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.
McClellan criticizes the press corps for not being critical enough of the White House during the lead-up to the Iraq war.
Share
More from Scott McClellan
It's too much about party and too little about the country. And we need to put the country first and put the party much lower.
Colin Powell was apparently the only adviser who even tried to raise doubts about the wisdom of war. The rest of the foreign policy team seemed to be preoccupied with regime change or, in the case of Condi Rice, seemingly more interested…
This is a White House that doesn't like to look back. The president doesn't like to spend time reflecting.
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.