| I happened to catch former White House Press Secretary and Austinite Scott McClellan this morning on the NBC 'Today' show, being interviewed by Meredith Viera about his new book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception.
Most of the details he divulged were disturbing, albeit not entirely surprising -- stopping just short of saying the President actually lied; instead using words like "shading the truth" with regards to the lead-up to and "marketing" for Iraq.
But at one point, I heard Mr. McClellan say "I'm disappointed that things didn't turn out the way that we all hoped they would."
"Things," Mr. McClellan? Things?
Things like the four thousand lives that were sacrificed for a war built on "shading the truth?"
Things like the marriages, families and relationships that were fractured because of these deployments and deaths during a war built on "shading the truth?"
Things like the billions of dollars that could have been spent providing health insurance, education, and other basic necessities for Americans and third-world citizens alike, rather than being squandered on a war built on "shading the truth?"
Things like the shameless and nearly criminal carbon-copy votes of your fellow Texans like Republican Congressman Michael McCaul (CD-10) and John Carter (CD-31), who continue to vote against veterans while simultaneously choosing to support and fund a war built on "shading the truth?"
Things like the debt that my grandchildren will end up paying for not only the cost to America but also the world-view of our country after foolishly entering a war built on "shading the truth?"
Things like the 'detainees' who sit in Guantanamo Bay, devoid of their civil rights and their dignity, for no reason other than the fact that we 'detained' them during a war built on "shading the truth?"
Things like the innocent Iraqi civilians who were blown up, dismembered and disemboweled because of a war built on "shading the truth?"
Things like the thousands of soldiers who will no longer walk, talk or think the way they did before they were hit by IEDs fighting a war built on "shading the truth?"
Mr. McClellan's book doesn't promise to be groundbreaking -- at least, not to anyone who already believed that we have been living in the shadow of lies for the last eight years.
But to Mr. McClellan himself, I say this: My 8th grade English teacher taught me one rule of thumb about writing. You degrade your piece and insult your audience by using the word "thing." In this case, the "things" you have stood idly by and watched happen, your mouth stuffed with a twisted sock of misplaced allegiance to a President, not a Country, deserve a mention.
Next time, if you're going to tell-all, be more specific. |
