Bush’s spokesman gives inside tale

A whistle-blower’s confession always arouses great interest. In “What Happened,” Scott McClellan talks about life as George W. Bush’s press secretary.

For nearly three years, his job was to project the reality that the White House wanted the world to see. He was the spokesperson during 9/11, the beginning of the Iraq War and other controversial matters.

He writes that the Iraq War was greatly influenced by Bush’s dream to free the Muslims. Because the only way Bush could get support for his war was to play up the threat of weapons of mass destruction, Bush ignored anything that might contradict those claims, the writer says, describing his puzzlement at Bush’s ability for “self-deception.”

McClellan highlights the different personalities in the White House, such as “the magic man” Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice, someone so deft in “protecting her reputation.”

The publication caused a stir. McClellan was thought to be one of the administration’s most loyal aides, but his disclosures of a flawed government and president have had a severe impact on the White House. “We are sad and surprised ... this is not the Scott we knew,” said current press secretary Dana Perino.

Why did he do it? McClellan says, “For the better future.” It’s a good debate whether McClellan published his book for a righteous cause and not for money and fame.

Is McClellan a traitor or a patriot? What a reader takes from his book will only determine his identity. The Korean version of What Happened is already selling here; the original was published in the United States last month.

It was translated by Kim Won-ok and the Korean publisher is El Dorado. By Baek Il-hyun