The Trail

McClellan Throws Support to Obama

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who angered many Republicans earlier this year with a memoir sharply critical of President Bush, said today that he plans to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

McClellan told CNN that Obama's message "is very similar to the one that Governor Bush ran on in 2000," referring to the current president's early pitch as a reformer and a moderate.

"From the very beginning, I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done, and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping," McClellan said during the interview, which was taped for the Saturday broadcast of a new CNN show, "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News."

McClellan's endorsement was not a surprise. After publishing his best-selling book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," McClellan had hinted that he might vote for Obama or even register as a Democrat.

In his book, McClellan outlined deep disillusionment with both Washington and the president he served, and his open criticism of Bush and other Republicans has not gone down well with his former colleagues, who have described him as disgruntled and out of the loop on major White House decisions.

-- Dan Eggen