Back in May, Brendan Nyhan used historical and statistical analysis to presciently conclude that for the hitherto untainted Obama White House, "the first Obama scandal is likely to arrive sooner than most people think." Now, the dual imbroglios over the $535 million loan lost to bankrupt Solyndra and the ATF's ill-conceived "Fast and Furious" gun-walking operation have Republicans targeting the President and his Attorney General, Eric Holder.

While the twin dust ups, each with roots in the Bush Administration, may ultimately reveal only bureaucratic bungling, poor judgment and taxpayer investments gone bad, Republicans are salivating at the prospect of manufacturing scandals just in time for President Obama's reelection. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa called the Solyndra case "salacious" and "a story of political interference" on behalf of "people giving to President Obama's campaign." Meanwhile, as House Republicans called for a special prosecutor to investigate Fast and Furious, grandstanding Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu declared, "I believe that this is a much larger scandal than what took place in Watergate."

Perception often trumps reality when it comes to presidential scandals. Of course, if the accusations are actually true, the political damage will (and should) be worse. Worse, but not necessarily fatal.

Just ask those masters of scandal survival from the Bush White House.

Here are just some of the Republican scandal management tips for President Obama:

It's the "Criminalization of Politics." Ever since President George H.W. Bush first used it during the Iran/Contra scandal, Republicans and their conservative amen corner have routinely brushed off charges of their own corruption and lawlessness by accusing their opponents of "criminalizing politics." From Iran-Contra, Plamegate and Tom Delay to the U.S. attorneys purge and the Bush regime of detainee torture, Republicans survived their endless scandals by instead successfully politicizing crime.

Sadly, Attorney General Eric Holder is already quite familiar with the GOP's tried and untrue "criminalization of politics" sound bite. During his confirmation hearings in January 2009, Holder reassured Republican Senators the Obama administration would not prosecute the architects of the Bush detainee torture program:

"I think President-elect Obama has said it well. We don't want to criminalize policy differences that might exist between the outgoing administration and the administration that is about to take over. We certainly don't want to do that."

Four Words: "I Don't Recall Remembering." In a letter to Congress this week, Attorney General Holder pointed out that "I now understand some senior officials within the Department were aware at the time there was an operation called Fast and Furious although they were not advised of the unacceptable operational tactics being used in it." Then in words only a Republican could love, Holder explained how he remained unaware of the program's details until this summer:

"My testimony was truthful and accurate and I have been consistent on this point throughout. I have no recollection of knowing about Fast and Furious prior to the public controversy about it."

If the "no recollection" formula sounds familiar, it should. Then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales perfected it to the point of comedy during hearings about the Bush administration's politically-motivated prosecutors purge. Gonzales, who almost surely lied to Congress at least three times about the NSA domestic surveillance program, the Bush torture program as well as the U.S. attorneys scandal, reached new heights of selective amnesia in April 2007. As Dana Milbank recalled:

Explaining his role in the botched firing of federal prosecutors, Gonzales uttered the phrase "I don't recall" and its variants ("I have no recollection," "I have no memory") 64 times. Along the way, his answer became so routine that a Marine in the crowd put down his poster protesting the Iraq war and replaced it with a running "I don't recall" tally.

If he finds himself in a pinch during his next appearance before Congress, Eric Holder can always quote Alberto Gonzales:

"Senator, that I don't recall remembering."

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Add former Bush press flack and lifelong Republican Scott McClellan to the long list of unlikely Obama endorsements.

WaPo:

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who angered many Republicans earlier this year with a memoir criticizing President Bush, said today that he's voting for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

McClellan told CNN that Obama's message "is very similar to the one that Governor Bush ran on in 2000," apparently referring to the current president's early pitch as a reformer and a moderate.

"From the very beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama," McClellan said during the interview, which was taped for the Saturday broadcast of a new CNN show, "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News."

Scotty asks Obama not to investigate his peeps in the White House if he wins in November because it will taint Obama.

Scott McClellan advises Obama, in an interview with my colleague Daniel Libit, not to investigate the Bush Administration -- because it would, McClellan says, damage Obama's image...read on

That's good enough for me... More at Will Bunch.

State of the Day: The script doctor's 'narrative.'

Politicker: Oklahoma politician's offensive comic book - with the phrase "anal sodomy" in it - doesn't win him re-election. Meanwhile, a Texas State Representative gets caught using campaign contributions to buy $1500 cowboy boots, a Texas Republican Congressman is getting some heat for holding a fundraiser in a Vegas burlesque joint, a Kansan sticks it to the election system, and in Iowa, a judge says "it's about time"

Emptywheel: Scott McClellan dismantles Cheney's Plame firewall

Newshoggers: Republican hypocrites will even run against the GOP brand to get elected. Not surprising coming from a pack of liars who can unblushingly blame Democrats for energy woes and call for more drilling access despite the fact that their Big Oil constituency is shipping record amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel to other countries, enjoying enormous, record profits, while ducking responsibility for massive pollution.

10 Zen Monkeys: This roundup of YouTube clips is meant to give a small sense of what it's like for the people who are killing and getting killed in Iraq - a view that, limited as it is, one can't possibly get from the mainstream newsmedia.

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On Sunday's Q&A, host Brian Lamb sat down with National Review columnist Kathleen Parker to discuss her take on the comings and goings in Washington DC. My buddy Heather noted this odd little bit of unsound morality and logic. Parker wrote a scathing piece on McClellan's book What Happened for the NRO, coming thisclose to likening him to a serial killer (No, I'm not kidding, read it yourself). See, for Parker, McClellan has reached the apex of immorality, because he listened to the Bush administration's plans, apparently put up no fight (of course, this is according to the White House, whose veracity should have dubious credibility) and then said nothing until he left the White House and wrote a book.

Don't get me wrong, if I had been in Scott McClellan's position, you could be damn sure I would be speaking up loudly and longly while in the White House. And I'd probably be out of a job and smeared within an inch of my life by the Karl Rove machine (see how they treated Paul O'Neill as an example). But for Parker, the fact that he left the White House and then spoke up makes him more deplorable than those he spoke up against.

Parker: ... I've met Scott and he is, comes across as just the sweetest, nicest fellow. I took great umbrage at this primarily because, whether the... you know, if... if he were... if he sat in those meetings where evidence was being trumped up and people are actually dying and never so much as cleared his throat or raised an eyebrow--which is what I'm told by everyone in the White House--then I think that he is guilty of something much greater than whatever he presents to the public in this book. You don't sit there and listen to what you now consider lies and know... you walk out the door. An honorable man walks out the door. And you can go and call a press conference if you are the Press Secretary of the President of the United States. You can call a press conference. You can walk out and get a book contract that day, but you don't sit through it for years and years and then say 'well, I think I'll go get a book contract and you know present basically my notes that I've taken all these years knowing that these people were doing wrong.' So I simply don't trust a person like that.

But you'll trust the ones that did the lying and put the Americans in harm's way and continue to do so? They are actually LESS offensive to your mind than someone whose conscience was so burdened that he left the job and spoke out against what happened?

Methinks someone needs their moral compass re-calibrated.

Transcripts below the fold: (thanks to Heather)

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Former White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan, appeared before the House Judiciary Committee this morning to answer questions about what he knew about, and his role in the treasonous outing of covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame.

McClellan recognized the enormous damage the Plame scandal caused our country and government, and continued his calls for an end to the permanent campaign and scandal culture in Washington D.C.. He criticized President Bush for failing to work in a transparent, and honest manner for the American people, and the media for glorifying people who perpetuate partisan politics, rather than searching for the truth. I, as many others, take issue with his lack of candor back when these crimes were being perpetrated against our country, but at least he's there, in front of Congress and doing the right thing now. You can stream the hearings live on CSPAN's website.

Good morning Mr. Chairman, Congressman Smith, and members of the committee.

I am here today at your invitation to answer questions about what I know regarding the Valerie Plame episode. Back in 2005, I was prohibited from discussing it by the White House ostensibly because of the criminal investigation underway, but I made a commitment to share with the public what I knew as soon as possible. That commitment was one of the reasons I wrote my book.

Unfortunately, this matter continues to be investigated by Congress because of what the White House has chosen to conceal from the public. Despite assurances that the administration would discuss the matter once the Special Counsel had completed his work, the White House has sought to avoid public scrutiny and accountability.

The continuing cloud of suspicion over the White House is not something I can remove because I know only one part of the story. Only those who know the underlying truth can bring this to an end. Sadly, they remain silent.

The result has been an increase in suspicion and partisan warfare, and a perpetuation of Washington's scandal culture, one of three core factors that have poisoned the atmosphere in Washington for the past two decades. The central message in my book is the need to change the way Washington governs. We need to minimize the negative influence of the permanent campaign, end the scandal culture, and move beyond the philosophy of politics as war.

The rest of the transcript below the fold.

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Who can forget Rep Steve King's horrible words about Obama back in Iowa?

King: "And I will tell you that, if he is elected president, then the, the radical Islamists, the, the al-Qaida, and the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11....

Well, he's baaaack. In one of the most reprehensible lines of questioning today - and Lord knows there were many as Republicans desperately try to outdo each other on who can cover Bush's ass best - GOP stooge Steve King takes the cake with this gem:

"Couldn't you have taken this to the grave with you and done this country a favor?"

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You see, in bizarro Republican world, staying silent and allowing your fellow citizens to remain clueless about how their leaders lie to them is the right, patriotic thing to do. Only traitors speak up about how their country is being flushed down the toilet when there's still time to actually do something about it.

You should be ashamed of yourself, Scott.

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Former Press Secretary Scott McClellan appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to hawk his book, What Happened. Once again, Letterman proved that late night comedians have more testicular fortitude than any of the pundit class or corporate media for voicing what is overwhelmingly the public pulse on the Bush administration.

LETTERMAN: My feeling about Cheney--and also Bush, but especially Cheney—is he just couldn't care less about Americans. And that the same is true of George Bush. And all they really want to do is somehow kiss up to the oil people so they can get some great annuity when they're out of office. "There you go, Dick, nice job. There’s a couple of billion for your troubles." ( applause ) I mean, he pretty much put Halliburton in business, and the outsourcing of the military resources to private mercenary groups, and so forth. Is there any humanity in either of these guys?

McCLELLAN: Look, I still have personal affection for the President. I can't speak to the Vice President's thinking that well because he's someone that keeps things to himself and he believes in doing it his way, and he doesn't care what anybody else thinks. He is going to do the way he feels is best—and that’s not always in the best interest of this country, as we’ve seen.

LETTERMAN: You told me backstage you thought he was a goon.

Full transcripts below the fold:

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From an email from Rep. Robert Wexler's office:

Judiciary Committee Officially Requests Scott McClellan Testimony for Friday, June 20
Wexler Plans Tough Questions About Possible Obstruction of Justice By Cheney, Rove, and Libby

(Washington, DC) Today Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) applauded the decision by Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to invite former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to testify under oath about the shocking revelations and possible illegal actions by members of the Bush Administration that he detailed in his book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception.

Immediately following the book’s release, Congressman Wexler called for Congress to investigate the charges made by McClellan regarding the Bush Administration’s campaign to go to war with Iraq and efforts by Karl Rove and Scooter Libby to possibly obstruct justice during the Valerie Plame matter.

“The earth-shattering admissions made by Scott McClellan in his new book warrant a sober and thorough hearing in the House Judiciary Committee and he should immediately accept the Committee’s request for his testimony,” said Congressman Wexler. “The allegations made by McClellan that Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and possibly even Vice President Dick Cheney, together conspired to obstruct justice by lying about their role in the Plame case relates directly to the core of US executive power and the Constitution. If true, the allegations made by McClellan could amount to an obstruction of justice charge for Scooter Libby and Karl Rove.

“Scott McClellan must appear before Congress and tell the American people, under oath, how the Bush Administration not only obstructed justice during the Valerie Plame investigation but orchestrated a massive propaganda campaign to sell an unnecessary war in Iraq to the American people.

“Any efforts by the White House to claim executive privilege and thereby prevent McClellan from testifying would be ludicrous due to the fact that McClellan has already spoken at length about many of these matters both in his book and on numerous television interviews.”

UPDATE: Scott McClellan accepts the invitation to testify before the House Judiciary Committee

Last night on "The Daily Show," Scott McClellan went two rounds with Jon Stewart to discuss his new book, What Happened, and, as always, was asked some of the toughest, most pointed questions of his entire media tour. In the second segment, Jon hammered the former press secretary on the book's theme of media complicity.

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"The entire Presidency was a facade of public manipulation. Doesn't he say 'I know what's best for the country,' and your job is to help me sell that to the American people without them realizing what we're really doing? Isn't that the gist of how Washington works now?"

You can catch the entire first part here.