The most amazing thing about yesterday’s White House press briefing was not the fact that reporters were in near revolt; it was the fact that Scott McClellan basically hung Dick Cheney out to dry. McClellan didn’t literally say, “Hey Dick, you’re on your own” — but he came close.
Slate’s John Dickerson noted that McClellan “tried an unusual strategy for such a unified administration: to separate the president from the vice president.” That’s absolutely right. Consider this response early on in the briefing:
“As you know, the way we have typically approached things, that I typically approach things — I think of a similar incident when the President was in Gleneagles, Scotland, and he had a biking accident with a police officer there, and I quickly tried to give that information to the press through the pool reporter and provide that information to you all.”
This is about as direct a criticism of the VP’s office as McClellan will ever get. It was subtle, but the White House press secretary was essentially saying, “Some of us know how to publicly disclose important information. I’m not pointing any fingers — wink, wink — but when it’s up to my office, we share information quickly.”
For that matter, consider these responses to Cheney-shot-a-guy questions.
* “You ought to talk to the Vice President’s Office and check that fact.”
* “Well, people with the Vice President’s Office. I think you can probably — I would check with his office on more specifics.”
* “[I]f there is additional information you want, you can direct those questions to the Vice President’s Office.”
* “I think you can ask questions to his — direct questions to his office.”
* “Well, I think the Vice President’s team was with him. You ought to check that with the Vice President’s Office.”
* “Check with his office; I don’t know.”
* “I don’t know all the specific facts. Mrs. Armstrong and/or the Vice President’s Office may be able to provide you additional information.”
Here was the kicker:
Q: And it also sounds as though your suggestions about how to handle this were disregarded by the Vice President’s Office.
McClellan: Again, I’ll keep those conversations private.
Q: Well, you might as well say that.
McClellan didn’t correct him.