There’s a fascinating point in the trajectory of every presidential scandal — and there sure have been a lot of them — in which Scott McClellan decides he just doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s like the scene in Monty Python’s Holy Grail in which King Arthur argues with a French guard. After a series of unfruitful exchanges, the guard eventually tells the King, in his outrageous French accent, “No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.”
Usually, this McClellan breaking point takes a little while. The Plame leak scandal went on for months before McClellan clammed up. With Abramoff, McClellan at least humored reporters for a few weeks before announcing he wouldn’t answer any more questions. With the controversy surrounding Dick Cheney’s shooting incident, McClellan gave up on responses after just one day. From this afternoon’s briefing:
“Let me just say this, since there’s some follow-up questions that you all have. First of all, I think we went through this pretty thoroughly yesterday and I worked to answer the questions to the best of my ability and in a forthright manner, based on the facts that I knew. There were some very legitimate questions that were asked. As I indicated, I always believe that you can look back and work to do better. I indicated that yesterday. I think today what we’re focusing our efforts is on what are the most pressing priorities before the American people. And that’s where we’re focusing.”
And with that, McClellan was done — not with the briefing, but with the Cheney story.
How desperate was he? He played one card almost uncontrollably. See if you can spot it.
“I think today what we’re focusing our efforts is on what are the most pressing priorities before the American people…. If you want to continue to spend time on that, that’s fine. We’re moving on to the priorities of the American people…. We’re going to keep focusing on the pressing priorities of the American people, like talking about how to make health care more affordable and accessible. We’ve got important work to do for the American people, and that’s where we’re going to keep our focus…. As I indicated, there are some pressing priorities before the American people and they want us to spend our time on that, and that’s where we’re going to keep our focus today…. It is what it is, and I think it’s time to move on for the American people…. I think the American people want this White House to do what we have always done, and what we were doing yesterday and what we’re doing today, which is focusing on the priorities they care most about. That’s what we’re doing. The President is spending his time focusing on the threats that we face and how do we confront those threats and better protect the American people, and how do we continue to keep the economy competitive and growing.”
Yes, of course. McClellan could respond to the unanswered questions about the Vice President shooting a guy, which seems to have captured the entire political world’s attention, but for the sake of the “American people,” the White House is refusing to provide additional information.
They’re quite a bunch of noble patriots, aren’t they?