McClellan on Deck for Election-Year Hearing?

[babylonsister]

McClellan on Deck for Election-Year Hearing?
By Katherine Rizzo, CQ Staff

From WSJ.comPolitical Perceptions

Scott McClellan, meet Roger Clemens.

A political indoorsman like President Bush’s former press secretary might wind up with something in common with the legendary Major League pitcher. Mr. McClellan could be the next guy who spends hours under hot lights so that members of Congress can get a few minutes of national TV time.

Lawmakers love cameras. In an election year, they’re like kids scrambling for a last-minute date to the prom. In this light, many Democrats in Congress will find Mr. McClellan and his book irresistable. They would get not only a high-profile show but also a novel way to put the spotlight back on the issue they consider the greatest vulnerability of both Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his party: Iraq.

A hot witness list will line the back of a hearing room with tripods and keep them there for hours. A hearing that promises drama and scandal will last a couple days, be previewed on the morning talk shows, and make the evening newscasts from the day before through the day after the main event.

Rep. John Conyers Jr., the Michigan Democrat who heads the House Judiciary Committee, says a public hearing may be necessary to find the truth behind Mr. McClellan’s recollections on the pages of “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception.” In his book, Mr. McClellan describes following instructions about exactly how to respond to questions about the role of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby in leaking the name of a CIA operative whose husband had ticked off the White House with an op-ed undercutting its argument that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons.
Careful Choice of Words

Mr. Conyers has from time to time wanted to censure or impeach Mr. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney , something his party’s leadership finds embarrassing. Now, choosing his words carefully, Mr. Conyers says he finds some parts of Mr. McClellan’s memoir “extremely troubling.”

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000002888537

[annabanana]

1. Scottie is now low hanging fruit... He will not add to the info pile

at this point. We need to get a policy person in there. PR is PR.

[babylonsister]

2. Has he changed his mind? I thought he was amenable to giving

testimony. They could always subpoena him. :hide: