Scotty, We Hardly Knew Ye...

"You! Pull my finger!"

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, who has served the president for the past seven and a half years (two of those years as press secretary), announced his resignation this morning. It was greeted by the press as a monumental move prompted by the new White House Chief of Staff, Josh Bolten. Bolten had a meeting with staff recently, inviting those who were considering resigning to do so.

It was greeted by those of us who aren't in the press with mild indifference.

Why? Because McClellan's job was inconsequential. All he did was get in front of reporters every morning and toe the White House line. No useful information was even shared, nor, for the most part, any honest information. If anyon in the White House press corps was looking for a direct answer to any question, they were given empty words, or references to previous empty words. Case in point:

"As I've previously stated, while that investigation is ongoing, the White House is not going to comment on it." McClellan on new PlameGate revelations, July 11, 2005. (Courtesy of Perrspectives)

"The last thing anyone should do is politicize this issue by rewriting history." McClellan on revelations regarding bogus uranium in Niger claims, July 17, 2003. (Courtesy of Perrspectives)

"This was a report based on a single anonymous source that could not substantiate the allegation that was made." McClellan describing the Newsweek Koran story, not the role of Curveball in Iraq pre-war intelligence, May 16, 2005. (Courtesy of Perrspectives)

The guy turned his job into an artform.

And now, we're left with an empty spot that will more than likely be filled by Fox shill Tony Snow. The only real difference in Snow's reporting will be a change of venue.

Also affected by Bolten's changes, Karl Rove has effectively been demoted from his position of formulating policy to being "involved in long-term strategic planning as a deputy chief of staff and a senior adviser," according to a CNN article.

Completely untouched (so far) by this shake-up is the one person whose resignation has been called for over the past week or two: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Nobody is sure why.

I wrote a humor piece about some of this last night at Daily Kos, if you're interested in a more humorous take on the whole thing.

All the best,
Derek
(DCF)