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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (125115)	5/29/2008 7:54:10 AM
From: TideGlider	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

White House rips ex-aide McClellan's memoir as work of fiction BY RICHARD SISK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Thursday, May 29th 2008, 4:00 AM WASHINGTON — The White House launched a furious counterattack Wednesday at a former top aide's explosive new book, which accuses President Bush of making a phony case for war in Iraq and buying into his own "propaganda." While the president remained above the fray and said he was "puzzled" and "disappointed" with the tell-all by former spokesman Scott McClellan, his minions hit harder to discredit the assault on Bush's reputation and legacy. "I don't think that this is so much writing history as rewriting history," White House press secretary Dana Perino fumed of her former boss and his book "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception." Former Bush counselor Dan Bartlett, on CNN, called the book "total crap." McClellan's memoir detonated with extraordinary force yesterday because its author is part of the close-knit band of Texas loyalists that came to Washington with Bush. His insider status lent credibility to his allegations that Bush presided over a series of "disasters" — from Iraq to the Hurricane Katrina response and the CIA leaks scandal. Perino said Bush "doesn't recognize this as the Scott McClellan that he hired and confided in and worked with for so many years." A prominent Republican operative was far more caustic, predicting McClellan was finished in GOP circles. "He didn't just burn the bridge, he blew up the pilings," the source said. "He's gonna be radioactive for a long time." Among other zingers, McClellan's tell-all blockbuster charges his ex-boss relied on a "political propaganda campaign" rather than hard intelligence to sell the Iraq war. The book also disputes Bush's bedrock contention that bringing down Saddam Hussein was vital to U.S. national security. "The Iraq war was not necessary," McClellan wrote, and "waging an unnecessary war is a grave mistake." Democrats mostly steered clear of the GOP infighting, leaving Bush loyalists to savage McClellan as a backstabbing dim bulb out of the loop on major decisions. "His view is limited," former White House counter-terror chief Frances Townsend sniffed to CNN, denouncing McClellan as "self-serving, disingenuous and unprofessional." Former White House political guru Karl Rove said the book "sounds like a left-wing blogger." Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who preceded McClellan in the job, told National Public Radio "I'm heartbroken about this ... If Scott thought it was propaganda, then Scott should not have accepted the job as White House press secretary." news.google.com