White House Rolls Out Big Guns to Refute Clarke
By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
March 23, 2004
When asked if the president had any regrets about his policy of “setting a new tone in Washington” which included retaining members of a previous administration, McClellan told Talon News, “The president has always been someone who’s worked to elevate the discourse and worked to focus on where we can advance on common ground issues of great importance.”
Press Briefing Scott McClellan
“Go Ahead, Jeff”
Q Does the President have any regrets about his new tone policy, now that one more Clinton holdover has betrayed his administration?
MR. McCLELLAN: I’m sorry? Does the President have —
Q Well, does he have any regrets about the new tone that he wanted to set in Washington, now that these people from the previous administration, from another political party, have taken the actions that they’ve done?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, let me just, without getting into specific areas there, just broadly, the President has always been someone who’s worked to elevate the discourse and worked to focus on where we can advance on common ground issues of great importance. There are many common challenges that we have, and the President believes it’s important to reach out and work together to address those priorities. Certainly, it’s difficult to change the tone in this town. But the President —
Q Don’t you see it as a little one-sided here?
MR. McCLELLAN: — the President has certainly set an example by elevating the discourse and talking about what he’s for and trying to find common ground to where we can get results.
Bush Administration’s First Memo on al-Qaeda Declassified
January 25, 2001 Richard Clarke Memo:
“We urgently need . . . a Principals level review on the al Qida network.”