The memoirs of ex-Bush figures tend to follow a loose formula: take a slap at the old boss—gently or not so gently—then balance the tough love with some tender words. But former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's new memoir? It's more like a right hook to the jaw. A PERI survey:
Bushwhacking
PAUL O
'
Neill
Secretary of the Treasury, 2001 to 2002
Tough Talk: During interviews with author Suskind, O'Neill accuses Bush of searching for a reason to invade Iraq mere days into his presidency. "It was all about finding a way to do it," O'Neill says. "That was the tone of it. The president saying, 'Fine. Go find me a way to do this'."
"The Price of Loyalty"
By Ron Suskind
January 2004
Tender Love: If it's any consolation to Bush, O'Neill is often tougher on some of the people working for the president. He describes cabinet meetings as "a blind man in a room full of deaf people" and bashes participants for failing to pepper the boss with tough questions about Iraq, such as "Why Saddam?" and "Why now?"
Richard Clarke
Chief counterterrorism adviser, 1992 to 2003
Tough Talk: Clarke faults Bush for ignoring pre-9/11 intelligence on Al Qaeda and writes that by invading Iraq, "Bush handed that enemy precisely what it wanted ... It was as if Usama bin Laden, hidden in some high mountain redoubt, were engaging in long-range mind control of George Bush."
"Against All Enemies"
By Richard Clarke
March 2004
Tender Love: Compliments from Clarke are few and far between, and reserved mostly for military personnel and administration outsiders. His praise of Bush begins and ends with the resolve he displayed during his speech on the night of 9/11: "Unlike in his three television appearances that day, Bush was confident, determined, forceful."
Ari Fleischer
White House press secretary, 2001 to 2003
Tough Talk: There isn't any, at least not for Bush. Fleischer saves his derision for the press and its "subtle but important liberal bias." The book is as much an anti-media rant as an insider memoir, and includes an entire chapter devoted to battles with veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas.
"Taking Heat"
By Ari Fleischer
March 2005
Tender Love: Fleischer gushes over Bush: "one of the most uplifting ... humorous bosses you'll ever find." He spins "Mission Accomplished" by criticizing the press for using the banner "as a marker drawn with conflict in mind" and ignoring warnings that "Iraq remained ... dangerous"—a true statement, he says, that "they couldn't bring themselves to report."
George Tenet
Director of CIA, 1997 to 2004
Tough Talk: Tenet aims his attacks primarily at Bush's inner circle of neo-cons "obsessed with Iraq" even as the CIA was "intensely focused" on Al Qaeda. A chapter titled "No Authority, Direction, or Control" describes a disjointed plan for war, with "no strategy for when U.S. forces hit the ground."
"At the Center of the Storm"
By George Tenet
April 2007
Tender Love: The book is empathetic toward Bush, with whom Tenet clearly identifies. "In a way, President Bush and I are much alike. We sometimes say things from our gut, whether it's his 'bring 'em on' or my 'slam dunk'. I think he gets that about me just as I get that about him." He mostly gives Bush a pass, describing him as a focused leader.
Douglas Feith
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, 2001 to 2005
Tough Talk: Feith assures readers that his goal is "not to write a polemic, but rather to make a contribution to history." He goes relatively easy on Bush. His roughest charge? That the boss could "justly be faulted for an excessive tolerance of indiscipline, even of disloyalty from his own officials."
"War and Decision"
By Douglas J. Feith
April 2008
Tender Love: Feith defends Bush mostly by bashing the CIA for its WMD intelligence failures and by pointing out, in essence, that the commander in chief's job is extremely hard. "Historians will find that President Bush ... wrestled analytically and seriously with difficult problems, many of them without precedent."
Scott McClellan
White House press secretary, 2003 to 2006
Tough Talk: The first true innercircle defector, McClellan drubs the Bush administration, writing that it "confused the propaganda campaign with the high level of candor and honesty so fundamentally needed to build and then sustain public support during a time of war."
"What Happened"
By Scott McClellan
May 2008
Tender Love: McClellan is considerably less hard on Bush as a person, describing his former boss as "a man of personal charm, wit and enormous political skill" who "did not consciously set out to engage in these destructive practices." He defends his critical words, writing that his loyalty to the Bush administration is trumped by his loyalty to the truth.