What Happened (McClellan Book)
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''What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception'' is an autobiographical bestseller by
Scott McClellan Scott McClellan (born February 14, 1968) is the former White House Press Secretary (2003–06) for President of the United States, President George W. Bush, he was the 24th person to hold this post. He was also the author of a controversial No. 1 ...
, who served as
White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...
from 2003 until 2006 under President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. The book was scheduled to be released on June 2, 2008; however, excerpts were released to the press a week before publication. The book quickly became a media sensation for its candid, insider's critique of the Bush administration and ran as a leading story on most top news outlets days after the content became public. It was listed as a number-one bestseller by the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
and on
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
when it first went on sale.


Content

McClellan harshly criticizes the Bush administration over its Iraq war-making campaign, though he writes in detail about his personal admiration for President Bush. He accuses Bush of "self-deception" and of maintaining a " permanent campaign approach" to governing, rather than making the best choices. McClellan stops short of saying Bush purposely lied about his reasons for invading Iraq (in fact, stating flatly that he did not believe that Bush would intentionally lie), writing that the administration was not "employing out-and-out deception" to make the case for war in 2002, though he does assert the administration relied on an aggressive "political propaganda campaign" instead of the truth to sell the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. The book is also critical of the press corps for being too accepting of the administration's perspective on the Iraq War, and of
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
for being "too accommodating" and overly careful about protecting her own reputation.


Reaction

McClellan's transformation from
White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...
to prominent critic was a shock to most political observers, and his public changeover "startled Washington".


White House reaction

The Bush administration issued a statement about the book through McClellan's successor, Press Secretary
Dana Perino Dana Marie Perino (born May 9, 1972) is an American political commentator and author who was the 26th White House Press Secretary, under President George W. Bush from September 14, 2007, to January 20, 2009. She was the second female White House ...
, who said, "Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. We are puzzled. It is sad. This is not the Scott we knew." The administration additionally took exception to the claim that they had misled the nation in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, as Perino said, "He's suggesting that we purposely misled. There is no new evidence of that."


Congressional reaction

In response to the claims made by McClellan in the book, Congressmen
Robert Wexler Robert Ira Wexler (born January 2, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer from Florida. He is the president of the Washington-based S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. Wexler was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Represe ...
(D-FL) and
Jerry Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A Manhattan resident and a member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Nadler was first ...
(D-NY), then the Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, called upon McClellan to testify
under oath Traditionally, an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths is to give an affirmation instead. ...
in front of Congress. McClellan testified publicly under oath before the House Judiciary Committee in July 2008.


McClellan response

McClellan has responded by stating that his role as Deputy White House Press Secretary during the lead-up to the Iraq War was not to make policy, contending that he was inclined to give the Administration the "benefit of the doubt" like most Americans, and that he did not fully appreciate the circumstances until after leaving the "White House bubble" and being able to reflect with a more clear-eyed view of events.


Sales

While McClellan's book advance was for a comparatively low $75,000, ''What Happened'' reached the number-one position on the sales chart of
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
, and its printing was quadrupled to more than 300,000 copies by its publisher,
PublicAffairs PublicAffairs (or PublicAffairs Books) is a book publishing company located in New York City and has been a part of the Hachette Book Group since 2016. PublicAffairs was launched in 1997 by Peter Osnos. The current Publisher is Clive Priddl ...
.


References


External links


McClellan: Plame leak case was turning point
''Today'', NBC program, May 29, 2008 {{s-end 2008 non-fiction books Books about George W. Bush Iraq War books Political autobiographies Books about the War on Terror PublicAffairs books