Posted on 05/30/2008 9:14:07 AM PDT by Dan Nunn
Bob Dole unloads on McClellan
Bob Dole yesterday sent a scalding email to Scott McClellan, excoriating the former White House spokesman as a "miserable creature" who greedily betrayed his former patron for a fast buck.
In an extraordinary message obtained and authenticated by Politico, Dole uses his trademark biting wit to portray McClellan as a classic Washington opportunist.
"There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," Dole wrote in a message sent yesterday morning. "No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."
Michael Marshall, Dole's spokesman and colleague at the Alston Bird law firm, confirms the message came from the former senator and presidential candidate. "Yes, it is authentic," Marshall wrote in an email.
"In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you," Dole writes, recounting his years representing Kansas in the House and Senate. "No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm. When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years"
Dole assures McClellan that he won't read the book -- "because if all these awful things were happening, and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high profile job"
"That would have taken integrity and courage but then you would have had credibility and your complaints could have been aired objectively," Dole concludes. "You’re a hot ticket now but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?"
He signs the email simply: "BOB DOLE"
Where was this amazing side of Bob Dole when we needed it??
Thank you, Senator Dole!
Not strange at all. Mr. Bush likely possesses a Southern sense of honor, which was violated by this "former staffer." This offense begs for a 10-megaton response.
Love it!
BTTT
How McLellan got the job amazes me. What a let down after Ari.
Dole just made me realize who Scott McClellan reminds me of. Anybody who read the book or saw a movie made of Charles Dickens “David Copperfield” knows of the untrustworthy Uriah Heep.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriah_Heep_(David_Copperfield)
There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don't have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues. No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique... In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you. No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm. When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years... if all these awful things were happening, and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high profile job. That would have taken integrity and courage but then you would have had credibility and your complaints could have been aired objectively.
Thank you, Senator Dole!
I was thinking Bob Dole reminds me of Quint from the original Jaws. Didn’t suffer fools, didn’t take gruff from anybody. But when you run the Quints of the World against the Mayor of Amity the self centered lying Mayor will win election every time as Bill Clinton showed in 1996.
For the first time in my life, I'm on the Dole, LOL.
Leni
First time I’ve ever been proud to have voted for Dole back in 96.
The sad irony is that McClellan probably got the job because of President Bush's loyalty to him. It certainly wasn't because he was an articulate and strong speaker. McClellan returned the favor by stabbing him in the back. Bob Dole nailed it when he called McClellan an "ingrate."
i agree... i really did like him up until then... and then i liked him again when he retired... he has a great sense of humor...
Come on, let’s call it what it is — cronyism. It’s no better than affirmative action, and in some ways worse. The guy was clearly incompetent up there. Getting Tony Snow to handle the press was one of the best moves this administration made. It’s too bad Tony has had health problems :(
When I left government service many years ago, one of my hires was appointed to replace me. I heard from colleagues who had to deal with him how bad he was as a boss and they pointed the finger at me. My answer was, I didn't know what I was getting when I hired him, but those who promoted him did (or should have).
I don’t think I’d go as far as calling it “cronyism.” If you were elected President, wouldn’t YOU want someone you knew and trusted in the position of White House spokesperson? I know I would. It seems like a natural thing to me, and not at all negative or unseemly. In this case, however, it didn’t turn out so well.
Well sure, it can be hard to know before someone is in a position how they will perform, although SM is so dull and slow-witted that I have trouble understanding why anyone ever would have thought he could be effective as WH Press Secy.
But I have also seen someone look good in the hiring process who doesn’t pan out, or who does not perform when promoted to a higher level. There’s also the “Peter Principle” of someone being promoted above their level of competence; maybe SM is ok when given a lot of oversight and direction.
I wish THIS Bob Dole had run for president.
It was about the time that Scotty was at the microphone that she called for W to be impeached. I just have a warehouse full of "little" things that I just can't seem to wipe out of my memory. Liberal live-in boyfriend, no children (especially no sons), insulting everyone while wearing the cross...I could go on. Give me a gun, a microphone, a skimpy little dress, a hairdresser/photographer and I could probably get some guys to give up the farm. The act is old as ancient history.
LOLOLOL!!!!! I love it!!!
Thank you Mister Dole!! Excellent!!!
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