With George W. Bush down to his final inglorious months, friends seem to be growing farther away.
        Exhibit A: Scott McClellan, once a trusted friend of Mr. Bush, going back to their Texas days, has caused quite a storm with a soon to be published tell-all memoir: ``What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception”''
        The book, written by the former White House press spokesman from 2003-06, paints a dark image of an administration stained with deception, as it condemns the 43rd president for betraying the American people about the war in Iraq, accusing the administration of veering off on a ``marketing campaign’’ and discharging ``trumped-up portrayals of the threat posed by the weapons of mass destruction.’’
        The new memoir came as a shock to Bush confidants, some calling McClellan’s accounts mere ``sour grapes’’, others accusing him of padding his narrative to boost book sales.
        Whether McClellan’s book is part fiction, part truth, part-self promotion, former administration officials coming out with kiss-and-tell memoirs is nothing new. In fact, it dates back to 1934, when Irwin H. (Ike) Hoover, a former valet to nine former presidents, including Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, Hardy, Coolidge and FDR published ``Forty-Two Years in the White House’’ 
        For the first time readers were made aware of some behind-the-scene tales of their former commander-in chiefs, such as Wilson prior to the war, worked a mere three hours a day, Harding spent a good many afternoons on the golf course, Coolidge averaged about 11 hours of a sleep a night (including a nap), Hoover loathed reporters, and Taft once got stuck in the bathtub.
While ``42 Years’’ hardly disclosed shocking policy secrets, it was more ``Page Six'' material than anything else, the book did set the table for edgier tell-all books in later years, including:

        ``The Ordeal of Power By Emmet John Hughes, published in 1963, Ike’s former speech writer and advisor writes about his disillusionment with the promises of the Eisenhower administration after having such high hopes. Hughes most damning criticism of the former WWII war general is faulting him for deferring to the counsel of greater civilian men, like Rockefeller, and Lodge instead of relying on his own good judgment.

        ``Blind Ambition’’ By John Dean, released in November 1976, the former White House counsel implicates Richard Nixon as the key figure in the Watergate affair, including the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, and alleging the ``Hutston Plan’’, the domestic-intelligence gathering operation was authorized by Nixon himself.

        ``Caveat’’ By Alexander Haig Jr., published April, 1984, the former secretary of state writes about the first term of the Reagan administration, taking swipes at all of his former enemies, including James Baker, and Ed Meese, and wrote that Ronald Reagan was ``a nice guy but not very interested in foreign affairs’’

        ``Speaking Out’’: Larry Speaks, the former presidential spokesperson for Ronald Regan came out with his memoir in April, 1988, writing that Reagan was more interested in reading the comics than the news, and was disconnected with most members of his family,.(Ron Jr. Patty, Maureen, Michael) rarely calling them, and they in turn rarely calling him.

    ``For The Record’’ By Donald T. Regan, published May, 1988. This book from Reagan’s former chief-of-staff caused a stir when it revealed the Reagan’s fascination with astrology.

        ``Triumph of Politics’’ By David Stockman, the former budget director reveals that the ``Reagan Revolution’’, as far as its economic policy was concerned, was a fraud, and all within the administration knew they wouldn’t be able to balance the budget. The Reagan Revolution, Mr. Stockman wrote, ``was radical, imprudent, and arrogant’’ 
 
        So loyalty or no loyalty, it seems, publishing a tell-all book serves a couple of useful purposes: first it sets the record straight especially for former policy operatives who were pushed out the door and want to fling one last dagger at those who did them in; and it's also a way to earn a few bucks while money is still to be had about president’s still in the news.
        -Bill Lucey
        billlucey@bellsouth.net