Former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole has sent a blistering e-mail to Scott McClellan attacking the former White House spokesman as a "miserable creature" who betrayed his former boss by writing a book.
In a message obtained and authenticated by Politico, Dole wrote on Thursday:
"There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues.
"No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."
In his book "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," McClellan has written that President Bush misled the country about Iraq and called the White House atmosphere "insular, secretive and combative."
Recalling his years in the House and Senate representing Kansas, Dole wrote:
"In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you. No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm…
“Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good setup for a second book deal in a few years."
Dole told McClellan that he won't read his book and added: “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?"
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