White House Spokesman No Help To Media

by Helen Thomas

Washington -- Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan says he can be trusted. But I don't think he should take a poll in the White House press room on that claim. He might lose.

McClellan has lived up to his self-described role as an "advocate" for President Bush.

It's only recently that he admits to wearing another hat -- one that is obligatory, as he put it -- that requires him "to make sure the American people are getting an accurate account of what is going on here in Washington." That will be the day.

Unfortunately, the record shows otherwise. McClellan might be forgiven for declaring from the White House lectern two years ago that Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby and deputy chief of staff Karl Rove had told him that they were not involved in leaking to the media that war critic Joseph Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked for the CIA.

As it turns out, both men were involved in one way or another in getting that information out. Libby was indicted on several charges including perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with the federal investigation of the Plame leak case. Rove is under investigation.

McClellan is not about to finger his colleagues by accusing them of misleading him. But he has a lot more to answer for -- especially in carrying out the administration's battle plan of pumping up the case for war with Iraq with fibs. The most blatant among the falsehoods has been the constant attempt to link the 9/11 attacks to Saddam Hussein, even after the president conceded that there was no connection.

More recently, McClellan sang the praises of the hapless White House counsel Harriet Miers, who was named to a vacancy on the Supreme Court and then sacrificed to Bush's right-wing supporters who blasted the nomination. Day after day, McClellan spoke of Miers' "unique" qualifications for the high bench. He stopped that pitch right after her appointment was pulled.

His technique when briefing White House reporters boils down to "the best defense is offense," and he uses it when the going gets tough.

I used to get phone calls from television viewers asking why I posed such tough questions to the powers that be. Now I get calls -- and I presume other members of the media do, too -- denouncing the "softball" questions they hear during news briefings.

McClellan was recently asked about a news story that a wounded veteran of the Iraq war was getting dunned by a bill collection agency for armor and other items he bought to go to war.

McClellan's response was that the president often visits wounded members of the military at Walter Reed Hospital. The reporter let that answer pass without pushing the envelope.

Obviously, McClellan is on a short leash and comes into the press briefing room with one page of scribbled notes. He does not dare deviate from his prepared answers, no matter what the question, and his responses tend to be robotic. As a result, fewer reporters are showing up at the White House unless they are alerted that it will be a big news day.

McClellan is attuned to the headlines of the day, but he has developed his own style of evasion, often ignoring a question and turning to another reporter.

It worked in the early years of the Bush administration which had a roll-over-and-play-dead press corps to deal with. But lately, White House reporters have become more challenging, more skeptical.

McClellan recently announced to the press corps that he had "faithfully carried out his duties and responsibilities." Maybe so, from the White House viewpoint. But as far as reporters are concerned, his answers leave a lot to be desired.