Vieira Punts on Possible McClellan-Soros Connection

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Was George Soros behind the publication of Scott McClellan's book? Meredith Vieira had the perfect opportunity this morning to find out—but chose to punt. The Today co-anchor certainly had the time: her much-touted exclusive interview with the author of What Happened ranged over the show's first two half-hours. But even when McClellan himself put the issue on the table by citing his publisher by name and alluding to its philosophy, Vieira failed to pursue a line of questioning that could have put matters in an explosive new light.

As MRC's Brent Baker has detailed, McClellan's publisher, PublicAffairs:

is part of the Perseus Books Group, which also owns Nation Books, “a project of The Nation Institute” which publishes the magazine of the same name, and Vanguard Press, whose home page now features The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, a new book by Vincent Bugliosi that “presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq.”

Baker also notes that PublicAffairs is the publisher of no fewer than six books by Soros himself, and that McClellan's editor, Peter Osnos, who acknowledges having "worked very closely" with the author, is a liberal pundit in his own right.

Finally, Little Green Footballs has documented that there are several Perseus companies that actually include "Soros" as part of their name, as in Perseus-Soros Management, LLC.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Vieira blows chance to ask McClellan about possible Soros connection. Ping to Today show list.

[Rummyfan]

“a project of The Nation Institute” which publishes the magazine of the same name, and Vanguard Press, whose home page now features The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, a new book by Vincent Bugliosi that “presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq.”

The Nation... I smell Katrina Van Den Heuvel, and that's not a good thing!

And when did Vincent Bugliosi go over to The Dark Side? Along with that miserable putz McClellan.....

[Rummyfan]

“a project of The Nation Institute” which publishes the magazine of the same name, and Vanguard Press, whose home page now features The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, a new book by Vincent Bugliosi that “presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq.”

The Nation... I smell Katrina Van Den Heuvel, and that's not a good thing!

And when did Vincent Bugliosi go over to The Dark Side? Along with that miserable putz McClellan.....

[Ron Jeremy]

Was George Soros behind the publication of Scott McClellan's book?

So what? I have been largely busy with work for the last two days, so don't know much more about this than the headlines. But, judging from the reaction by FR Posters and talk radio, it sounds like McClellan is entirely correct. I have not seen a single person actually dispute his assertions, its all just attacking the messenger. There is no surer sign that he is on target.

[Vigilanteman]

According to the enemedia, Soros just doesn't exist. If he does exist, he'd been unfairly villified by the vast right wing conspiracy.

If McCain will turn on Soros over this, it might give me a reason to vote for him. But I'm not holding my breath.

[cricket]

More from White House coming up on Fox News. . .perhaps they will go there. .

Of course Vierra never intended to go there; why even get close to the truth at NBC. It’s not their job!

[avacado]

"But, judging from the reaction by FR Posters and talk radio, it sounds like McClellan is entirely correct."

That's some real good logic you got there boy. LOL! FYI: McClellan didn't start working at the White House until after the start of the war and the Saddam regime had been toppled.

[Fawn]

“Blows chance”? There was no way she is going to discredit him....she didn’t blow it....she avoided it.

[kittymyrib]

The msm, Exhibit A of Bush Derangement Syndrome, will never ask such a question. McClellan is simply the useful idiot to promote their agenda of Obama for President.
It will be up to Rush and Sean and Laura to get this Soros connection out. You have to hand it to that devil...he really knows how to manipulate our political system as well as he does the currencies of the world.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Actually, people have disputed his assertions. Dan Bartlett called them “total crap.” Moreover, you’ve probably heard the statements by various former admin officials saying this doesn’t sound like McClellan. If Soros is behind it, and we know that a left-winger was his editor and “worked very closely” with McClellan on it, there’s reason to wonder whether McClellan wasn’t pushed into making statements he himself didn’t entirely believe. Was the book possibly ghost-written by a Soros guy? I think these are valid questions. At the very least, I think they should be posed. Let’s get the fact out on the table and let people judge for themselves.

[AU72]

Little Green Footballs lays out the connection showing the ownership link with Soros and Scotty’s Publishing company.

[Ron Jeremy]

That's some real good logic you got there boy.

It is decent logic. In all aspects of life, when someone responds to factual assertions with anything other than a factual response, it suggests the factual assertion is true.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I noted that in my item and linked to LGF.

[metesky]

McClellan says that Rove and Libby went into a room, closed the door, didn’t invite him in, he didn’t hear them, yet he divines that they talked about outing Plame (which neither did, it was Armitage doing the outing) and you believe that?

[ishabibble]

Here is the LGF link, it’s got some very good front page info:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

[Ron Jeremy]

McClellan says that Rove and Libby went into a room, closed the door, didn’t invite him in, he didn’t hear them, yet he divines that they talked about outing Plame (which neither did, it was Armitage doing the outing) and you believe that?

I don't know, I would need more context. Did Rove and Libby regularly meet? Were they both talking about Plame immediately before or after this meeting? Did they tell anyone about what they talked about?

[Balding_Eagle]

when someone responds to factual assertions with anything other than a factual response, it suggests the factual assertion is true

That's why a lot of us were called rapists, child molesters, slavers and a bunch of other stuff when we questioned the legality of the FLDS raid.

[Joe 6-pack]

"And when did Vincent Bugliosi go over to The Dark Side?"

Vinnie has always been a democrat. He's done some pretty good work deconstructing the JFK conspiracy theorists, and I really admired his insightful analysis of the OJ trial in "Outrage." Curiously, one of the things he railed on in that book was the emergence of the 24-hour news cycle and the "expert commentators" it generated who were really out of their depth and/or areas of expertise. Sadly it looks like Bugliosi has become what he once decried.

[Kerretarded]

Got one thing to say about Scott McClellan. He was NOT QUALIFIED to be the White House Spokesman. He got the job probably as a favor to his mom. And now he is disgracing himself by trying to bash Bush just one more time before his Presidency is over.

Scott, you are a disgusting fool!

[tiredoflaundry]

BTTT

[Kerretarded]

I have not seen a single person actually dispute his assertions, its all just attacking the messenger. There is no surer sign that he is on target.

Do a FR search on keyword scottmcclellan. You will get PLENTY of disputes to his assertions.

[Kerretarded]

It is decent logic. In all aspects of life, when someone responds to factual assertions with anything other than a factual response, it suggests the factual assertion is true.

Well then, here is some more decent logic. Scott McClellan was an a$$hat when he was WH Spokesman. It would then logically follow that he is an a$$hat now as well.

[SatinDoll]

Sounds like Scott needed money badly.

[Galtoid]

How can Betrayer Scotty write intelligently about security matters and how they were discussed, when he himself never had a security clearance????

[tiger640]

“...when someone responds to factual assertions”

And just how are we to know that these are “factual” assertions when he offers NO proof whatsoever? That’s not logic. I need rock solid proof, not just somebody running their mouth for money and some sort of ego trip.

Sorry, but I don’t buy it.

[Kerretarded]

I don't know, I would need more context. Did Rove and Libby regularly meet? Were they both talking about Plame immediately before or after this meeting? Did they tell anyone about what they talked about?

You are one clueless poster. Armitage already ADMITTED to outing Plame!

[Ron Jeremy]

You are one clueless poster. Armitage already ADMITTED to outing Plame!

Even Bartlett yesterday conceded that McClellan was misled by the administration on Plame. So, it seems you are the clueless one.

[SoFloFreeper]

Look, doing that would require Meredith V. to do some digging, to do what is called in the business "research", "reading", or, more commonly, "thinking" about the issue at hand. Or, perhaps, one of her producers could have done that for her--and given that information to her.

In effect, they could have treated this interview like they were speaking to someone who was friendly to the administration, and dug around for some unflattering information.

But, in the end, the quest to attack a Republican administration takes precedent over the truth. So little Mac, the worst Press Secretary since Joe "Bug Eyes" Lockhart, was given a "free pass".

[Izzy Dunne]

I have been largely busy with work for the last two days, so don't know much more about this than the headlines. But, judging from the reaction by FR Posters and talk radio, it sounds like McClellan is entirely correct. I have not seen a single person actually dispute his assertions, its all just attacking the messenger. There is no surer sign that he is on target.

You haven't been paying attention, but what you see now is sure proof that the book is correct.

Yeah, that works.

Maybe you missed the part where Rove said that McClellan wasn't at meetings he described in the first person (as if he was there).

Maybe you missed the part where Bartlett call his allegations "crap".

Maybe you missed the part where Bush and everybody else said that it was a very different-sounding McClellan from the one they knew.

[jrooney]

Now you are making of facts troll. You will not last here long posting propaganda. IBTZ.

[dalebert]

Scum for hire.

[illiac]

Except for the interview on FOX this AM with Fliescher who was his successor and still McClells best friend.

Ari was shocked about the book because McClell admitted that the publisher, who is connected with Soros, had changed the book.

McClell actually told Ari that he thought the book would be a good one for Bush....then the tide turned.

Ari is concerned that while training under McClell,McClell mentioned nothing of what he has written in his book and Ari is totally overcome that McClall would write about this when the concerns were not raised when Ari was training under him.

And so the plot thickens....

[popdonnelly]

In other words, the book is paid propaganda.

We have to fight this manipulation by Soros and his cohorts in the news media. The MSM is totally untrustworthy.

[Judith Anne]

Was he “Scott Rittered”?

[STARWISE]

God help us if this is an example of sound FReeper deductive
reasoning. It’s laughable.

[dalebert]

lol i thought ari was first.

[SoFloFreeper]

You obviously haven’t heard Condi’s reactions, then. McLellan is sucking up to the Drive Bys, and there is no denying that fact.

He felt “bad” seems to be the bottom line about what he wrote in the book, and the press is loving it.

McLellan claims he wrote the book to “change the culture” in Washington. Anyone believe that garbage?

Three things are certain:

Getting Saddam out was a good thing.
Katrina wasn’t the federal government’s fault.
McLellan was a lousy Press Secretary.

[illiac]

I thought so as well, however Ari claimed he was the one being trained....as I said, the plot thickens.

BTW, it was early in the morning and Ari may have been first. This was on in my market at 4:15 this AM - hadn’t had a cup of coffee yet....so....

[popdonnelly]

Nonsense. If someone says you beat your grandmother, and you get angry, that means you must beat your grandmother.

[illiac]

I did a search...it looked like it went from Tony Snow to McClellan, to Ari.

[Ron Jeremy]

Now you are making of facts troll. You will not last here long posting propaganda.

What facts did I make up?

[pnh102]

Come on... do we really expect morning TV airheads to know who George Soros is?

[Kerretarded]

Even Bartlett yesterday conceded that McClellan was misled by the administration on Plame. So, it seems you are the clueless one.

“Fundamentally, I believe what Scott was saying in his book was wrong. It’s patently false. I would not participate in a process in which we’re misleading the American people,” Bartlett said.

“We’re all quite a bit shocked, Matt, to say the least, about some of these revelations and the feelings he now is sharing with the American people that he never shared with us personally,” Bartlett said in describing the reaction of McClellan’s former colleagues.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24861380/

Care to post a link to where Bartlett conceded that McClellan was misled? McClellan was not misled because Rove and Libby didn't out Plame. ARMITAGE DID!

[Ron Jeremy]

Except for the interview on FOX this AM with Fliescher who was his successor and still McClells best friend. Ari was shocked about the book because McClell admitted that the publisher, who is connected with Soros, had changed the book. McClell actually told Ari that he thought the book would be a good one for Bush....then the tide turned. Ari is concerned that while training under McClell,McClell mentioned nothing of what he has written in his book and Ari is totally overcome that McClall would write about this when the concerns were not raised when Ari was training under him.

Great to know, didn't see that. Thanks.

[metesky]

Yes.

Nobody knows.

Nobody knows.

Yet the guy with his hand in Soros's pocket claims to know.

Let's wait until the hearings, then you can vent all you want.

Of course, once under oath, there's a major chance that Scotty will be uttering a lot of, "I don't know" too.

[Kerretarded]

I did a search...it looked like it went from Tony Snow to McClellan, to Ari.

Other way around. President Bush's Press Secretaries:

2001 - 2003: Ari Fleischer
2003 - 2006: Scott McClellan
2006 - 2007: Tony Snow
2007 - Present: Dana Perino

[illiac]

I’m Mr. Turndaround” this morning...thanks.....

[Ron Jeremy]

Quote comes via Byron York At NRO: Former White House official Dan Bartlett was interviewed directly after McClellan on the Today show. Although Bartlett has dismissed McClellan's book as "total crap," he essentially conceded McClellan's point that McClellan was misled about the Valerie Plame Wilson affair. When asked to discuss his objections to McClellan's book, Bartlett said, "The particular issue of the leak scandal — that, I have to say, has to be set aside."

Now, the fact that Armitage did the original leak would in no way shape or form preclude Rove covering up their own roles in the Plame affair. And, so you know, I happen to have no problem at all with what Rove and Libby did.

[13Sisters76]

I have no problem believing this and I think he is the one who has pushed Obama to where he is. It’s becoming fairly obvious that Obama isn’t NEARLY smart enough to get here on his own. Soros and his lapdog media can be counted on for anything that aims to destroy us.

Way to go for an immigrant who got everything he has because of what this country IS.