Scott tells us how the White House screwed over him for years. Even though he has good words, mainly, to say about the Bush crew, he obviously has written this book to let us know that he was mislead and made to become a "throw-away" scapegoat. I'm glad that he has included an index so that I can use this as one of my reference sources. (nice photos of big shots) ( )

First ,I am a Liberal, just so you know before you read this review. I must agree with others that the writing style was poor to fair at best. The little personal jokes and quips throughout the book felt forced and fake. I was also expecting more from this book. The reaction that people had, or maybe I should say conservatives had, when this book came out I assumed this book was really going to be a guide to what happened.
Several things in this book did bother me. The first was the way Scott talked about Texas politics. I have read several books and articles by Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower and Lou Dubose. They give what I feel is a pretty honest picture of the way politicans act in Texas. The author was either dishonest or looking through rose colored glasses in his assessment of the political climate. The way he states that George Bush was this great governor who simply had to run for president because of the fantastic job he was doing is really pushing the barrier of fact and fiction. This fantasy continues on into Bush's presidency, where McCellan suggests that Bush suddenly began falling victim to the trap of constantly campaigning and that is where things went wrong. The complete failures of the last 8 years are never really detailed in this book. Iraq, Bin Laden, Katrina, the economy and so on are given some attention, but nothing revealing. Most of the time Bush is portrayed as doing a good job but missing a few minor points.
i was also disappointed when Scott discussed the ValeriePlame affair. Why is McClellan shocked, or anyone else for that matter, when it becomes known that Karl Rove lied? His opinion of Karl Rove to me was overly favorable. How someone is viewed as a genius when he is nothing but an underhander, lying weasel is beyond me.
And let's not overlook what the author himself had to do with Bush's administration. Here is a man who stood in front of the american people and lied or misled them. His assertion that he was simply passing along information given to him is a joke. He has an ideology that fit with the administrations and he was wiling to defend when I have no doubt he knew it was wrong. I don't care if his views and opinions are different than mine, but at least be honest about it. Not a great read, maybe get it at library. ( )

It's a shame this book is instantly shoed off by Bush/Republican supporters for being 'anti-Bush' or a 'revenge' tactic by a disgruntled ex-employee. McClellan writes in a surprisingly positive tone regarding the president, and focuses critique more on the continued poor advice from his senior advisors, the deceptive 'Permanent Campaign,' and partisan bullying that plagues Washington. While Bush deservingly gets much of the blame for the consistent mistakes made during his presidency in the book, McClellan provides candid explanations on the major events that will shape his presidency, such as 9/11, The Iraqi War, The Outing of CIA Operative Valerie Plame and Hurricane Katrina.

The opportunity to step inside a presidency during such historic and important times is unparalleled to any of the past - and its far too important to be casually brushed off by Republicans who consistently shield their eyes from the obvious missteps of their this presidency. Put pride in the corner, and learn from your mistakes... because if you fail to recognize them, and you will surely fall, bringing a nation down with you.

It will take a lot of work to fix this broken machine... the first step, is self-awareness; everything after that, is just details. Read this book, and you'll be well on your way. ( )

I really dislike tell all books, and tell all books concerning politics in particular. After reading this one, my opinion of this genre has not changed all that much. I will state from the start though, that I am probably one of the most apolitical humans on the face of the earth. My only interest in our current political process, as opposed to our history in this area, is that I hold both the extreme right and the extreme left in extreme contempt. My opinions of George Bush, his administration, et al, are of little consequence here, and I certainly am not going to bore you with my pontifications in that area. That being said….
I did find this book interesting in that it gives a good view on one man’s view, and I emphasize, “one man” of the political process in our nations capital at this time. I found the workings of the Bush administration, congress, the press and all those associated with the entire process fascinating. There was interesting bits and pieces scattered throughout the book. I am certainly not going to summarize the happenings of this entire affair. If you don’t know what happened, and where it led, and is possibly leading, then you have probably been living under a rock. If you believe ever word McClellan has written, well then, you have a problem. On the other hand, I do get the feeling that the author tried his best to come across in a truthful manner, addressing the situation as he saw it. I feel he is sincere in his personal assessment of the situation.

The book is rather poorly crafted and is so repetitive throughout that it makes you want to scream at times. Scott McClellan portrays himself as misled Boy Scout, and perhaps he was. I find it difficult to fully believe that a man that can reach his high position was as blind and naïve as he claims. Perhaps this is true though. There again, on the other hand, he does not cast full blame on anyone but himself in this area. In some eyes he is certainly a little turn coat weasel, but I feel an honest weasel, never the less.

I actually enjoyed this read despite the poor writing, which does become rather boring at a certain point. Overall this is a pretty light weight read and I personally doubt if it is going to be used as a source document my many historians in the future when picking this particular era apart.

For a quick read of one man’s perceptions, for some political tidbits and some insight this is a good read. I of course feel in has to be countered with other works that are sure to come out in the near future, but fear that we will have to wait at least fifty years or so to be able to truly evaluate just “what happened. I am giving this one four stars because it did have some value as to information but knocking off at least one star due to poor quality of the writing. Where were this man’s editors?

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks ( )

The Bush administration will be studied heavily by future historians. Whatever is written by those who were part of it will be valuable. Even if they lie or obfuscate, it will tell much about them. McClellan comes across as being quite honest, and more, quite likable. According to him, and he seems believable, he was unaware of some of the lies, and did his best to represent a President he started out believing in, only to have his belief undermined by, well, what happened.

McClellan grew up in a political family. His mother was a mayor of Austin and held several other elected positions. McClellan ran at least one of her campaigns, and came to the attention of George W. Bush during his tenure as governor of Texas. As governor, Bush worked in a bipartisan way with Democrats, and did things McClellan strongly believed in. So when he became part of the Presidential campaign and then of the Bush administration, he was part of something he was proud of. But then mistakes were made.

McClellan was like many Americans. When the push for the Iraq war started, he was a bit doubtful of the reasons, but was persuaded that the President and his advisers knew through intelligence that Hussein was a genuine threat. So he became part of the selling of the war. McClellan now believes that Bush's main motivation for the war was his sincere belief in the benefits of democracy, and that a free Iraq would start a domino effect of democracy in the Middle East.

When the story about the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson broke, McClellan was press secretary. Both Karl Rove and Scooter Libby told him that they had not been involved in the leak of her name, and he did not find out otherwise for almost two years. By then a number of things had begun to disillusion him.

McClellan does some interesting analysis. He blames part of government dysfunction on the permanent campaign, where governing and campaigning become so intertwined they can't be sparated from eacdh other. He recommends the book The Permanent Campaign and Its Future edited by Ornstein and Mann to anyone looking to understand the current Washington atmosphere. At the end of the book, McClellan makes recommendations for how to end the permanent campaing and get back to governing.

Very useful book, which adds to the picture of the Bush White House built up by other books such as Barton Gellman's Angler (on the Dick Cheney vice presidency). Recommended. ( )