I wasn’t sure how to view news of McClellan’s tell-all book. Part of me understood why he waited. Part of me thought he was just being opportunistic. Apparently, former Presidential Candidate Bob Dole did not share my equivocation.
From Jonathan Martin’s report, Dole wrote the following (among other no-holds-barred language) to McClellan:
… if all these awful things were happening, and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high profile job …
That would have taken integrity and courage but then you would have had credibility and your complaints could have been aired objectively … You’re a hot ticket now but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?
Regardless of how you feel about Bob Dole, he makes a great point. The definition of a real hero is one who stands up to a wrong at the time it’s committed, not later, and not for the purposes of personal profit. Sorry, Scottie, but like Bob, I’m not going to buy your book. I’m no Bush fan, either, but you simply should not be rewarded for this poisonous mix of cowardice-and-greed.