Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Bush Analysis - The McClellan Mistake

This is Scott McClellan. I didn't know his background before I wrote this entry... but I've seen too many White House press briefings to believe he was the best man that President Bush could find to represent his White House.

Just as Helen Thomas shouldn't be reporting the news from the White House, Mr. McClellan shouldn't be dishing it out. The face of the White House is too important. THE BEST QUALIFIED individual should be doing the job.

I am not attacking Mr. McClellan... he's just a mistake. Here is his bio from the White House website:

Scott McClellan
Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary

Most recently, Scott McClellan served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary. (Would that make him like... Rob Lowe?) Before joining the White House staff, he was the traveling press secretary for the Bush-Cheney 2000 presidential campaign. Scott began working for Governor Bush in early 1999 as deputy communications director. Prior to joining the Governor's office, he served as chief of staff to a Texas state senator (that's getting him closer to that White House job), worked on grassroots outreach for lawsuit reform in Texas (give me a break) and managed three successful statewide campaigns. (For what?) Scott is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. (In what?)

Sounds like he's from Texas... hmmm. I wonder if his parents know the Bush family? Mr. McClellan could be a genius and that wouldn't matter. What matters is how he looks and how he sounds when representing the President. I think President Bush can do better.

Do you remember Ari Fleischer? Why did he leave and where did he go? I liked Ari - he was a press secretary cut out of the mold of say... CJ Craig.

I believe the press secretary is just too visible to not have someone who is 6'3" and slim. Tan would be good too... most importantly, they need to be one of the sharpest people in the room. They need to be witty and able to go head to head with reporters who sometimes have an agenda and at other times just "get stuck on stupid." They need to speak well and command respect. They need to be in charge. Is Scott in charge?

President Bush has a few opportunities to communicate his strategy for the remainder of his presidency. Every hint of what that strategy is, will go through Scott McClellan, and the message is going to be diluted... McClellan is a mistake.

TK

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