Looking at George Bush's record as president, we see a string of serial outrages with no apparent purpose but to create outrages. The purpose of each new outrage is to distract attention from the previous outrage.
George Bush became president knowing nothing about how to do anything. So, he decided to do something, anything, to stir things up, which is the equivalent of panic. Panic is what you do when you don't know what else to do. You flail about with unplanned, sometimes violent action, on the off chance that something, anything, will fall out, changing the situation.
Nine months into his presidency with nothing happening, he needed something to focus attention on himself to the exclusion of everyone else, anyway he could. He realized that with his narcissistic personality, he had no leadership qualities, and could not come up with any kind of rational, logical policies or programs that would be accepted by rational, logical people.
Setting aside the unresolved question of his complicity in the 9/11 attacks, they provided him with the golden opportunity of using them as an excuse to do the most outrageous thing he could think of, attack foreign countries for no reason at all, a guaranteed way to outrage just about everyone.
It worked. He became the center of attention, and his outrageous lies about everything to do with his wars continued to provoke even more outrage.
When the outrage over that began to fade, he makes more outrageous proposals, kill Social Security, go to Mars, tax cuts for the rich, all just a part of a list of continuing outrages. With a complicit Congress, he saw that he could do anything, propose anything, and Congress would not only obediently go along with him, but would not do anything to prevent him from his illegal acts.
The outrages were committed, not for what they accomplished, but for their effect. The effect is to keep the maximum amount of time by the news and the public focused on the latest outrage, keeping Bush in the public eye as long as possible and diverting attention from the previous outrage, no matter what the cost.
Scotty comes along with a book that purports to reveal the outrageous breaches of ethics, morals and the complete politicizing of the Bush regime. In respones, the White House can express feigned outrage at Scotty's outrageous book, gaining almost total coverage in the news, which of course, diverts attention from the Iraq disaster, the failing economy, the exorbitant price of oil, the unprecedented deficit and national debt, and Bush's abysmal, one in four approval rating. Mission accomplished.
The White House knew in advance what the book would say, and knew that nothing in the book can hurt them. It's old news. It's all been said before by people with more credibility than Scotty. No harm can come from it. So, why not use this opportunity for another outrage? The principle was expressed by Oscar Wilde: "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
All along, while everyone is focused on the discussions, arguments, counter arguments, revelations, denials, agreements, disagreemants and general hullabaloo caused by the book, no ones seems to notice that that was the precise purpose of the book. The White House's contrived outrage about the outrageousness of Scotty's book is transparent. It's not outrageous in that it reflects even more badly on the White House. That's impossible, can't be done.
Is it reasonable that Scotty, who has worshipped faithfully at the Bush Altar and loyally "catapulted the propaganda" for Bush without question, consideration or conscience, would suddenly do a 180 and turn on Bush? Would he abandon everything he's held near and dear and throw himself in the cold exile outside the warmth and comfort to be found by being a "Loyal Bushie?" Would he do that without the foreknowledge and approval of Bush?
I agree with the White House. Scotty's book is outrageous. But, it's outrageous because it's just the latest outrage from the White House.
It's more likely that Scotty's book is a way for Bush to give Scotty, who doesn't have much going for him, a way to make some real money before it's all over, and do it without doing any real harm to Bush, and at the same time create another opportunity for another outrage that the White House can, and actually is, using to it's advantage. After all, that's what everyone is talking about. "Hey, look over here," which was the carefully crafted purpose of the book. I'm talking about it. You're talking about it. And, while we're talking about it, we can't be talking about other Bush outrages. It couldn't have worked any better.
