Kathleen Parker on Q&A Talking About Scott McClellan

When asked about this article on C-SPAN's Q&A http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YWQ0OWMxZGUwMzE2N2ExMDQ4OGUyYzc2MzJjMmUw... this conversation ensued:

Lamb: In this particular column, this is not that long ago, May 30th, 2008 "Sometimes the answers to our most perplexing questions can be found on the playground. Take Scott McClellan. Is he dishonest? Dishonorable? Disloyal? Is he telling the truth that the Bush administration conducted an organized propaganda campaign in order to lead the country to war?" What is your analysis of Mr. McClellan?

Parker: Oh wow that's, um you know I've met Scott and he is, comes across as just ah, the sweetest nicest fellow. Um, I took great umbrage at this primarily because, whether the, you know if if he were, if he sat in those meetings where evidence was being trumped up and people are actually dying and never so much as cleared his throat or raised an eyebrow, which is what I'm told by everyone in the White House, then I think that he is guilty of something much greater than whatever he presents to the public in this book. You don't sit there and listen to what you now consider lies, uh and no you walk out the door. An honorable man walks out the door. And you can go and call a press conference if you are the Press Secretary of the President of the United States. You can call a press conference. You can uh walk out and get a good contract that day but you don't sit through it for years and years and then say well I think I'll go get a book contract and you know present basically my notes that I've taken all these years knowing that these people were doing wrong. So I simply don't trust a person like that.

Lamb: Well let me take you to the other side for the purpose of getting you to expand on that. Let's say that he started working for George Bush which he did as you know, back when he was Governor and running for President and that he was not particularly high in the organization. Goes to Washington, he's in the press office and they need a Press Secretary and they say, this is the cynical view of it, send old Scott out there 'cause he'll just do exactly what we tell him to do.

Parker: Right.

Lamb: So he goes out there, and in this case it would be somebody like Karl Rove, lies to him. And he says I'm, and he's steaming about this. You talk about the rage involved. He sits there and says someday I'm going to get back at these people.

Parker: Well that's fine but you don't do that while people, if people are going to be killed by your inaction.

Lamb: How are people killed by his inaction.

Parker: Because if he knows that something is wrong, then you have a duty to say so. (crosstalk) I mean we all respond, we all react and depend on the quality of the information and we make our decisions accordingly, so if you know that the administration is lying, and as a consequence of those lies people are being killed in Iraq and American lives are being sacrificed, then you have a duty to say something, immediately. Not, not, not later, not to build your case of revenge. We can all understand that human emotion but I think the, the stakes are raised too high here for that kind of, that kind of biding one's time.

Lamb: What was your reaction to the media coverage of the book? In general. Did it get as much as it deserved or should it have gotten ah less?

Parker: Oh I think it got plenty of attention and I, I suspect that Scott has, is going to have a long career around his book. I think he did very well didn't he?

So Kathleen Parker thinks that people should tell the truth if lives are at stake and takes Scotty to task for it, but somehow doesn't seem to have the same sort of disdain for Bush for lying to us to begin with, or for herself or her cohorts in the press that have been and still remain carrying water for Bush and this illegal occupation that has caused so much death and destruction. Amazing. Well maybe not since these people don't seem to care about much other than enriching themselves by cheer leading for Bush no matter how destructive he's been. Good gig if you can get it I guess, and you're willing to throw away your own conscience as she has.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• C-SPAN
• Brian
• Lamb
• Kathleen
• Parker
• Q&A
• Scott
• McClellan

[cobwebhead]

According to Parker's reasoning, she is also complicit in the continuing deaths, now that she knows the administration was/is lying (as per the recent senate report, etc.).

[saully1966]

Parker is full of shit! The info was out there without that patsy McClellan! The media fucked us all on the war in Iraq and they have clearly not learned anything! They have blood on their hands and refuse to honestly own up to it!!! McClellan has made himself a scapegoat for the media! When will the media admit to their complicity?

[weepingforbrunnhilde]

A very good question; will the entire ideological edifice begin to decay with increasing rapidity?

I'm really unfamiliar with her work, but from the very little I've seen, she does appear honest, so who knows?

[TimTimKitty00]

i don't think scott knew for a while what to do exactly, it is still not easy going against the gop, and so ms. parker and mr. mcclellan should be praised in my judgement.

better to stop now while u still have a bit of conscience left. better late then never.

[hollygolightly66]

Now that she has veered away from the RNC talking points re Palin I'm wondering how many of her perceptions about the conservative right remain in tact.

[driubi]

he's actually has stated several times that he didn't speak up sooner because he believed what was happening was for the greater good. This woman is just trying to paint him badly.

[ho2cultcha]

most of the country knew that it was a pack of lies that we were being fed, and not enough people spoke up. yes, the stakes are high, but where do you stand on where to go from here? we are still being fed the lies, and the administration is still in power and congress is still cowtowing to them. wtf?

[xdir]

So Scott mcclellan was bad for not speaking, he was greedy for cashing and a traitor for exposing his colleagues.

But why isnt she condemning the actions of the White House, IF McClellan is right (no ones calling him a liar) then crimes have been committed, yet he is being condemned for not speaking up earliar instead of his claims being debunked.

[ArcaneKarma]

So she's relying purely on ad hominem attacks? What a snake; she lacks respect for the truth and your intelligence.