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# Former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan defends memoir at Santa Monica book talk
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/alexandra-bissonnette-news-smdp-com-penned-former-white-house-press-secretary-scott-mcclellan-was-at-the-third-street-promenade-barnes-noble-on-monday/
- Published: 2008-06-18T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T19:55:27.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Promenade, #archive-import

*McClellan calls for candor in White House*

*By ALEXANDRA BISSONNETTE Special to the Daily Press*

DOWNTOWN Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan was in Santa Monica on Monday to face the cheers and jeers of a notoriously liberal crowd — and to sell a few copies of his controversial memoir.

The room at Barnes & Noble on the Third Street Promenade was buzzing with anticipation to hear the first-person account of working under President Bush during a time when the administration was under attack for the war in Iraq.

McClellan made headlines earlier this year with the introduction of his memoir, “What Happened,” in which he discusses his role in the alleged deception of the American people with respect to Valerie Plame, the CIA operative whose identity was leaked to the media, and the decision to invade Iraq, a move that McClellan argues was promulgated by a “political propaganda machine.”

Those hoping for juicy details regarding the inner workings of the White House may have been disappointed as McClellan focused his talk on his own experiences, in particular, his realization that he had been lied to.

“It was a very disillusioning moment for me. It undermined my credibility,” McClellan said of the moment he became aware that former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and White House official Scooter Libby had misled him about their role in the Plame scandal.

“The leak episode really opened my eyes …,” he told the Santa Monica crowd. “They knowingly misled me.”

In his book, McClellan acknowledges that he “\[allowed\] himself to be deceived.” When asked about the remark, he credited this to both his idealism and his lack of further investigation. Although he did note that further investigation would probably not have led to more straightforward or truthful answers.

McClellan has been a long time member of Bush’s inner circle. He joined Bush’s team in 1999 in Texas, and served as Bush’s press secretary for three years, making it difficult to come out with his controversial memoir.

“It was not an easy book to write,”he said. Despite McClellan’s accusations within the book that Bush used propaganda to lead the nation to war and that the administration grossly mishandled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, McClellan still harbors some friendly feelings for Bush.

“I still have a personal fondness for the president,” McClellan said.

Following McClellan’s prepared speech, there was a question and answer period with the audience. The general vibe in the room was amicable, with most audience members praising McClellan for coming out with the truth, however difficult it may have been.

Others were less forgiving, asking if the elections would be rigged again this year, or what McClellan himself knew about the “fact” that the Bush administration was behind the terrorist attacks.

One man asked in an almost hopeful manner if McClellan thought that his own disillusionment could be realized by others in the Bush administration — namely Dick Cheney — to which McClellan replied a confident, “No.”

“I had a great idealism to bring bipartisanship to the White House,”McClellan said.

While he is disappointed by what has taken place within the Bush administration, McClellan contends that what is needed most in the next administration will be an “embrace of candor.”

The past eight years have been increasingly divisive for the American people. What is needed now is “to restore civility, bipartisanship and candor in Washington,” McClellan said.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/061808-04_01.jpg)

(Photo: Special to the Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 18, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)