What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception

by Scott McClellan

Book Overview

Scott McClellan was one of a few Bush loyalists from Texas who became part of his inner circle of trusted advisers, and remained so during one of the most challenging and contentious periods of recent... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586487000
• ISBN13: 9781586487003
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 341 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

An intrguing glimpse...

I'll admit up front that I'm not a G. W. Bush fan in the least. I didn't vote for him twice, and consider myself a true blue Democrat. So, you might be saying, "Of course, he's going to give the book five stars" because of his political beliefs. In actuality, as I will mention later on in the review, this book managed to somewhat change my picture I have of our current president for the better, all the while, giving an intriguing glimpse into his administration. "What Happened", written by Scott McClellan, former press secretary to the Bush White House, provides a very interesting look at the operations within the everso secretive machinations of the house on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. McClellan describes in a brief and accessible way his experiences as he worked his way up to his position. The "secrets" he revealed aren't stunning to anyone who's spent time reading the newspapers or following the coverage on the Plame scandal, or the build up to the Iraq War. What's interesting is that someone who had inside knowledge, "was in the know" about so much of this, confirms and denies much. I won't go through a laundry list of claims that Scott tells in the book. The overt coverage, and other reviewers, have done that enough. I will tell you that, despite his accusations and thoughts about his time in the White House, the story paints a far broader picture than these "stunning revelations". As with many political memoirs, the author recounts his childhood life and his lead up to his current position in a slow, detail orientated, tedious way. Not McClellan. He jumps into the story feet first, and provides one, maybe two chapters dealing with his early life, and most of it pertaining to when he began to work with then Gov. Bush. Thankfully, 95% of the book solely focuses on the White House years. McClellan fully admits, throughout the book, to what he saw and didn't see, knew and didn't know. People looking for evidence that Bush rushed to war right after 9/11 will be disappointed. I appreciated his candid thoughts about people still currently serving in the White House, from Condi Rice to Vice-President Cheney. His discussion on the Valerie Plame scandal is extremely thorough, mainly because he became press secretary during that time. However, and this is near revolutionary, I admired McClellan's discussion on a topic covered extensively by the media: the personality of Bush. It's clear that at first he admires the man, and throughout his time, I believe that admiration deepens. But McClellan's admiration isn't blind; he's able to view Bush as a person, complex and whole. I spent the last few years demonizing the man, thinking his public persona of being inflexible and resolute, was truly what he was like. However, after McClellan telling about Bush visiting the military wounded, and other actions done in the privacy of the White House, I've come around a bit and (here is where I gulp), see Bush as more of a whole person now. And for that alone, I gi

Outstanding book

Don't listen to all those who criticize this man for writing the book. Instead, read it, and then read it again because it is much more than just a political book by an insider in Bush's White House. Sure, it depicts Bush in an unfavorable light at times, but it also praises him. More important, it provides a behind the scenes look at the Presidency and how it works together with poignant suggestions as to how to improve the political process so that Congress and the President may truly work together. McClellan is all about inclusiveness, with politicans working alongside each other for the good of the country. This fresh attitude is exciting and McClellan should be commended for having the courage to write such a book. A must read. Please read it.

It's not about Bush

On page 116, McClellan states his major thesis: "The problem in Washington is systemic and transcends the personal flaws of any single politician." Unlike the author, I have a deep ideological and political dislike for this administration but I do share with him a greater concern for the negative changes in our national political dyanmic. This book adds greatly to an understanding of what has occurred. That is the primary value of the book rather than the media's focus on its addition to the endless debate over the origins of the Iraq War. McClellan argues that the permanent campaign has come to dominate Washington DC and that public policy is a subset of electioneering. He adds that a respect for the political opposition has devolved to an assumption that the opponent is, in many cases, evil; a legacy of the political atomization and culture wars of the sixties. The media has splintered as well into numerous outlets through the communications revolution while becoming a profit source rather than a public service department in the corporate world. Add this to a pervasive distrust of public officials, stemming from Watergate according to the author, the win-at-any-cost style of modern political campaigns and media's focus on politics as a sports contest and you have a set of systemic issues. In another recent book by Matt Tiabbi, these developments can result in a polity that "can no longer agree even on the basic objective facts of their political existance" making reasoned and consensual decisions unlikely or impossible. The Clinton and Bush administrations are less important in this valuable historical document by McClellan than are the author's contributions to an understanding of how recent developments have debased our election and governing process. I would urge people to suspend judgement while reading the book and to refrain from keeping a scorecard (i.e. who is wrong, who gets points, which party can use paragraphs for talking points etc). Instead, focus on the process and what can be done to revitalize reasoned discourse, principled governance, civility and respect for the opposition. I am a life-long Democrat who would rather see a Republican administration that champions this approach in office rather than one from my own party which extends this negative dynamic. I hope fellow Americans who are Republican feel the same way.

the screen pulled back

I can easily understand McClellan's late arrival to clarity to the ambitions and tactics of the Bush administration. To be a Republican activist in Texas in the 90's is the definition of Manichean loyalist. It was and still is the only way to succeed. He was raised in a political tribe to understand the pre-eminent principle of loyalty. And in the Texas Republican Party there is no nuance. It is black or white. There is no tolerance for grey. And there is no dissent. Bush, left in Texas as Governor, or perhaps as a US president without 9/11 might have not have given McClellan cause for deep reflexion over Bush's attitudes, behaviors and tactics. Even long storied and respected Democratic Lt. Governor Bob Bullock famously admired Bush. But the tactics of ginning up a disastrous, immoral and costly war obviously created a tension in Scott that any sound, decent and honest person would find perplexing. So I believe the sincerity of his motives and his timing. If you watch his TV presentations, I think you must trust the integrity of his reporting in the book. In other words his publisher didn't write this book. What may further McClellan's comprehension of these events and the characters surrounding them is grounding in abnormal psychology looking at Cluster B Personality Disorders. Because what he was dealing with were blatant clinical narcissists, anti-social personality disordered individuals, even sociopaths. The nation was hi-jacked by a gaggle of Rasputin's at the service of Napoleon solely intent on working out their grandiose agendas. In this case it was the renovation of the entire 4000 year old Middle East. Even the blowback is focused on `puzzled' and `Scotty we hardly knew you" and not the facts and conclusions he expresses in this book. In other words to speak honestly , rather than be admired , draws criticisms of lunacy. Loyalty trumps truth. Loyalty trumps patriotism. And disloyalty invites venomous accusations. Republic be damned. Troops be damned. With out that understanding of Cluster B behaviors no one will be able to comprehend the motivations for these mendacious acts; but also the complete and total failure for every decision or initiative undertaken by this White House. There is not a reasonable, balanced, principled person in this administration, with the probable exception of McClellan. I really can't fault him for taken a long while to recognizing the true nature of the people he was dealing with. It really is a process of decompressing and de-toxing. Dr. Martha Stout in "Sociopath Next Door' describes very well the process of how the non-impaired can be conned and deceived when in the orbit of the emotionally disturbed. It is not a simple case of recognizing a fraudulent act, but recognizing and coping with a personality vigorsly devoted to fraud, deceit and dominance. These guys conned the press, the political establishment, our Allies, both Political Parties and the American public. To hi

Insightful

I thought this book was an easy read and confirms a lot of suspicions. I think it will be an historical inside contemporaneous look at the Bush White House that will be required reading in college classes on early 21st century history & politics.