He and his advisers confused the propaganda campaign with the high level of candor and honesty so fundamentally needed to build and then sustain public support during a time of war.
Scott McClellan criticized the Bush administration for using propaganda instead of honesty to gain public support for the Iraq war.
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Yes. No, I was sincere at the time. Now, looking back and reflecting on that, I have a different perspective on it.
This is a White House that doesn't like to look back. The president doesn't like to spend time reflecting.
The national press corps was probably too deferential to the White House and to the administration in regard to the most important decision facing the nation during my years in Washington, the choice over whether to go to war in Iraq.
You have a lot of good people that come there for the right reasons, to make a difference, but they get caught up in this permanent campaign culture, where it's all about manipulating the narrative to their advantage.