• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

T R E 4 5 O N

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Come on, man.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

People are complicated. Love is not.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / McClellan’s Rehab, Slower Than Expected

McClellan’s Rehab, Slower Than Expected

by John Cole|  May 28, 20081:11 pm| 135 Comments

This post is in: I Read These Morons So You Don't Have To, Republican Crime Syndicate - aka the Bush Admin.

FacebookTweetEmail

Captain Ed:

Expect all sides to redefine McClellan in order to either boost or reduce his credibility. To the Right, McClellan will have been the worst press secretary of modern times, and to the Left a man of extraordinary ability chased out of his job by Bush’s minions. The truth will be somewhere in the middle. When he left office, most people on both sides considered him a mediocrity at best. His status as favored punching bag for the hard Left can best be captured in the Keith Olbermann farewell McClellan received as he exited in April 2006. It will be particularly amusing to watch this fringe try to rehabilitate McClellan now.

Let’s see that rehabilitation of character that Ed seems to think is going to happen. Firedoglake:

For three years, Scott McClellan stood before the White House press corp and humiliated himself, saying things he knew were probably false or misleading, while pretending that by dissembling for his President he was serving his country. In now confessing his sins and spins, he still clings to the hope of redemption by saying, gosh, they meant well, even if they were all lying about everything.

No rehab there. Let’s try Too Sense:

McClellan has every reason to lie or twist events: making himself a sympathetic character helps him sell books and he wants to minimize the role he played in one of the most flagrant violations of the public trust by the office of the President in history.

Nope, none there either. Let’s try Steve Benen:

One can’t help but wonder, of course, if this is McClellan’s way of trying to save his own skin — as the Bush gang is condemned by history, McClellan doesn’t want to be associated with failure.

Of course, if he’d thought to speak up when it mattered, instead of after the fact, McClellan’s ability to make a difference might have had an effect. Now, it’ll sell books, but it’s a little late in the game.

Nope, no rehab there. Maybe the GOS:

Well, that’s one way to put it. Another might be to say that for three years he willingly distorted and lied about Iraq, about domestic spying, about secret prisons, about torture, and of course, about the White House role in the outing of Valerie Plame. Or he didn’t lie and, as the truth was revealed about these many issues, he chose to stay on and defend Iraq and domestic spying and secret prisons and torture and of course, the people who lied to him about their role in the outing of Valerie Plame. Which is it?

No mercy there, either:

What about the the Rude Pundit:

Hopefully, the book will tank, and McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels. Screw this obsequious pig-fucking son of a bitch, this grubby little man-whore, attempting to purge his soul of the taint and stench of death and sorrow while pulling in a buck or two. He’s not honorable enough to have fallen on his sword, rhetorically or literally. And he’s not even loyal enough to have shut the fuck up (at least an admirable quality in the abstract). He deserves a room in Hell lined with televisions playing his sneering statements of complicity on an endless loop while he’s forced to sit on a couch made of the bloated corpses of Katrina victims. Way too little, way, way too late, you miserable bucket of spooge.

That ain’t rehab in my book.

Even the libertarians are jumping on him:

According to press reports, McClellan says that the Bush administration lied to him about everything, all the time. Which sounds about right, though one gets to wondering either just how clever McClellan is or how dumb he is that it took him so long to figure that out.

No, Captain Ed, the fringe isn’t going to try to “rehab” this dick.

What will be funny is watching Bush sycophants attack him because he has dared to speak ill of W. That will be entertaining.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « The Wrong Take
Next Post: Stanley Cup Game Three- Pens/Red Wings »

Reader Interactions

135Comments

  1. 1.

    Andrew

    May 28, 2008 at 1:16 pm

    You know, you could have just written…

    Captain Ed is a huge asshole.

    …rather than going and proving it.

  2. 2.

    JGabriel

    May 28, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    No rehab here either. From WaPo, Anne Kornblut online Q & A:

    SW Nebraska: Will any future president be able to do the job on the press, Congress and the public that George Bush has been able to do? … It seems that McClellan has taken the press to task in his book. Will the press be so cooperative with a President again or has the media been reminded that they actually have an important, difficult job to do?

    Anne E. Kornblut: I haven’t read McClellan’s book yet, but really look forward to it, especially on the point you raise. My immediate reaction upon hearing he’d said that was, “Wait, what!? Isn’t it the job of those employed at the White House to be straightforward in the first place?” In my experience, reporters do know the importance of the job, and face many obstacles in trying to get information (especially from this administration). But I also do think all of our efforts have been redoubled over the last few years. I’m so proud of my colleagues at the Post who covered Walter Reed for that very reason.

    …

    Columbia, Mo.: A pet peeve from flyover country! Please, please, please ask your fellow pundits and journalists to quit assuming that many issues don’t matter “outside the Beltway”–for example John McCain’s lobbyist issues. Not true. We in flyover country are very aware of seemingly “small” issues that we are often told “don’t matter to the rest of the country”. I’m sick of this attitude–it’s as if (especially TV) journalists are making the decisions about what is important to the voters. Please encourage your fellow pundits and journalists to keep those opinions to themselves, as we voters have the intelligence to discern this for ourselves.

    Anne E. Kornblut: Thank you for the input! Seriously, it’s so good to hear. The good news is, most reporters have spent the last six months traveling through all 50 states plus Puerto Rico, so we’ve all gotten greater-than-usual exposure to your states. And something tells me we’ll be in Missouri for the general. But I will also pass on your request!

    …

    Toronto: Am I correct in thinking that in modern times, it has been rare for VP picks to have beards? If so, how does this affect the chances of say, Bill Richardson or Charlie Crist?

    Anne E. Kornblut: I have not pursued this particular line of inquiry, but I love it, and thus I shall.

    Oh yeah, there’s gonna be BIG improvements in MSM reporting this election cycle. I’m really looking forward to the investigative report on the history of beards in the Vice-Presidency.

    Jackasses.

  3. 3.

    r€nato

    May 28, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    as I predicted yesterday (not that it was hard to predict), the WH is going for the ‘disgruntled former employee’ smear.

    How’s that ‘making a buck off both sides’ strategy working out for ya, Simple Scotty? Not very well, it seems.

  4. 4.

    Incertus

    May 28, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    Proving once again that the right wing is convinced that we’re just like them, only with different policy issues. Sorry “Captain” Ed, some of us do actually have principles.

  5. 5.

    SamFromUtah

    May 28, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    …to the Left a man of extraordinary ability chased out of his job by Bush’s minions.

    Actually, I could imagine that one or two of the dimmer bluenecks at D.U. might say something like this in comments, and that could well be good enough for Special Ed to claim that the entire Left is saying it.

  6. 6.

    r€nato

    May 28, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    I’m really looking forward to the investigative report on the history of beards in the Vice-Presidency.

    there are certainly plenty of beards in the GOP…

  7. 7.

    passerby

    May 28, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    the Rude Pundit:

    Hopefully, the book will tank, and McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels. Screw this obsequious pig-fucking son of a bitch, this grubby little man-whore, attempting to purge his soul of the taint and stench of death and sorrow while pulling in a buck or two. He’s not honorable enough to have fallen on his sword, rhetorically or literally. And he’s not even loyal enough to have shut the fuck up (at least an admirable quality in the abstract). He deserves a room in Hell lined with televisions playing his sneering statements of complicity on an endless loop while he’s forced to sit on a couch made of the bloated corpses of Katrina victims. Way too little, way, way too late, you miserable bucket of spooge.

    That ain’t rehab in my book.

    LOL! No, it’s not rehabbing weenee McClellan in my book either. Sums things up pretty nicely in fact.

    T

    Thanks for serving up that post, John. I found it to be hilarious and gratifying.

  8. 8.

    JGabriel

    May 28, 2008 at 1:25 pm

    Captain Ed:

    To the Right, McClellan will have been the worst press secretary of modern times, and to the Left a man of extraordinary ability…

    A man of extraordinary ability? Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah:

    John Hinderaker:

    It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can’t get anyone to notice.

    It’s funny when they start eating their own.

    .

  9. 9.

    Blondie

    May 28, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    God Bless the Rude Pundit (and John).

  10. 10.

    Andrew

    May 28, 2008 at 1:27 pm

    Anne E. Kornblut: I haven’t read McClellan’s book yet, but really look forward to it, especially on the point you raise. My immediate reaction upon hearing he’d said that was, “Wait, what!? Isn’t it the job of those employed at the White House to be straightforward in the first place?”

    My immediate reaction upon hearing Anne E. Kornblut bring the stupid is that my dear departed border collie would be a better reporter.

  11. 11.

    The Moar You Know

    May 28, 2008 at 1:27 pm

    Here’s a better question; can we find anyone who doesn’t think Scotty would look better with a boot lodged in his ass?

  12. 12.

    McMartin

    May 28, 2008 at 1:30 pm

    Are we allowed to use the tired old “He’s trying to sell a book!” line now that the shoe is on the other foot?

  13. 13.

    cleek

    May 28, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    His status as favored punching bag for the hard Left…

    bbzzzzzzt!

    Disingenuous Wingnut Rhetoric Marker Detected: Aborting Text Read.

  14. 14.

    byproxy

    May 28, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    I think it is interesting that as the right is busy pillorying McClellan’s abilities as a front-man, it has largely failed to dispute any of the accusations in his book that are being reported.

    The guy’s ability as a spokesperson has nothing to do with whether or not he encountered Rove in a cover-up.

  15. 15.

    rob!

    May 28, 2008 at 1:35 pm

    McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels

    who gets the nickels?

  16. 16.

    demimondian

    May 28, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    My immediate reaction upon hearing he’d said that was, “Wait, what!? Isn’t it the job of those employed at the White House to be straightforward in the first place?”

    What she chose to suppress — as she and her colleagues have, for the past seven years — was her immediate snigger, “Yeah, right. Well, at least the rubes believe that. Now, about those bearded VP candidates…”

  17. 17.

    Mr Furious

    May 28, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    I don’t want to simply paste it in here, because it needs the visual accompaniment…
    My thoughts on McLellan are here.

  18. 18.

    milo

    May 28, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    rob! Says:

    McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels

    who gets the nickels?

    rob! wins.

  19. 19.

    SnarkyShark

    May 28, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    The righties always assume we will do the same thing they would have.

    Keep on keeping on dickheads. Thats why you have been and will continue to keep getting your ass handed to you.

    Inability to adapt(thinking outside your little box) has always been a species killer.

    Plus you know what they say about assuming.

  20. 20.

    syl

    May 28, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    The Captain’s claim doesn’t even pass a simple logic test though (I know).

    McClellan’s claim (the one that the “Hard Left” would, allegedly, be spinning to make true) is that he lied all the time, or in the alternative that he was too dumb to know he was being lied too all the time. How does casting McClellan as a “good” press secretary make that claim stronger?

    Wouldn’t the expected response from liberal commentators be, “We’ve said all along that McClellan was a shitty press secretary that lied all the time, now even he agrees with us.”?

  21. 21.

    Brachiator

    May 28, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Hopefully, the book will tank, and McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels. Screw this obsequious pig-fucking son of a bitch, this grubby little man-whore, attempting to purge his soul of the taint and stench of death and sorrow while pulling in a buck or two. He’s not honorable enough to have fallen on his sword, rhetorically or literally. And he’s not even loyal enough to have shut the fuck up (at least an admirable quality in the abstract). He deserves a room in Hell lined with televisions playing his sneering statements of complicity on an endless loop while he’s forced to sit on a couch made of the bloated corpses of Katrina victims. Way too little, way, way too late, you miserable bucket of spooge.

    I’m shocked, shocked, to find out that a White House Press Secretary lied to the public.

    I don’t think that McClellan deserves a room in hell. He should instead be interviewed on Fox news by all the Bush enablers, with Bill Kristol providing a cameo appearance. The echo chamber of lies, denials and rationalizations will make for great, if pathetic, comedy relief.

    SW Nebraska: Will any future president be able to do the job on the press, Congress and the public that George Bush has been able to do? … It seems that McClellan has taken the press to task in his book. Will the press be so cooperative with a President again or has the media been reminded that they actually have an important, difficult job to do?

    The short answer is, of course the press will be duped again. The press, and in particular the White House press corps, get a thrill out of being invited to dinners with Beltway insiders, of bellying up to the important and the powerful, of being able to brag that they know a guy who knows a guy who is a mucky muck in the X Administration. Covering the news honestly and informing the public barely registers on their “to do” list.

  22. 22.

    SamFromUtah

    May 28, 2008 at 1:49 pm

    The short answer is, of course the press will be duped again.

    They already have. Hence McSame’s nickname “St. BBQ”.

  23. 23.

    Zifnab

    May 28, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    No, Captain Ed, the fringe isn’t going to try to “rehab” this dick.

    Captain Ed = Always Wrong

    I thought you were the one who issued that memo. If the man said it was going to be a warm sunny day out, I’d grab an umbrella, pack a parka, and throw on snow boots.

    The right-wing “we know what evil lefties do before they do it” projectionist narrative is nothing new.

  24. 24.

    Bey

    May 28, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    The White house is “puzzled” by his disgruntledness. Puzzled and, yes, “bewildered”.

    They probably loved him like a son.

    Poor dears.

    p.s. as we said in my youth: Don’t Buy Books From Crooks

  25. 25.

    Tony J

    May 28, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    And in a few months time, with a Democrat in the White House, the MSM will defend their new-found disrespect and distrust of the Presidency by reminding their viewers how the “McClellan Thunderbolt” of May, 2008 ripped the scales from their eyes and exposed the danger inherant in trusting anything a politician says.

    It just, y’know, didn’t fully sink in until after the Election.

  26. 26.

    The Moar You Know

    May 28, 2008 at 1:56 pm

    McSame’s nickname “St. BBQ”

    This may prove to be really an unfortunate choice of nickname should he make good on his threats vis-a-vis Iran.

  27. 27.

    Fred

    May 28, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Of course McClellan is a liar – they all are. If their address was our WH, then they are all liars, traitors, and terrorists in their own right. So Scotty wrote a book? Its a sure bet our beloved idiot in chief is not capable of reading it. Bush doesn’t ‘remember’ snorting cocaine? Do you right siders really believe that? Yeah, and Clinton didn’t inhale – yeah, sure. All the rats are jumping ship – Bush is toxic. I thank the right siders for making his downfall so very easy. You supported and revered an imbecile; now you get what you don’t deserve – you get your country back. I accept your apology.

  28. 28.

    Tsulagi

    May 28, 2008 at 2:20 pm

    Seems the longer Captain Ed is in the Malkin submissive stable at Hot Air the more delusional he becomes. Who the hell would want to “rehabilitate” or put that little dweeb, McClellan, on a pedestal? All the stuff in the advance excerpts I’ve read so far about the admin ginning up an unnecessary war, lying, the press not doing its job, etc. falls firmly in the “No Shit” category. No revelations from Scotty there.

    McClellan was just a shorter version of Baghdad Bob. Whether willfully or just cluelessly repeating the admin’s “propaganda” lies (call it what it was), Scotty projected all the stature and truthiness of B. Bob.

    At least Baghdad Bob was a lot funnier. Like when he was giving press conferences saying U.S. soldiers were running away and committing suicide in the desert rather than face Iraqi forces, while in the background behind Bob you could see M1s doing thunder runs in downtown Baghdad. Cracked me up. Baghdad Bob had flair. McClellan would just sweat and squirm while telling lies. No quality anywhere in this administration. Better assholes, please

  29. 29.

    HumboldtBlue

    May 28, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    The commenters at Red State are precious. “He sucked at his job” … “he was useless and now he’s biting the hand that fed him” … nothing about his claims that the whole fucking Bush administration has been a complete and utter moral and ethical clusterfuck, just that McClellan sucked at his job.

    How does one rate a press secretary anyway? Is it by the vehemence he uses to spout lies? I mean, the job is one of obfuscation, so I would say that Scotty was a pretty damned good pres secretary, if you want to lie your nation into a war.

  30. 30.

    Ripley

    May 28, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    On the plus side, he did knock down the Sun Sphere.

  31. 31.

    nightjar

    May 28, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    Then there’s this nugget on McClellan from Jules Crittenden. It has a wisp of wingnut honesty, if there is such a thing.

    There’s always a demand for a professional liar. There’s always a demand for professional saps who will swallow and spit up whatever you want. The thing is, you want your hired gun to stay bought

  32. 32.

    kid bitzer

    May 28, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    the rude pundit does a good job living up to the name–rude and funny, too.

    but will the press ever get aggressive again?

    sure it will: as soon as there is a democratic in the white house.

    then the press will go all attack dog, all the time, on issues of the same urgency as whitewater, the travel office, and gore’s choice of sweaters.

    they are capable of attacking. they’re just in the tank for the republicans–a combination of sycophancy and fear. battered spouse syndrome.

    and that remains true despite the fact that a majority of journo’s skew somewhat liberal in their personal politics. they may have personal views somewhat to the left of median voter. but years of being beaten and bullied by the right wing has left them a cowering puddle of pusillanimity.

    so we can look forward to many more years of republicans getting a free pass no matter what they do, and democrats getting raked over the coals for non-issues.

  33. 33.

    ThymeZone

    May 28, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    The problem with selling out to crapheads is that if you turn on them, the people who critized you for doing it at the time won’t make you their hero, and the people you served while you were doing it will demonize you.

    Which is a reason, you know, not to sell out to crapheads in the first place. A fact that a lot of people in Washington are no doubt contemplating right now.

    My comforting words to them: Fuck you. You fucked us, so fuck you very much.

  34. 34.

    Chuck Butcher

    May 28, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    I got the news about the proposed book when it hit the publishing online rags so I tossed off a post. My site was buried for a couple days due to a confluence between the date and my title and Google’s search protocols.

    At 5PM my sitemeter went nuts, so I looked. Still on google at #1. I think it’s funny, people are winging into an 11/07 post that says “so what”

  35. 35.

    Gus

    May 28, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    I always found McLellan a repellent beady eyed prick, and that hasn’t changed. What I really want to see is some archival material in which Scotty Flopsweat is praised to high heaven by some wingnut hack and contrast that with what said hack is now saying about him.

  36. 36.

    Zifnab

    May 28, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    And in a few months time, with a Democrat in the White House, the MSM will defend their new-found disrespect and distrust of the Presidency by reminding their viewers how the “McClellan Thunderbolt” of May, 2008 ripped the scales from their eyes and exposed the danger inherant in trusting anything a politician says.

    It just, y’know, didn’t fully sink in until after the Election.

    I call bullshit. If McCain gets elected, none of that will ever happen. Suggesting that it would happen to a Democrat just proves that you’re a raging BDS gay-kissing welfare racist liberal.

  37. 37.

    Dreggas

    May 28, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    Tsulagi Says:

    Seems the longer Captain Ed is in the Malkin submissive stable at Hot Air the more delusional he becomes. Who the hell would want to “rehabilitate” or put that little dweeb, McClellan, on a pedestal? All the stuff in the advance excerpts I’ve read so far about the admin ginning up an unnecessary war, lying, the press not doing its job, etc. falls firmly in the “No Shit” category. No revelations from Scotty there.

    That gives submissives a bad name and I am sure being in that stable would violate SSC and even if it was Consentual doesn’t mean it is safe, or sane for that matter.

  38. 38.

    Billy K

    May 28, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    The truth will be somewhere in the middle.

    Atrios was just talking about this yesterday. Why is the truth always in the middle? Is it just easier for small minds that way? Believe it or not, sometime one side is wrong – or a LOT wronger – than the other. Why are we stuck with this idea of “the middle” being pure and correct?

  39. 39.

    Billy K

    May 28, 2008 at 2:44 pm

    Also, people seem to be forgetting McClellan comes from a political family. His mother ran for Governator here in Texas last election. She’s been part of the GOP machine for decades, as has he. He’s probably just worried his association with the Bush crime family will keep him from hooking up with a different syndicate – or getting his mother and/or who knows what other family member elected.

  40. 40.

    cleek

    May 28, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    oooh. nice one, wingnuts! McClellan is a Hamas apologist !

  41. 41.

    Wilfred

    May 28, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be,” McClellan writes. He also blames the media whose questions he fielded, calling them “complicit enablers” in the White House campaign to manipulate public opinion toward the need for war.

    What’s done is done. What’s important now is to recognize and challenge the ‘complicit enablers’ of the Bomb Iran movement. The same strategies of manipulation are starting again, although probably with a bit more sophistication. We can’t throw pies in Bush’s face, but his scumbag enablers in the press corps are fair game.

  42. 42.

    blogenfreude

    May 28, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Too late Scotty … you have the blood of hundreds of thousands on your hands, just like the rest of them. At least you might donate your book proceeds to the families of those hundreds of thousands of Iraqis you helped kill.

  43. 43.

    Dennis - SGMM

    May 28, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    Has Tony Snow issued his “Nuh-Uh!” editorial denial yet?

  44. 44.

    montysano

    May 28, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    Where is this “Hard Left” of which Hannity and his ilk speak? I’ve been looking for them for years, and all I can find are a bunch of corporate fluffers and lame wafflers. Kucinich wandered in the general neighborhood of Left and was quickly sent packing. Now we’re left with a pack of weasels who tremble at the thought of being called “liberal”, and I sadly include the MUP in this crowd.

  45. 45.

    ThymeZone

    May 28, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    Why are we stuck with this idea of “the middle” being pure and correct?

    Two reasons. One, it’s easy, while really understanding the two (or six) different views is hard.

    Two, it gives the appearance of fairness and balance to people who don’t understand what those things really are.

    In the latter view, “fair” means saying that the truth lies somewhere between the idea that 2+2=5 and the idea that 2+2=4. So let’s call it 4.5. That’s … balanced.

    Pilots (ones like me with weird senses of humor) used to tell the Mountain At Night joke:

    Flying at night, over an area not covered by our chart, we know a mountain is nearby that is either 6,000 or 7,000 feet high, can’t remember which. Solution? Split the difference, and fly at 6,500 feet!

    Funny, if you are a pilot. But when you have the relationship between government and public information working that way, toxic.

  46. 46.

    sidereal

    May 28, 2008 at 2:57 pm

    to the Left a man of extraordinary ability chased out of his job by Bush’s minions

    Do me a solid and store that little nugget away somewhere in Tupperware so the next time there’s any question as to whether Captain Ed knows his elbow from his ass when it comes to what liberals think you can trot it out and provide the definitive answer.

    I like to think I have a pretty good understanding of conservative motivations and mindsets. I don’t agree with them, but I can predict them to a pretty high degree of accuracy. Captain Ed obviously has no fucking idea what anyone thinks, and I would hope that would disqualify him from any rhetorical authority whatsoever.

  47. 47.

    Darkness

    May 28, 2008 at 2:57 pm

    You know, rehabbing him may have have happened in the past, but the past is gone and people are too pissed off to play nice like that, even for political advantage. Blood will be the only quencher of the fire now.

    >tremble at the thought of being called “liberal”

    So true. Long past time to redeem the term. Maybe it can piggyback on the word “bitch” because I’d like to do more liberal bitching myself.

  48. 48.

    Aaron

    May 28, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    how bout this for the ad blurb:
    “DC’s own Bahgdad Bob justifies his lies to the American People!”

  49. 49.

    jibeaux

    May 28, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    It’s amusing that the Cap’n thinks that we have to “rehabilitate” lame-o johnny-come-latelys like McClellan to somehow prop up our case against Bush. Because we’re so light on ammunition or something. Because there are so few people who dislike Bush, we have to seize on them all and hold them up for adulation.

    McClellan ain’t no Richard Clarke, and he’s more than a couple of years too late to boot.

  50. 50.

    ThymeZone

    May 28, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    Also, people seem to be forgetting McClellan comes from a political family. His mother ran for Governator here in Texas last election. She’s been part of the GOP machine for decades, as has he. He’s probably just worried his association with the Bush crime family will keep him from hooking up with a different syndicate – or getting his mother and/or who knows what other family member elected.

    Isn’t this basically just the advanced version of “he’s just trying to sell a book?” Handy for, let’s see … people who are in fact just trying to sell a book?

  51. 51.

    Darkness

    May 28, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    McCain as president would send the press corps(e) into Reagan II mode. God it would be ugly. I’d have to become a monk, I think. Or move to a remote island and break the tv so it only received the weather channel.

    NYT: Mr. McClellan writes that President Bush “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment,” and has engaged in “self-deception” to justify his political ends.

    Oh, news fucking flash. I’m so freaking tired of this society of willful morons, I almost can’t take it any more.

  52. 52.

    Dennis - SGMM

    May 28, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    Dana Peroxide weighs in:

    From NBC’s Les Kretman
    White House press secretary Dana Perino released this statement on Scott McClellan’s critical book on the Bush White House:

    “Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. For those of us who fully supported him, before, during and after he was press secretary, we are puzzled. It is sad — this is not the Scott we knew.”

    More from Perino: “The book, as reported by the press, has been described to the president. I do not expect a comment from him on it — he has more pressing matters than to spend time commenting on books by former staffers.”

  53. 53.

    Billy K

    May 28, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    Isn’t this basically just the advanced version of “he’s just trying to sell a book?” Handy for, let’s see … people who are in fact just trying to sell a book?

    No, I see it as he’s trying to scrub his/his family’s reputation so they can continue to do what it is they do. Now, snitching is not a good way to show the other criminal GOPers you’re trustworthy, but I think after this Administration is gone, anyone with the stink of Bush on them will be left out, so it’s better to snitch and distance than be loyal to the most odious Republican ever.

  54. 54.

    ThymeZone

    May 28, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    Hopefully, the book will tank, and McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels. Screw this obsequious pig-fucking son of a bitch, this grubby little man-whore, attempting to purge his soul of the taint and stench of death and sorrow while pulling in a buck or two. He’s not honorable enough to have fallen on his sword, rhetorically or literally. And he’s not even loyal enough to have shut the fuck up (at least an admirable quality in the abstract). He deserves a room in Hell lined with televisions playing his sneering statements of complicity on an endless loop while he’s forced to sit on a couch made of the bloated corpses of Katrina victims. Way too little, way, way too late, you miserable bucket of spooge.

    Tsk, damning with faint praise.

    BTW, “an admirable quality in the abstract” is dog whistle for the Washington Ethic: Loyalty is the last refuge of scoundrels. No matter how badly or how many you fucked over, you can still be okay if you are just loyal to the cause (the boss, the machine, the party).

    In DC, they live by this code.

  55. 55.

    Delia

    May 28, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    Mmmm …. I’m waiting for when Dana jumps into the self-exculpatory memoir biz. Should be a laff.

  56. 56.

    patroclus

    May 28, 2008 at 3:21 pm

    I realize that rehabbing George McClellan is taking a long time but, then again, his policy of never engaging the Army of Northern Virginia was exacerbating to the naive, inexperienced, one-term Congressman from Illinois who happened to be President at the time.

  57. 57.

    patroclus

    May 28, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    Oh! You meant Scott – er, nevermind! You mean this isn’t the Civil War blog??!!

  58. 58.

    rob!

    May 28, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    thanks, milo.

    Ripley Says:

    On the plus side, he did knock down the Sun Sphere.

    …is that the obscure Simpsons reference i think it is? are you saying Scott McLellan is like Martin Prince?

    if so, brilliant!

  59. 59.

    Brachiator

    May 28, 2008 at 3:27 pm

    More from Perino: “The book, as reported by the press, has been described to the president. I do not expect a comment from him on it—he has more pressing matters than to spend time commenting on books by former staffers.”

    Actually, President Doofus was in Mesa, Arizona speechifying up a storm as only he can (President Bush Visits Silverado Cable Company, Discusses Economy, Tax Relief):

    THE PRESIDENT: These two brothers started this company with five employees —

    MR. BOB SIMPSON: Five employees.

    THE PRESIDENT: How many you got now?

    MR. BOB SIMPSON: We have 70.

    THE PRESIDENT: Seventy. One of the things that’s important in law is to encourage certain behavior, and the stimulus package we passed encouraged investment. And so the — these guys were showing me a new laser machine they purchased this year, and they purchased it this year because the stimulus package provided a tax incentive to do that. And the reason why that’s important is when the economy slowed down, we wanted to stimulate activity.

    And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there’s jobs at the machine-making place …

    And so I’m thrilled to be with you. Congratulations —

    MR. BOB SIMPSON: It’s our pleasure. Thank you so much.

    THE PRESIDENT: Congratulations on being dreamers and doers.

    MR. MITCH SIMPSON: Thank you Mr. President.

    THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sir. Loved meeting your employees, too.

    MR. BOB SIMPSON: Well, if you have just a minute I have a few more back there.

    THE PRESIDENT: All right, good. Thank you.

  60. 60.

    rob!

    May 28, 2008 at 3:29 pm

    I’m waiting for when Dana jumps into the self-exculpatory memoir biz.

    nah. it’ll be her, sara taylor, and condi rice in Playboy’s “Girls with Bush” theme issue.

  61. 61.

    sean

    May 28, 2008 at 3:31 pm

    am i the only one that caught the joke JGabriel posted @ 1:19?

    Toronto: Am I correct in thinking that in modern times, it has been rare for VP picks to have beards? If so, how does this affect the chances of say, Bill Richardson or Charlie Crist?

    Anne E. Kornblut: I have not pursued this particular line of inquiry, but I love it, and thus I shall.

  62. 62.

    Punchy

    May 28, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    It’s clear from his fat ass and waistline that Scotty is just trying to earn a few ducats to keep shoveling the bearclaws and Ho-Ho’s down his top hole.

  63. 63.

    dr. bloor

    May 28, 2008 at 3:36 pm

    I’m really looking forward to the investigative report on the history of beards in the Vice-Presidency.

    There’s a pretty good joke to be had here involving Dick Cheney, Vice-Presidential “beards” and Lynne Cheney’s literary girl-centric inclinations, but I can’t quite piece it together.

  64. 64.

    boadicea

    May 28, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Also, people seem to be forgetting McClellan comes from a political family. His mother ran for Governator here in Texas last election. She’s been part of the GOP machine for decades, as has he.

    They’re probably not so fond of her since she went Indy (after starting her opportunistic career as a Dem, and turning her coat to R when it was expedient) to run against Bouffant Rick.

    Thus proving that the venerable tradition of bitin’ the hand that feeds you runs strong in Clan McClellan/Strayhorn/Keeton/Rylander, etc.

  65. 65.

    TheFountainHead

    May 28, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    Rehab? Fuck that, his name is on the jail cell next to Perino’s!

  66. 66.

    RSA

    May 28, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    Scott McClellan is a man of extraordinary ability who was chased out of his job by Bush’s minions.

  67. 67.

    cbear

    May 28, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    Hopefully, the book will tank, and McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels.

    If that’s the case, then Alan Colmes should be asking for a pay raise.

  68. 68.

    RSA

    May 28, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Oh, great, some idiot commenter just made John’s blog a candidate for quote mining. :-)

  69. 69.

    RSA

    May 28, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Damn asynchronous communication medium! My comment wasn’t aimed at you, cbear.

  70. 70.

    Wilfred

    May 28, 2008 at 3:47 pm

    I hope McClellan uses his book to show how Bushco worked the press; who they bought, who they had something on, who they use to feed stories and how they set things up. You know, things that would help the democratic process more than just another ‘Bush is an asshole’ story.

    He knows what happened, who did it and how. While I doubt it, McClellan is at least in a position to be a sort of hero. Who knows?

  71. 71.

    Dork

    May 28, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    nah. it’ll be her, sara taylor, and condi rice in Playboy’s “Girls without Bush” theme issue.

    fixed for Playboy.

  72. 72.

    srv

    May 28, 2008 at 3:50 pm

    There’s a pretty good joke to be had here involving Dick Cheney, Vice-Presidential “beards” and Lynne Cheney’s literary girl-centric inclinations, but I can’t quite piece it together.

    Paging Jeff Gannon…

  73. 73.

    Dreggas

    May 28, 2008 at 3:51 pm

    The beard question was just perfect…

  74. 74.

    Eric

    May 28, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    Be sure to keep him, Bush, and Mcsame tied together in the our campaign to defeat and reject the Bush regimes.

  75. 75.

    sidereal

    May 28, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    The best part is that once it becomes clear that Ed’s crystal ball is a little cloudy and liberals actually still think McClellan is a douche, he’ll use it as further evidence of the depravity of Teh Hard Left! Like ‘They lack Christian forgiveness!’ or some similar nonsense. In other words, the Wingnut hypothesis:

    x is evidence that liberals are evil, for all x

  76. 76.

    The Other Steve

    May 28, 2008 at 3:53 pm

    It’s been funny watching the various press secretaries. Ari and Scott seemed to get pretty stressed out by the job, despite both having a reputation for bullshit.

    Even Tony Snow couldn’t hack it.

    This latest woman, who I don’t even remember her name, seems to be having no problem. She just pleads constant ignorance, and I’m sure not reading the newspaper or watching TV helps her greatly.

  77. 77.

    Phoebe

    May 28, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    Scott McCowardly Worm should be subpoena’d for an impeachment. If Bush were impeached on his last day in office it would still be worth it.

  78. 78.

    Chuck Butcher

    May 28, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    Crist is clean shaven, Christ on the other hand…

  79. 79.

    Bubblegum Tate

    May 28, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    On the plus side, he did knock down the Sun Sphere.

    FTW!

    Also: Baghdad Bob was fuckin’ awesome. That dude had the best comedy skits ever.

  80. 80.

    Stormwater Quality

    May 28, 2008 at 4:00 pm

    McClellan would be easier to forgive if American troops and Iraqi civilians hadn’t been dying every GD day for the last 5+ years. Ed is such an idiot. Like we need an obvious cash-in vanity project by Scott Effing McClennan to validate our positions.

  81. 81.

    wasabi gasp

    May 28, 2008 at 4:04 pm

    It takes a huge heave-ho to make a splash, when throwing somebody overboard from a sunken ship.

  82. 82.

    Dork

    May 28, 2008 at 4:05 pm

    All right, dumbasses, STOP THE PRESSES!! CLINTON HAS 80 MORE DELLYS!!

    Check out this from BTD:

    To recapitulate, a strict interpretation of the DNC Rules that follows the reasoning of the DNC Memo circulated today would require the following results:

    A. The stripping of 50% of the delegates of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan.

    B. The full seating of the Florida delegation.

    C. Should the DNC RBC reject the safe harbor provision for Florida, then Florida would have 50% of its delegations stripped, but Barack Obama would be entitled to no delegates from Florida due to his violation of Rule 20c.1.b.

    The upshot of strictly applying the rules as described above would be:

    A. In Iowa, Obama, Clinton and Edwards would lose one half of their delegates. My understanding is that this would result in a net loss for Obama of 6 in his pledged delegate margin over Clinton.

    B. In New Hampshire, the three candidates would lose one half of their delegates with no net change in the delegate margin between Clinton and Obama.

    C. In South Carolina, the three candidates would lose one half of their delegates with a net loss in Obama’s delegate margin of 9.

    D. In Michigan, Clinton would gain 37 delegates. In addition there would be 28 uncommitted delegates. A net gain of 37 delegates for Clinton.

    E.In Florida, if the entire delegation is seated, Clinton gains 93 delegates Obama 55, and Edwards 13. A net gain of 38 delegates for Clinton.

    If instead the safe harbor provision is deemed not to apply, then Clinton gains 47 delegates, Obama 0 (due to his violation of Rule 20) and Edwards 7. A net gain of 47 for Clinton over Obama.

    By my math, a strict interpretation of the DNC rules would result in a net gain of 80 or 89 pledged delegates for Clinton. I am unsure of what the result would be regarding super delegates. For example, if the Florida and Michigan Super Delegates are stripped or halved, then the same result would apply to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. I am unsure of what the result of such an action would be.

    And, if the third moon nearest Orion’s belt is lined up with the Small Dipper due to the gravitational pull of my dog’s ass, Clinton would be entitled to another 7 delegates and a new toothbrush. Or something.

  83. 83.

    earl

    May 28, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    Can someone pretty *please* define what GOS means?

    Thanks,

    earl

  84. 84.

    Billy K

    May 28, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    This latest woman, who I don’t even remember her name, seems to be having no problem. She just pleads constant ignorance, and I’m sure not reading the newspaper or watching TV helps her greatly.

    Dana Perino. She just doesn’t care, and she doesn’t even bother to pretend. She may as well just get up there and say, “we’re just riding this out til January 09.” This is the gal who didn’t know what The Bay of Pigs was.

  85. 85.

    Billy K

    May 28, 2008 at 4:10 pm

    earl Says:
    Can someone pretty please define what GOS means?

    Good OS. It’s a Linux variant. Google it up.

  86. 86.

    SamFromUtah

    May 28, 2008 at 4:10 pm

    Can someone pretty please define what GOS means?

    I believe it stands for “Great Orange Satan”, i.e., Daily Kos.

  87. 87.

    Tom Hilton

    May 28, 2008 at 4:12 pm

    Political rehab is a more complicated matter than substance rehab, and it usually takes longer than 28 days.

  88. 88.

    earl

    May 28, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    Thanks Sam.

  89. 89.

    Billy K

    May 28, 2008 at 4:16 pm

    earl Says:
    Thanks Sam.

    Ahem. What about me?

  90. 90.

    nightjar

    May 28, 2008 at 4:18 pm

    Check out this from BTD:

    Boring Talkleft Dumbass = BTD = 100 delagates subtracted from Clinton because I (nightjar) said so.

  91. 91.

    kind of an off white

    May 28, 2008 at 4:19 pm

    GOS is another name for the Republican Party. It’s an acronym* for “Grotesque Overton Shifters.”

    *Actually, it’s an initialization. Didja know that it only counts as an acronym if it can be pronounced as a word, like NATO or SCUBA? Just found that out recently, so I’ll be sharing this knowledge with everyone I encounter, even knowing full well they don’t give a shit.

  92. 92.

    Dreggas

    May 28, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    Chuck Butcher Says:

    Crist is clean shaven, Christ on the other hand…

    you know what’s meant by a “beard” right?

  93. 93.

    Jimmie Jack

    May 28, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    Maybe Dana perino thinks the Bay of Pigs is a G.O.P. pool party for Bush’s and Cheney’s WH staffers????

  94. 94.

    Dork

    May 28, 2008 at 4:23 pm

    I think GOS stands for Grape Oil Salesman.

  95. 95.

    Dreggas

    May 28, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    Dork Says:

    I think GOS stands for Grape Oil Salesman.

    Grumpy Old Shitstain? Oh wait, that’s McCain.

  96. 96.

    Zifnab

    May 28, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    you know what’s meant by a “beard” right?

    Lumberjacks in love?

  97. 97.

    Jeff

    May 28, 2008 at 5:42 pm

    Off topic

    What Dunkin Donuts should have said:

    Because Michelle Malkin is so appallingly stupid and/or ignorant that it appears that she can’t tell the difference between a paisley scarf and a kiffiyeh, we’re pulling our ad of Rachel Ray enjoying our iced coffee. We do hope that once Ms. Malkin extracts her head from between her own ass cheeks, she stops by one of our many establishments and samples one of our fine iced coffees, any one of which undoubtedly tastes much better than the crap that typically fills her mouth, via her brain, at any given time.

  98. 98.

    ThymeZone

    May 28, 2008 at 5:45 pm

    And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there’s jobs at the machine-making place …

    Just when I think this pathetic horse’s ass of an embarrassment of a president has said every stupid thing on earth, he manages to add to the collection.

    I’m not sure even Yogi Berra could have done better.

  99. 99.

    Thelonius

    May 28, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    Shorter wingnut talking point: “Stop snitchin’!”

  100. 100.

    shera

    May 28, 2008 at 5:50 pm

    OT but somewhat related: this hilarious picture at Wonkette of Bush chest bumping an Air Force cadet at today’s ceremony. Ranks right up there with “Awesome speech, your holiness.”

  101. 101.

    shera

    May 28, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    Okay, the link showed up in preview, but here’s the address: http://wonkette.com/393832/scott-mcclellan-cant-ruin-george-bush-juniors-day“

  102. 102.

    ThymeZone

    May 28, 2008 at 5:57 pm

    this hilarious picture at Wonkette of Bush chest bumping an Air Force cadet

    I find it disturbing on several levels. What in the world is wrong with this man?

    Never mind, I don’t care. Just make him go away.

  103. 103.

    w vincentz

    May 28, 2008 at 5:57 pm

    I predict that Scotty will have a very big future role to play. One that Pelosi and Reid failed on.
    He will a very important witness in tesimony at The Hague.
    He’ll save his ass by flipping, and the FUCKING WAR CRIMINALS will be found guilty.
    Mark my words. The rest of the WORLD is watching. They’ve waited for a long time, as have the “hippy protesters” like me, the one’s that were accused as being “unpatriotic” for voicing objections to the fallicies that cause so many to die for their lies.
    Justice WILL happen. Scotty will play a role to make up for his previous “assholeness”, and the real assholes will hang on the end of a rope like Saddam.
    AHH JUSTICE!

  104. 104.

    Innocent Bystander

    May 28, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    I’ll be more impressed when McSpoonface announces he’s donating 100% of the books proceeds to the real victims of the policies that he aided and abetted – our troops and the innocent Iraqis. It probably won’t be a windfall (not really a hero on either side of the divide), but it would at least mean he’s not profiting from the pain and anguish he helped to promote.

  105. 105.

    afferent input

    May 28, 2008 at 6:08 pm

    That’s funny. I don’t remember the rightwing nutjobs kicking Scotty to the curb before he wrote his tell-all. Now all of a sudden he’s was an incredible crap-tacularistic press secretary, the worst in history.

  106. 106.

    Jill

    May 28, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    No rehab from me either.

  107. 107.

    Cain

    May 28, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    Ahem. What about me?

    You don’t get any thanks, he’s a windows user he has no use for your Linux. You loser! Get a real OS!

    cain

  108. 108.

    cleek

    May 28, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    To recapitulate, a strict interpretation of the DNC Rules that follows the reasoning of the DNC Memo circulated today would require the following results:

    i urge him to file suit against the DNC to ensure they heed his brilliant legal reasoning.

    i’m sure nothing bad would come from the MSM shining its bright lights on the comments at TL.

  109. 109.

    w vincentz

    May 28, 2008 at 6:33 pm

    Scotty is the inside guy that put his heel on the toothpaste tube. Sure, he tried to sell the “toothpaste”.
    Now these mutha fuckers are trying their damndess to put the toothpaste back into the tube. Watch what these talking points will be, repeated often, from the same “playbook”.
    Their words include “puzzlement”, “disgruntled”, “poor CIA intelligence”…la de fuckin’ da…
    HANG FOR YOUR CRIMES NOW you neo-con assholes.
    PAY!
    Justice will be served in The Hague with Scotty’s testimony.
    It’s about fuckin’ time!
    The people of the planet watch and wait.
    Remember Nuhremburg. (sp)

  110. 110.

    Dennis - SGMM

    May 28, 2008 at 6:37 pm

    As nauseating as Snotty Scotty is the press that almost unanimously turned a blind eye to their responsibilities in the run up to the Iraq war. Remember when Bush told the UN weapons inspectors to leave even though Saddam had agreed to let them inspect wherever they wanted to – including his presidential palaces? The press made a big deal of that, didn’t they? Of course they asked people with expertise if a nation with the resources possessed by Iraq could build a nuclear weapon too. And who can forget how the press did the five minutes of Googling that it took to prove that the Niger yellowcake uranium document was a forgery?
    I just heard Tweety say that the press was manipulated by Bushco. My ass. They were uncritical cheerleaders for the war. Tweety saying with a straight face that the press was manipulated by Bush is just as cynical and self-serving as Clinton saying that she was misled by Bush on her AUMF vote.
    You can’t cheat an honest man.

  111. 111.

    Dreggas

    May 28, 2008 at 6:41 pm

    Zifnab Says:

    you know what’s meant by a “beard” right?

    Lumberjacks in love?

    errrr no, in reference to crist and his in the closet status though, a beard is usually the token wife/husband of a gay person, usually a gay male married to a female. That question getting slipped in there was hysterical.

  112. 112.

    cleek

    May 28, 2008 at 6:41 pm

    Tweety? the guy who led off a segment, in 2002, about people protesting the war with this:

    “Tonight, do the radical protesters shutting down Washington have a legitimate cause or do they simply hate America?”

    fuck him. i don’t care how many wingnut losers he knocks over, five years later: he enthusiastically beat off to this war every goddamn night, and shit on anyone who opposed it. fuck that hack.

    read this and weep.

  113. 113.

    w vincentz

    May 28, 2008 at 6:42 pm

    “You can’t cheat an honest man.”
    Dennis, my friend, you nailed it!

  114. 114.

    r€nato

    May 28, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there’s jobs at the machine-making place …

    every time I hear that boob talk down to me and everyone else with better than a sixth-grade education, I have to resist the urge to eat a skullfull of shotgun pellets.

    If I can just make it 8 more months….

  115. 115.

    Wilfred

    May 28, 2008 at 6:55 pm

    Not to change the subject (!?) but I read this in a Kos story just now:

    People were freaking out over the RFK stuff, but really, the most infuriating part of this campaign is Clinton’s lack of intellectual honesty.

    Can the expressions ‘lack of intellectual honesty’ and ‘intellectually honest’ be thrown under the bus along with ‘thrown under the bus’?

    Try this instead: “She’s a liar”.

  116. 116.

    Dennis - SGMM

    May 28, 2008 at 6:56 pm

    And when somebody makes a machine, it means there’s jobs at the machine-making place …

    Thanks to America’s politicians of both parties, the machine-making place is located in fucking China, moron.

  117. 117.

    Dreggas

    May 28, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    Wilfred Says:

    Not to change the subject (!?) but I read this in a Kos story just now:

    People were freaking out over the RFK stuff, but really, the most infuriating part of this campaign is Clinton’s lack of intellectual honesty.

    Can the expressions ‘lack of intellectual honesty’ and ‘intellectually honest’ be thrown under the bus along with ‘thrown under the bus’?

    Try this instead: “She’s a liar”.

    But that would not be politically correct, another gift from the clinton’s IIRC.

  118. 118.

    w vincentz

    May 28, 2008 at 7:03 pm

    Dennis,
    Not to worry. Those Chinsese capitalists (that we created) only develop our inventions and market them back to us.
    Ok? We create, they make.
    No problem. As long as we get rid of those that inhibit our creativity (NCLB advocates). We’ll be just fine, as long as we keep thinkin’ “outside o’ da box”.
    Now…back to the topic.

  119. 119.

    conumbdrum

    May 28, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Zifnab Says:

    you know what’s meant by a “beard” right?

    Lumberjacks in love?

    errrr no, in reference to crist and his in the closet status though, a beard is usually the token wife/husband of a gay person, usually a gay male married to a female. That question getting slipped in there was hysterical.

    I remembered reading about Crist being a tad “light in the loafers,” so I told my girlfriend that there was no effin’ way that McCain would tap him as a potential VP and risk embarassing revelations in the press that would make the McGovern/Eagleton affair look like a polite disagreement over who took the last danish at breakfast.

    But then McCain actually did throw Crist’s name in the hat, and now my better half is calling bullshit on me. Please someone, help a brotha with a cite on this gossipy nugget.

  120. 120.

    Napoleon

    May 28, 2008 at 7:38 pm

    Please someone, help a brotha with a cite on this gossipy nugget.

    I don’t have one but it is my understanding he has been asked this question directly during a campaign and he denied it. If I were you I would start with the search function over at Americablog.com.

  121. 121.

    conumbdrum

    May 28, 2008 at 7:39 pm

    Oops, never mind posting a link on Crist’s bearded status… I paid a little visit to Down With Tyranny! (your one-stop site for all things gay and Republican) and whaddaya think I founded? This.

    The schadenfreude, it burns.

  122. 122.

    Napoleon

    May 28, 2008 at 7:41 pm

    PS, I think I recall reading recently that at one time he was married.

  123. 123.

    4jkb4ia

    May 28, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    Emptywheel: “I still don’t recommend buying McClellan’s book. I will buy it and tell you all the good parts.”

  124. 124.

    w vincentz

    May 28, 2008 at 8:53 pm

    conumbdrum.
    I have absolutely nothing against gay people, in fact, one of my sons is gay. I continue to love him.
    That said, I do have a prolem with posers. Ya know, like the Refuks that constantly gay bash while keeping their own preferences secreted. The list is very long. Start with Craig (pleaded guilty), Foley, keep going. The GOP is filled with ’em. I wish they would just come out of the closet, but it seems they feel safer staying hidden and advocating agains “same-sex marriage”.
    FUCKIN’ HIPPOCRATES! (or how ever the fuck ya spell it).

  125. 125.

    Chuck Butcher

    May 28, 2008 at 8:54 pm

    you know what’s meant by a “beard” right?

    Evidently not, some things take awhile to leak out into the absolute sticks where I live and write. There are a handful of places in this country that more “out of the loop” than my home, by not by a heck of a lot.

    I have worked with and have friends in the LGBT Caucus, but obviously, they’re out and since I’m a hetero construction guy in a town of 10K my daily cultural experiences…

  126. 126.

    AkaDad

    May 28, 2008 at 9:01 pm

    I completely support Scott McClellan testifying for a war crimes tribunal.

  127. 127.

    binzinerator

    May 28, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    McClellan will be reduced to blowing Hannity for nickels. Screw this obsequious pig-fucking son of a bitch, this grubby little man-whore, attempting to purge his soul of the taint and stench of death and sorrow while pulling in a buck or two. He’s not honorable enough to have fallen on his sword, rhetorically or literally.

    Jebus. I think I really like Rude Pundit.

    Hmm, I think I said something in an earlier thread about this craven simpering enabler who had neither the honor nor if he ever did the shame at the loss of it to redeem himself by seppuku, as suggested by an esteemed B-J regular. Nice to see RP agrees.

  128. 128.

    binzinerator

    May 28, 2008 at 9:58 pm

    Captain Hed:

    To the Right, McClellan will have been the worst press secretary of modern times, and to the Left a man of extraordinary ability chased out of his job by Bush’s minions.

    No one at this late date in the criminal and farcical years of the Bush regime can continue to pretend up is down, black is white, lies are truth, corruption is justice, and the substantive accusations of the Left (which includes everyone who is not defending Bush or his homunculus, McCain) become the unjust criticisms of the Right, and the hero-worship of the Right becomes the sins of the Left. Not without a clinical case of projection, not without being a paid whore to “catapult the propaganda”.

    Captain Hed. Not Ed, Hed. Because he’s always on his knees fellating Bush and his friends.

  129. 129.

    binzinerator

    May 28, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    Thanks for the link Mr. Furious:

    Many writers have referenced the death of American troops and the debt McClellan owes them and their families—don’t get me wrong, he is an accessory in every one of their deaths—but they are soldiers…This innocent little girl and thousands like her, never enlisted for what you helped unleash upon them.

    And when Scotty Boy makes it back from his IED scout tour — not that I hope he makes it back — we will send GWB, Cheney, Rummy, Wolfowitz, Feith, Gonzales, Bremer, Rice, and a platoon of other neocon criminals for a minimum of 5 tours of the same. The fuck we shouldn’t. A number of those in uniform are already looking at 5 tours.

    Jebus I hate these people. Really really hate these people. For the unspeakable things, terrible things, cruel things they’ve done to so many innocent people, to so many service people, to so many citizens, to this country.

    They did it for ideology, for political gain, for personal inadequacies, for the belief that might makes right, for money, for power. And they did it from the air-conditioned comfort of their offices, sitting in front of their computer screens, with a secretary to screen calls, Fox News on the widescreen, a masseuse in-house, and a chauffeur to take them home after a few drinks after work.

    This is the banality of evil.

  130. 130.

    Paul L.

    May 29, 2008 at 9:45 am

    No, Captain Ed, the fringe isn’t going to try to “rehab” this dick.

    John Amato : Crooks and Liars
    Rove calls Scott McClellan a Left wing blogger. The attacks on him have started

  131. 131.

    feckless

    May 29, 2008 at 10:26 am

    The interview with McClellan on morning talking head shows was the first combative interview I have ever seen with Mr. McClellan.

    Funny how the media only begin to do a facsimile of their jobs when it comes to defending the president’s crimes.

    The media are collaborateurs in the massacre in Iraq the same way that the Rwandan radio was.

    And they smell the Hague, so like Rove and Libby they are getting their story together.

    Oh and just like the run up to the war, the coverage of McClellan’s book has NO LIBERALS NO INDEPENDENTS. Just scotty and the new whitehouse apologists.

  132. 132.

    pinola

    May 29, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    Doesn’t matter to me what his motivations are now, I’m just glad he wrote it. I always felt McClellan was ill at east about lying, which comprised 95% of his job. The man was just doing his job, which was to dodge and obscure the truth as much as possible.

    Of course, we all like to think we have more integrity than to whore ourselves out in this way, but let’s admit it, some of us would, especially if we really believed in and respected our ‘great leader,’ at least in the beginning.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Jeopardy! « The Opinion Mill says:
    May 28, 2008 at 2:17 pm

    […] And now, Alex, I’ll take “Useless Republican Tools Who Only Warned About Bush After It was Too Late to Do Anything.” […]

  2. The only things to be said about Scott McClellan « Ned Raggett Ponders It All says:
    May 28, 2008 at 2:44 pm

    […] The fact that he’s written a book basically saying all sorts of fun things about the inner working of the current Administration means that he’s burned his bridges thoroughly on the one hand and made everyone else who couldn’t stand him think no better of him now on the other. Entertaining! […]

  3. Martini Revolution » On Scott McClellan says:
    May 28, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    […] Too busy to blog on Scotty’s decision to rat out his former boss, but John Cole does a nice job of pointing out the sort of completely clueless or disingenuous turd-buckets inhabit Right Blogostan. You can make a comment below or link a trackback from your own site. RSS feed for comments on this post. […]

Primary Sidebar

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Recent Comments

  • WaterGirl on On The Road – Albatrossity – Ngorongoro Crater 4 (Mar 27, 2023 @ 8:39am)
  • WaterGirl on Late Night Open Thread: Everything Goin’ GREAT, the God-Emperor Assures His Troops (Mar 27, 2023 @ 8:32am)
  • SteveinPHX on On The Road – Albatrossity – Ngorongoro Crater 4 (Mar 27, 2023 @ 8:27am)
  • Suzanne on Monday Morning Open Thread: Murphy’s Rock (Mar 27, 2023 @ 8:24am)
  • Baud on Monday Morning Open Thread: Murphy’s Rock (Mar 27, 2023 @ 8:24am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
Classified Documents: A Primer
State & Local Elections Discussion

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!