A different slant

Plenty of books have been written by White House press secretaries over the years. That's probably because they are a little more comfortable with words than the typical National Security Advisor. It's safe to say that there hasn't been a book written by any of them that's quite like "What Happened."

Author Scott McClellan throws the formula out the window in his book about his years in the Bush White House. That recipe usually contains some funny stories, insight into life at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and back-slapping for what a great guy the President is. That's not here.

McClellan comes across as one angry man here. Most of the anger comes over the Valerie Plame story, in which top White House staffers told McClellan that they had nothing to do with leaking information about the CIA operative. Then McClellan discovered that the staffers did indeed know, leaving the press secretary's credibility in pieces.

It's important to draw a line here. Press secretaries may not tell everything they know, which can lead to certain impressions that are favorable to the President. However, what they do say has to be truthful, or else the media, and by extension the public, will have credibility problems with the executive branch. McClellan obviously feels betrayed here.

It's a little tough to know whether McClellan feels betrayed enough to go this far in a book, but he's obviously upset. Once he gets on a roll on that, there's no stopping him in other areas.

The two major problem issues concern Iraq and Katrina. In Iraq, McClellan has good words about the depth of Bush's commitment to freedom, but thinks America was ill-served by the administration's run-up to the invasion and by our handling of the occupation, which still goes on today. Bush's top aides take the heat for this, although generally not specifically.

McClellan also spends a chapter on Katrina, pointing out some things he'd like to see done differently if he had the chance, although certainly no one would want the chance to deal with another disaster of that magnitude.

Overriding all of this is a sense of personal disappointment that McClellan felt about President Bush. He had started working for Bush during Bush's time in Texas as Governor, and had high hopes that he would bring the same sort of bipartisan leadership he had used effectively there to Washington. It didn't happen. McClellan was particularly disappointed that a "perpetual campaign" was run out of the White House, forcing everything to be viewed through a political filter.

There are a couple of problems in a book like this. Obviously, Bush supporters are going to be angry at McClellan. They'd point out that it's odd for the press secretary to speak out now, rather than voice his concerns privately while he was on the job. You can certainly see why they might feel that way.

Second, it's not a particularly reader-friendly presentation. Some sections really bog down, and there are few laughs to be found anywhere. McClellan's comments and suggestions on the perpetual campaign aren't like to find an enthusiastic audience from "outside the Beltway."

"What Happened" does have some selling points, though. Mostly, it may confirm some of the thoughts you might have had about the Bush Administration while it was in office. As I'm fond of saying, any inside look at how power is used at its highest level in this country is bound to have worthwhile elements.