Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan is the latest to publish a tell-all book that bites the hand that fed him. The question that comes to mind when hearing and reading about books like this is: if the place where you were working was so bad, why did you stay?<br />
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McClellan isn't the only one, of course. <br />
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For five years, since he wrote his first book, I have wanted to ask former CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg why he didn't walk away from his job (he stayed there about 30 years) with the network if the media - CBS included - was and is as biased as he claims. Why wait until after you've retired and drawing a fat pension to air your dirty laundry about your profession and your employer? Could it be because of that fat pension? <br />
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The same question for McClellan. How could he stand before the White House press corps and the world and lie day in and day out for three or four years about what the Bush administration was up to... if, in fact, he was lying? Or did he suddenly have an awakening only after leaving one of the most powerful jobs in Washington?<br />
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I often wonder how just how much credibility to lend to what these people say once they are on the outside... and, yes, trying to sell a book.<br />
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That is the key... trying to sell a book.<br />
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Have you noticed that most of the time when people start yammering about how bad things were, it is only after they left the job and usually when they start trying to sell a book.<br />
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All the while Goldberg and McClellan were drawing checks from CBS and Uncle Sam, respectively, they were already probably plotting their tell-all books... maybe even working on them while on company time.<br />
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Why people buy these books is beyond me? <br />
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But, as long as there's a market for them, I guess they will be written.<br />
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As, for me... I wouldn't have Goldberg's or McClellan's if you gave them to me.<br />
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And, while we're at it, Barbara Walters, who cares if you had a adulterous affair with a U.S. Senator?<br />
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Oh, that's right.<br />
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You have a book to sell. <br />
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I'll pass on that one, too, though it does sound more interesting than the other two.<br />
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<I>(Ken Stanford is Newsroom Manager for WDUN NEWS TALK 550, MAJIC 1029, SPORTS RADIO 1240 THE TICKET and AccessNorthGa.com).<I> <br />
