as he campaigns to become Bush's successor. Even if President Bush's poll numbers were in the sixties, McCain would have to establish his own identity and refute accusations coming from the Obama camp over representing "Bush's third term."

And yet McCain cannot completely throw President Bush under the bus. Bush remains popular among core, Republican constituencies. Al Gore, when running for President in 2000, was criticized for distancing himself from then President Bill Clinton too much due to the Lewinski and other scandals. Many people thought that Gore should have made more use of Clinton in his campaign. On the other hand, the erratic behavior of Bill Clinton in his wife's campaign for President, when he recently started talking about conspiracies within the Democratic Party trying to sabotage Hillary Clinton's candidacy, may yet prove the wisdom of Gore's strategy.

In any event, McCain can use President Bush strategically. President Bush, as most Presidents, can raise enormous amounts of money. McCain will need lots of money to defeat Barack Obama. President Bush will also be useful campaigning before sympathetic audiences, such as veterans groups and evangelicals. If President Bush's poll numbers experience an uptick, his role in the campaign can be augmented.

If McCain is elected President, it will be to his advantage to maintain good relations with his predecessor. Former Presidents are often very useful as roving ambassadors and as members/heads of special commissions. President Bush uses both his father, George H. W. Bush, and his father's former opponent, Bill Clinton, in this way, mainly for the benefit of natural disaster victims.

This will not stop Barack Obama from accusing McCain of representing the "third term of George W. Bush", despite the many disagreements between the two men. But, others have suggested that the former President Obama most represents in Jimmy Carter, a man whose legacy has only gotten worse since he was bounced out of office in 1980.

There lays the danger of such comparisons. There is a bumper sticker that reads thus: "Better a Third Bush Term than a Second Carter Term." That could prove rather harmful for Obama's prospects.

Sources: Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq, former Aid Says in New Book, Ken Herman, Cox News Service, May 28th, 2008