Letterman to McClellan:

"You told me backstage Cheney was a goon"
By David Edwards and Diane Sweet | Uncategorized | Thursday, 12 June 2008

Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan appeared Wednesday on Late Night with David Letterman to discuss his best-selling book about his White House years, What Happened.

McClellen said he thinks people are "starting to get … the larger message in the book, which is really about changing the way Washington governs." He added, "I feel very good about what I wrote. … What happened, how things got off course, and what we can learn from that. … I hope it encourages more people to do the same."

McClellen said he hopes the next administration will bring an end to the Iraq War. He wondered even at the time "why we were rushing into" it, but "this policy had been decided just a couple of months after we went into Afghanistan" and there was no way he as press secretary could have questioned it.

"Is Cheney ?- is he a goon?" Letterman asked. "I don't mean that to be like a smartass, but he seems like he might be a goon."

"He's quite an interesting guy," McClellan replied. "He has a very dark view of the world and he certainly believes that some of the means justify the ends. This president showed him way too much deference, I think."

"My feeling about Cheney … is that he just couldn't care less about Americans," Letterman insisted. "And the same is true of George Bush. And all they really want to do is somehow kiss up to the oil people so they can get some great annuity when they're out of office … Is there any humanity in either of these guys?"

"I still have personal affection for the president," McClellan replied. "I can't speak to the vice president's thinking that well, because he's someone that keeps things to himself … and he doesn't care what anybody else thinks. … That's not always what's in the best interests of this country ?- as we've seen."

"You told me backstage you thought he was a goon," Letterman said abruptly.

McClellen threw his head back and laughed loudly but made no reply.

This video is from CBS's The Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast June 11, 2008.
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