Reply #31: As I've posted elsewhere:

[Oak2004]

I think the (justifiable) anger here at Republicans in general and the administration in particular blinds some people to the humanity of Republicans.

Now the leadership is, without a doubt, a bunch of sociopaths, whose only claim to "humanity" might be the particulars of their DNA. And a large segment of the staff are ideological fanatics who may or may not have remnants of a conscience, but whatever remnants they do have are buried under their fanaticism.

But there is a third type of Republican out there. Republican culture puts a great emphasis on loyalty (something you don't see in Democratic culture). Scott McClellan's family has ties to the Bush family going back generations. Scott seems to me to be someone who grew up in a Republican "bubble", someone who has a conscience, who isn't an ideologue, but who felt the family and cultural burden of loyalty, and someone who was, frankly, naive.

I think for quite some time he was caught in the conflict between the value of loyalty and the value of honesty. That, I think, was why he looked like such a terrible liar. Sociopaths are master liars. People with consciences who are torn between two values are especially awful liars.

Now I don't think he's telling all the truth, because I don't think he himself has broken loose enough to see all the truth. But I welcome his first steps into the light. You know -- and he has to know -- that he is going to be trashed up down and sideways by the Right. To do this, knowing that he's going to be a punching bag, knowing he's going to be seen as a traitor even by members of his own family, says a lot about his character.