Shelton IV: His surprising conclusions on Bush and Clinton administrations

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Thursday, October 14, 2010 - 10:53 AM Share

I wasn't surprised that former Joint Chiefs Chairman Shelton was angry at the Bush administration. I was surprised to see him flatly charge that Bush administration officials lied. But I was even more surprised to see his conclusion that the Clinton administration ran more smoothly than Bush's, especially in handling the media. "You saw it from the very start, but it was really after 9/11 that you repeatedly saw that the left hand had no idea what the right one was doing." (460)

I was interested to see that Shelton came away with a real respect and even affection for Bill Clinton. This isn't surprising, perhaps -- after all, Clinton elevated him to the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs. But remember that Clinton sometimes had a rocky relationship with the military. "From my standpoint, he was a brilliant individual with a keen understanding of the big picture, yet he could very quickly zero in and identify the weakest link in war plans. His focus was intense… I felt that as commander in chief, he would be hard to beat." (400)

LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:BUSH ADMINISTRATION, MILITARY

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CAPTAIN NOVAL

5:04 PM ET

October 14, 2010

Thanks to Tom's review, this is another book I can skip

Shelton's book appears to be another in a long line of nearly identical "Washington insider" books. They all say the same thing, and could be neatly summed up if they all had the same title:

"If They'd Only Listened To Me"
By Hugh Shelton

ZATHRAS

6:20 PM ET

October 14, 2010

Clinton did have very good

Clinton did have very good people handling his media relations, much better than Bush's.

The Bush White House was run as an extension of the Bush campaign operation, which in turn sought always to hold the attention of "the base" -- the dedicated conservatives who when they voted would always vote Republican. One of the most effective ways of keeping their attention was to show antagonism toward the despised "mainstream media," which successive Bush administration press secretaries did with great dedication for years.

Clinton's press media relations could not overcome one disabling handicap, which was Clinton's own behavior. I haven't read Gen. Shelton's book and so don't know what he has to say about that, but we shouldn't forget how hobbled Clinton's team found itself during the second term. He has no one but himself to blame for that.

PCDE

7:59 PM ET

October 14, 2010

Shelton Love for Clinton

Shelton's wiki entry indicates that he backed Senator John Edwards for President.

I gather that Shelton identifies with Bill Clinton and Edwards. Both men being Southern-fried Charlatan Lawyers from modest circumstances who rise to power with the help of brainy and ambitious women at their sides.

I haven't read the book, but if it omits Doug Feith's Office of Special Plans, then it is useless. The "Bush Lied, People Died" mantra is cute and catchy, but it fails to outline the reasons for the Iraq war. It probably does not matter, because the public still thinks it was all about oil, democracy promotion, human rights, Saddam was behind 9/11, etc..

Shelton knows the story, he knows that Wolfowitz was calling for an invasion of Iraq 3 or 4 days after 9/11. He knows that the PNAC signatories were now in positions of influence and were now capable of acting out their fantasies.

Walt and Mearsheimer have already disclosed all of this, it would be nice if a four star backed up their theory with a first-hand account.

But if Shelton did, he would probably have to step down from a few Board of Directors or some other sweet retirement gigs he has secured.

LUVMY91STANG

4:11 AM ET

October 15, 2010

Umm...

I was interested in reading this book right up till, "...yet he could very quickly zero in and identify the weakest link in war plans."

Clinton couldn't distinguish the difference between a loud mouth intern and a war plan if his life depended on it, much less identify the weakest link in either. His whole thing was screwing them both.

Seriously Tom. Get a grip.