IN THE PRESS ROOM AND IN THE BOOK
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In his new memoir, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," Scott McClellan offers views on his years as President Bush's press secretary that contrast sharply with his statements in White House briefings.
On the Iraq war
Press briefing (Nov. 14, 2002)
"The president seeks a peaceful resolution. War is a last resort. But the choice is Saddam Hussein's. And we don't want any game-playing, and we've made that abundantly clear."
Memoir
"Though I sensed we were on the verge of war, I didn't fully appreciate how clearly yet subtly our messages demonstrated that Bush had been set on regime change from the earliest days of his decision to confront Iraq. . . . President Bush managed the crisis in a way that almost guaranteed that the use of force would become the only feasible option."
On the CIA leak scandal
Press briefing (Oct. 10, 2003)
Question: "Scott, earlier this week you told us that neither Karl Rove, Elliot Abrams nor Lewis Libby disclosed any classified information with regard to the leak. I wondered if you could tell us more specifically whether any of them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA?"
McClellan: ". . . I spoke with those individuals, as I pointed out, and those individuals assured me they were not involved in this. And that's where it stands."
Memoir
"The public assurances I provided that October 10 would be my final comments from the podium denying that Rove and Libby had been involved in the outing of a covert CIA official, and my final comments on any other matters which might be part of the criminal investigation that the leaking of Plame's name had already spawned. There was only one problem. What I'd said was not true."
On the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina
Press briefing (Sept. 7, 2005)
"You all are well aware of how engaged this president is in the response efforts. . . . The president has been working to make sure that we have all the resources needed dedicated to this effort, and that the needs on the ground are being met."
Memoir
"The problem lay in our mind-set. Our White House team had already weathered many disasters, from the hurricanes of the previous year all the way back to the unprecedented calamity of 9/11. As a result, we were probably a little numb ('What, another tragedy?') and perhaps a little complacent ('We've been through this before'). . . . Instead of planning and acting for the potential worst-case scenario, we took a chance that Katrina would not be as unmanageable, overwhelming or catastrophic as it turned out."
