During yesterday’s [tag]White House[/tag] press briefing, [tag]Scott McClellan[/tag], facing a barrage of confrontational questions, preferred to answer questions that weren’t being asked. At one point, he told a reporter, “I think we’re talking past each other a little bit.”
[tag]McClellan[/tag] made the comment with a bit of smirk — he knew he was stonewalling, and he knew that the reporters knew it, too — but the breakdown in communications between the press secretary and the press corps can be fixed. All they need is a handy-dandy McClellan-to-English dictionary.
* “[tag]Public interest[/tag]” — as in, “Declassifying information and providing it to the public, when it is in the public interest, is one thing.” This refers to leaks that help the [tag]president[/tag] politically.
* “[tag]National Security[/tag]” — as in, “Leaking [tag]classified[/tag] information that could compromise our national security is something that is very serious.” This refers to leaks that make Bush look bad.
* “Crass Politics” — as in, “The Democrats have a credibility problem when they try to suggest that we were manipulating intelligence, or that this is about something other than what I just said. That’s crass politics.” For McClellan, this refers to any effort that points out the White House’s mendacity.
* “Providing information” — as in, “There is a difference between providing declassified information to the public when it’s in the public interest, and leaking classified information that involves sensitive national intelligence regarding our security.” This is a euphemism to help McClellan avoid using the word “leak.”
* “[tag]Leak[/tag]” — Something Bush is incapable of doing and/or authorizing.
* “Context” — as in, when Bush said, “I constantly express my displeasure with leaks, particularly classified leaks,” McClellan explained, “That was in the context of people leaking classified information.” In this sense, “context” means Bush can say things he doesn’t really mean, and the nation should accept that or run the risk of falling into pre-9/11 thinking.
* “Ongoing legal proceedings” — as in, “That’s a question that gets into talking about an ongoing legal proceeding, and I just can’t do that because the policy of this White House is that we are not going to comment on it while it’s ongoing.” This refers to questions that are difficult to answer and/or point to White House misconduct.
* “Facts” — as in, “What I’m talking about is the facts.” This refers to information of dubious accuracy that Scott McClellan approves of.
Reporters should feel free to use this guide to interpret McClellan’s remarks in the future.