ProgressOhio

"What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin?”

Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, Apocalypse Now

In his role as White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan was the chief shill and cheerleader for the Bush Administration. Considered a loyal soldier, McClellan was a Bush League team member since Bush was governor of Texas. Most every weekday, McClellan dutifully appeared in the White House press room with a list of official talking points. When the questions got too deep, McClellan would – like many of his peers - retreat to a shop worn litany of non-denial denials.

We all know the governments and corporations share a common goal – controlling the flow of information. Controlling how information is disseminated does have legitimate purposes, whether it’s a state secret or a proprietary piece of intellectual property. Using the public relations office as a microphone to the world outside the organization can ensure a carefully scripted and consistent message.

But what happens when the information provided to and by a presidential press secretary, turns out to be total crap? What happens when McClellan suddenly discovers the truth about why a horrible war was unleashed on the Iraqi people?  And what happens when the messenger – having aided in the assassination of the truth - turns on his masters?

Such is the predicament Scott McClellan finds himself in.

Bitter over having been played for a sucker by the likes of Dick Cheney, Carl Rove and Scooter Libby, McClellan has exacted a surreal form of revenge in his book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception.

Admitting, in part, to his own role in assassinating the truth McClellan heaped blame on his fellow assassins. From rolling out the Iraqi war like a new deodorant to the smearing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame and husband Joe Wilson, McClellan dumps the blame on Cheney, Rove and Libby. So do Cheney, Rove and the rest of the truth assassination squad go quietly into that good night, bowed and cowed? Not on your life.

In a perfected choreographed campaign designed to rip the skin off of the traitor, the White House has gone into full attack mode. Appearing on the usual array of cable news shows, the assassins set about to accuse the assassin.

No, McClellan is not really an assassin. But he is a coward.

His cowardice comes from ignoring his responsibility to speak truth to power. In choosing his loyalty to Bush over his responsibility as an American, McClellan traded away his integrity and his soul. This makes the long knives now aimed at him slide in with ease. Had he the guts to expose the truth, the country - and McClellan himself - would have been better served.

Now some will argue that the President of the United States deserves the loyalty of the staff. In general, chief executives deserve loyalty and respect of their staff - but there is a line, a limit. When asked to enable and abet in the commission of a crime, subordinates have the right and the obligation to not go along for the ride. Even soldiers have the right and responsibility to refuse an illegal order.

If Scott McClellan’s claims are to be believed, one must conclude that he had a chance to blow whistle – and he failed. In failing to speak out, McClellan threw in his lot with the very people his now condemns. Could McClellan have stopped the war on Iraq single-handedly or triggered an impeachment? Sadly, he could not. But had he the courage of his new-found convictions when it really counted, his credibility – not to mention his integrity - would have been greatly enhanced. He is now at the mercy of a vicious pack of character assassins he once called his friends.

He's Too Busy with Preachers and Deep Pockets

While an overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate voted to support the troops, John McCain was nowhere to be found.

And where was John McCain? He was to busy hustling well-heeled donors at not one but two fundraisers. Not only did McCain miss the vote, he had previously expressed opposition to the new G.I. Bill of Rights, in spite of Sen. Jim Webb's many attempts to negotiate a compromise. In several interviews Webb, a fellow Vietnam Nam combat veteran, claimed to have repeatedly approached McCain, trying to iron out their differences.

An overhaul of the existing G.I. Bill of Rights was long overdue, but McCain just could not bring himself to find a way to support the very people he claims to honor. To make matters worse, the Defense Department has continued to nickel and dime veterans, often denying the troops the very financial incentives that drove many young people into the arms of military recruiters.

Senators Obama, Webb and Clinton - along with a majority of Republicans - voted to ensure that our returning veterans receive the benefits and care they were promised. The bill provides for increased tuition assistance, giving veterans a real chance to afford a college education.

And where was John McCain? He was busy throwing his favorite fanatical preacher, Rev. Hagee under the "Straight Talk Express". It seems that John "4 More Wars" McCain had actively pursued Hagee's endorsement, appeared on stage with Hagee to accept it and took Hagee along as a campaign shill. The outrageous rants of Rev. Hagee, have finally seen the light of day, leaving McCain no choice but to open the door and push Hagee off while heading to the next money trough.

In a somewhat disingenuous and politically expedient mea culpa, McCain vainly tried to have it both ways. He disavowed Hagee's fanatical sermons, while claiming ignorance of Hagee's raging, contagious case of xenophobic hysteria. Hagee's wrong-headed and vitriolic rants condemning Catholicism and Islam are a matter of record. And let's not forget Hagee's claims about the Katrina disaster - that the citizens of New Orleans had it coming.

But wait, there's more.

Still lurking in McCain's closet is Rev. Parsley. Is his latest hit video, Parsley makes claims so unbelievably hateful, that McCain may need another bus. McCain will need a new script for his next trip to whipping post since - like Hagee - the self-righteous Parsley has forever used the Bible as a bludgeon against anyone he feels is not worthy of divine providence.

Never shy to rewrite American history is his own image, Parsley made the outrageous claim that "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion (Islam) destroyed". A reading of the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli completely refutes Parsley's ridiculous and dangerous assertion. The treaty expressly stated in Article 11 that -

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Islamic) nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

Did Parsley not read that chapter in his high school history text? Perhaps he chose to ignore it, since his version of history is completely contrary to historical reality.

So while McCain wallowed in the glow of campaign cash, his colleagues in the Senate were busy supporting our brave women and men. Lacking the fortitude to even vote present, McCain has forever lost any claim to truly supporting the rights of the Armed Forces and veterans. His intractable opposition to providing veterans a chance to earn a college degree will haunt him as he travels he travels the bumpy road to November 2008 - in the newly-christened Double Talk Express.