Pink Slips at the White House

Oh, the heads are starting to roll in the White House, with White House Press Scott McLellan announcing his retirement and multifront political/policy advisor -- and anchor -- Karl Rove losing one of his titles, just to focus on politics, they tell us. Here's some of what commentators and bloggers have said about the White House shakeup.

Former White House advisor Sidney Blumenthal's epitaph on McClellan's grave was merciless: "The resignation of the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, is an event of almost complete insignificance except insofar as the beleaguered White House presents it as an important change. … McClellan is a flea on the windshield of history. Inside the Bush White House, he was a nonplayer, a factotum, the instrument of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist and deputy chief of staff. McClellan played no part in the inner councils of state. … He was a vessel for his masters, did whatever he was told, put out disinformation without objection and was willing to defend any travesty. He is the ultimate dispensable man."

The Nation's John Nichols snapped a sharp whip on McLellan's resignation as well:

"White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan could not resist adding a little irony to the session where it was announced that he was being fired -- er, stepping down -- as the chief spinner for the Bush administration. 'You have accomplished a lot over the last several years with this team,' McClellan said to President Bush.

"Yes, the team has accomplished so much that it is being systematically dismantled by new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten at breakneck speed. With public support for the president's agenda dipping to Nixon-in-Watergate lows, and with even the Republican Congress breaking with the White House on major issues, Bolten -- who replaced ousted Chief of Staff Andy Card -- seems to have determined that the administration might need a new team.

"In addition to McClellan's exit Wednesday morning, Karl Rove was edged out of his position as deputy White House chief of staff for policy development. Rove's being delegated back to his old job of managing Republican campaigns from within the White House and at taxpayer expense.

What next for the old team that helped the president "accomplish" a 33 percent job approval rating? Let's just say that Treasury Secretary John Snow may not be launching any new projects."

The blog The Political Pit Bull has a "memories of Scott McLellan" video assembled:

"It's been almost three years since McClellan took a job that requires dealing with some of the most belligerent members of the media, and there have certainly been some memorable moments. Let's take a stroll down memory lane …"

DailyKos diarist karateexplosions put together a McLellan's greatest hits tribute of White House press briefing transcripts. Sample:

Q: Now that 1,000 convicts have been executed since the Supreme Court restored the death penalty, what is the president's view on capital punishment?

McClellan: The president strongly supports the death penalty, because he believes, ultimately, it helps save innocent lives. When it's administered fairly and swiftly and surely, it serves as a deterrent and it saves innocent lives. And that's why the president has been a strong supporter of it.

Now, we've also proposed a DNA initiative. The president proposed that, and we're moving forward on it to provide funding to make sure that innocent people are protected and to make sure that we can identify victims. And so that's important to keep in mind, as well.

There are a lot of rumors going around that McLellan's replacement may well be Fox News' Tony Snow, in what would be a perfectly fitting marriage of media and government.

Media Matters went back into the archives and gave evidence to show that Snow's tendency for misleading statements may make him a perfect fit as White House press secretary:

• Snow falsely asserted that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV said his wife, Valerie Plame, "wasn't covert for six years" before she was exposed as a CIA operative by syndicated columnist Robert Novak.
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