McClellan First Noticed Bush’s Habit of Lying during Campaign Flap over Cocaine Use

Jon Ponder | May. 28, 2008
Pensito Review

McClellan’s book offers another indication that George Bush used cocaine over a period of at least 20 years

In his new tell-all book, “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” (Public Affairs), former Bush flack Scott McClellan says the first time he caught George Bush lying was during the 2000 campaign when Bush was being accused of having used cocaine:

McClellan tracks Bush’s penchant for self-deception back to an overheard incident on the campaign trail in 1999 when the then-governor was dogged by reports of possible cocaine use in his younger days.

The book recounts an evening in a hotel suite “somewhere in the Midwest.” Bush was on the phone with a supporter and motioned for McClellan to have a seat.

“‘The media won’t let go of these ridiculous cocaine rumors,’ I heard Bush say. ‘You know, the truth is I honestly don’t remember whether I tried it or not. We had some pretty wild parties back in the day, and I just don’t remember.’”

“I remember thinking to myself, How can that be?” McClellan wrote. “How can someone simply not remember whether or not they used an illegal substance like cocaine? It didn’t make a lot of sense.”

(Continued here.)