freemanure.jpgFormer WH flack Scott McClellan has a new book coming out wherein he reveals that people in the Bush Administration had him fronting out lies to the public about the WH leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's CIA ties.  Color me shocked.  From E&P:

.."The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

"There was one problem. It was not true.

"I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the president himself."

Do tell, Scott.  How, exectly, were "Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the president himself" involved in your lying to the public?  I'd like all the details, please.  Including when you learned that these were lies and what you did to correct the public misperceptions, if anything, what sorts of discussions were had about this in the WH, and whether you questioned the information when it was first given to you -- or just obligingly parroted as you were told unless and until you were confronted with the fact that you were telling lies.  And I'm certain I'm not alone in that sentiment.  For your sake, I do hope you were fully forthcoming about this with the FBI.  I'm just saying.

I think Kevin Drum summed this mini-kerfuffle up nicely:

Now, Lord knows I don't want to question McClellan's claim that his book was "written with no agenda other than to record his experiences and insights for the benefit of history." But would it be presumptuous of me to suspect that his explanation of Plamegate is somehow going to make it out as nothing more than a silly mistake that the press blew all out of proportion?

Nothing like a little game of pass the buck between the smarm merchants of Bushworld, is there?  Note the utter failure to take responsibility for lying to the public, the shunting of said responsibility onto others who have also failed to take responsibility for their respective actions, and the working of "the President's chief of staff" into the mix of players.  Anyone want to place a bet as to whether Andy Card gets set up as the go to fall guy?  Emptywheel caught the same Card reference, and mentions the Wells' card and notes that "just as a reminder, Card and Scottie left the White House within a week of each other--both happening just before Turdblossom's final grand jury appearance."  (Anyone else's spidey sense getting a little tingle?  And while we're asking questions, will Scottie own up to being one of the sources for the NYDailyNews story on Rove's bush league handling of the whole mess?  Enquiring minds and all.)

Perhaps, Scottie will spill all the assorted beans to get even for the Bush Administration treating his momma so shabbily in her TX gubernatorial bid.  Not bloody likely...but stranger things have happened in gooberville. 

(Illustration entitled Free Manure By Mr. Fish via Commandante Agi.)