Scott McClellan Quotations

The president said, 'You've got to vote your conscience.

I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be.

In survey after survey, the Iraqi people say, 'We want to choose our leaders.'

Well, uh, all people - all, I think all human begins, uh, have good attributes, and they also have their flaws.

I believe in working together to solve the problems we've got. And we need to get rid of the venom in the political atmosphere in D.C. It's a poisonous atmosphere.

When I was knowingly misled but only learned that much later, that's really when I started to become disillusioned at the White House.

As press secretary, I spent countless hours defending the administration from the podium in the White House briefing room.

Waging an unnecessary war is a grave mistake.

Well I think that you have to be open and honest in order to learn from your mistakes and be able to correct them in the future to understand what would happen to take things off course. And if we don't address these issues openly and honestly then we don't learn.

I was raised on the values of speaking up and making a positive difference in a very political family that believed in the importance of public service.

When words I uttered, believing them to be true, were exposed as false, I was constrained by my duties and loyalty to the President and unable to comment. But I promised reporters and the public that I would someday tell the whole story of what I knew.

All I can say is what I believe.

I do expect that the President will say something at the beginning of his remarks today, at the conversation.

I have had a career in public service.

I'm done with my job. It was my job to be the advocate and spokesman for the President of the United States.

I'm someone who believes in centrist governing philosophy.

If it takes talking about unpleasant truths to change Washington, then so be it.

I remember my mom saying to me that what your friends do is one thing, but what you do could be on the front page of the paper.

My wife and I look for ways to always support the troops, including sending care packages regularly to them.

A free and prosperous Iraq will be a major blow to the terrorists and their desire to establish a safe haven in Iraq where they can plan and plot attacks

The prime minister expressed Canada's concerns about the issue of softwood lumber. The president expressed our strong commitment to NAFTA." ()

We're continuing to move forward on it and they're going to talk about the importance of finalizing an agreement." ()

There is a growing majority of nations that recognize Iran's noncompliance must be addressed." ()

Her record is one of being a trailblazer for women in the legal profession and a record of being a tough and strong litigator who has represented clients before state and federal courts on a broad range of issue." ()

I think it reconfirms what we have been saying about the regime in Iran. It underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions." ()

I think it reconfirms what we have been saying about the regime in Iran, ... It underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions." ()

I think what you're seeing is some Democrats on the committee trumping up allegations and making unsubstantiated accusations against someone the president believes will do an outstanding job at the United Nations." ()

I think any thorough analysis of the gubernatorial elections is going to show that the elections were decided on local and state issues and the candidates and their agendas, ... I do not think you can conclude it represents any larger trend whatsoever." ()

The president wanted to see it resolved in a positive way." ()

The president thought it was important to have these refresher briefings for all of the White House staff, in light of recent circumstances, ... All White House staff serves at the pleasure of the president." ()

We've had a temporary disruption of our energy supply, but there's been some good progress made, major pipelines are up and running, two are fully up and running and two others are near capacity." ()

Dick Clarke, in his own words, provides a point-by-point rebuttal of what he now asserts. This shatters the cornerstone of Mr. Clarke's assertions." ()

And these are old, recycled attacks. The Democrats have made it clear that they intend to try to tear down the president and throw the kitchen sink at us because they can't run on John Kerry's record and because they see him falling behind in the polls." ()

The United States is responding rapidly and robustly." ()

It would be wrong to suggest that he (Bush) was saying that there would still be substantial number of troops in Iraq after he is out of office. That is not he was asked. That is not what he was talking about.

The role of a judge is very different from the role of a candidate or a political office holder. And what she was doing in that questionnaire was expressing her views during the course of a campaign. The role of a judge is to apply the law in a fair and open-minded way." ()

This is not a matter of inspections. It is about disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi regime's compliance with all other Security Council resolutions. It is time for the Security Council to act." ()

This could include flags. It could also include the awnings around the complex." ()

They have the information they need. This is just about resorting back to a partisan approach. Just 72 hours after all the good will and bipartisanship, it's a shame to see the Democratic leadership resort back to a partisan approach. This is a nominee who has majority support." ()

It's progress and ... now we will look forward to seeing results.

It underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions." ()

She, like the rest of the White House, knows that the Federalist Society has been a great ally on many important issues, particularly when it comes to the federal judiciary." ()

I know she's proud that a number of her attorneys on her own staff are members of the Federalist Society. And she, like the rest of the White House, knows that the Federalist Society has been a great ally on many important issues, particularly when it comes to the federal judiciary." ()

If people want to try and politicize this process, that's their business." ()

How about shortening the motorcade? I'll keep you posted." ()

The Department of Energy is monitoring the situation. They will make assessments as they are able to do so and that's really where it stands right now." ()

The Iraq war was not necessary.

I'm glad to share my views.

The collapse of the administration's rationales for war, which became apparent months after our invasion, should never have come as such a surprise. In this case, the 'liberal media' didn't live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served.

I still like and admire George W. Bush. I consider him a fundamentally decent person, and I do not believe he or his White House deliberately or consciously sought to deceive the American people.

We are disappointed at the decision. The president remains fully committed to building a culture of life ... that is built on valuing life at all stages.

My criticisms are extremely mild in comparison to the tone of some of the questions fired in my direction.

We continue to go from crisis to crisis, whether it is electricity or whether it is gas prices. We need comprehensive solutions, not patchwork crisis management, .. We wouldn't be in this situation today if Senate Democrats weren't holding up the national energy plan that the president proposed back in May of 2001.

Saddam Hussein is being treated the exact opposite of the way his regime treated those he imprisoned and tortured simply for expressing their opinions. And so I reject that.

Because what a temporary worker program would do is help relieve pressure on the border. It will allow our law enforcement officials and Border Patrol agents to focus on those who are coming here for the wrong reasons, the criminals and the drug dealers and the terrorists.

Roughly 1 in 6 Americans have Irish blood. I'd say it's probably safe to assume that the average Irish-American who only comes out on St. Patrick's Day has no idea of the sort of economic powerhouse Ireland has become.

Churches are like announcement factories that pump toxic levels of noise pollution into the atmosphere.

It's no coincidence that Superman's parents are Joseph and Martha Kent.

As a Texas loyalist who followed Bush to Washington with great hope and personal affection and as a proud member of his administration, I was all too ready to give him and his highly experienced foreign policy advisers the benefit of the doubt on Iraq. Unfortunately, subsequent events have showed that our willingness to trust the judgment of Bush and his team was misplaced.

As I have heard Bush say, only a wartime president is likely to achieve greatness, in part because the epochal upheavals of war provide the opportunity for transformative change of the kind Bush hoped to achieve. In Iraq, Bush saw his opportunity to create a legacy of greatness.

Isn't it my right to talk and say what I want to?

There's a difference between loyal opposition that has a different view, and those who are advocating a defeatist approach that sends the wrong message to our troops and the enemy.

Despite what some people have said, President Bush did not want black people to die in New Orleans. However, he did hope they would not relocate to any areas of Texas that he likes to frequent.

I think that there's a tendency in this town to try to selectively pick snapshots when the broader reality is that we have a record of results and that we're getting things done for the American people.

We have to deal with reality. The reality is, we have a number a very high number of illegal immigrants in this country. They're meeting an important economic need. And we are a nation of laws, and we're a nation of immigrants. And if we're going to address the real threats, then we need to have a temporary worker program to allow our Border Patrol agents to focus on the criminals and the thugs and the terrorists and the traffickers and smugglers that are trying to come into this country illegally.

I think it reflects the reality on the ground, that this was an important milestone that's been achieved by the Iraqi people, and it's a significant development. It's a real hopeful moment for democracy in Iraq.

The permanent campaign is inherently deceptive.

Critics have stepped up their attacks on the President for authorizing the National Security Agency to listen to international communications of known al Qaeda members or affiliated terrorists during a time of war. The American people expect their leaders to stay a step ahead of the enemy, and the National Security Agency authorization is a critical tool in the War on Terror that saves lives and protects civil liberties at the same time.

It is regrettable that Senator Kennedy has chosen Veteran's Day to continue leveling baseless and false attacks that send the wrong signal to our troops and our enemy during a time of war. It is also regrettable that Senator Kennedy has found more time to say negative things about President Bush then he ever did about Saddam Hussein. If America were to follow Senator Kennedy's foreign policy, Saddam Hussein would not only still be in power, he would be oppressing and occupying Kuwait.

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself.

The Orange Revolution was a powerful example of democracy around the world. The people of Ukraine are continuing to shape their own future.