But a source close to Westerhout says she has "no intention" of writing a book about her time working for the president. The source added that Westerhout had "very positive" experiences with President Trump and would have nothing negative to say.Wait. Aren't there Trump fans who'd like reading a book of nice things about Trump? I guess it can't work like that because a money-maker book needs to be framed one way or another and pitched, and if the book is premised on a violation of trust and selling the access you once enjoyed, you've ruined the foundation for a positive framework. And that's why tell-all books are presumptively crap.
The Axios article quotes Sean Spicer, Trump's former press secretary, who turned down tell-all money and just wrote a book that didn't use material gained in confidence:
"Anyone leaving this administration that's interested in writing a book has a choice to make... Number one: Go for the big bucks, tell all, but then worry about whether anyone in the future will continue to trust you. Two is to share your story but maintain a level of loyalty, integrity and trustworthiness."Notice Spicer does not embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values. The core value is one's career, and the appearance of loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness is a means to that end. Sad!
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59 comments:
Is there really a market for the nth Trumo is bad, please forgive me for working with him narrative?
Steve Bannon could write a very interesting book and he wouldn’t have to dish dirt.
Who is this Administration’s Peggy Noonan?
Who is this Administration’s Peggy Noonan?
Talk about someone who is way past their sell-by date. The scold of the WSJ.
You should put up one of your polls to see how many people would actually embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values.
I do. But I'm beginning to think it's an old-fashioned way of thinking and that current and future generations are not being taught the basics of human interaction. You know, civil society and all that.
Number one: Go for the big bucks, tell all, but then worry about whether anyone in the future will continue to trust you. Two is to share your story but maintain a level of loyalty, integrity and trustworthiness.
Spicer should have continued:
Three, go the Comey route. Tell all but cloak it in loyalty, integrity and trustworthiness. The media certainly won’t call you on it.
'actually embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values.'
There is no poll that can demonstrate this.
Polls are very useful for virtue signaling though, it you want to just pretend to walk the walk
What I Saw at the Revolution was very good.
The Axios article quotes Sean Spicer, Trump's former press secretary, who turned down tell-all money and just wrote a book that didn't use material gained in confidence:
"Anyone leaving this administration that's interested in writing a book has a choice to make... Number one: Go for the big bucks, tell all, but then worry about whether anyone in the future will continue to trust you. Two is to share your story but maintain a level of loyalty, integrity and trustworthiness."
Notice Spicer does not embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values. The core value is one's career, and the appearance of loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness is a means to that end. Sad!
Althouse, you have made the least generous interpretation of this. You could also say he made a choice reflecting his core values.
There is no poll that can demonstrate this.
Polls are very useful for virtue signaling though, it you want to just pretend to walk the walk.
You are of course, correct. However, polls will show you the clone-like group think in action. All it takes is one leading the herd and many will follow. Put another way, all it takes is one to remove their mask of signaling, and many will follow suit. It gives them a sense of cover to know there are others 'like them'.
Still, people can f*** with a poll and just put something out there to see who follows. I think that happens way too much.
David Martin of CBS did a great segment/interview with General James Mattis that aired yesterday. Mattis’ new book is neither a tell-all, nor an apologia for Trump.
It was the best thing I saw on any of the Sunday morning shows.
Dick,
Was that the same corrupt general mattis that was on the Thanos board?
John Henry
Didn't Omarosa "tell all"? Is she a millionaire now?
Better deal, be a Fake Media talking head, and write the book later to make twice the money.
Matt Sablan said...Is there really a market for the nth Trumo is bad, please forgive me for working with him narrative?
It’s not tell all money, it’s gratitude money. They are being paid to stick it to the right. Making money might be nice, but it’s not their real concern (see, ex, the outrageous unrecoverable advances for Clinton books).
You need a bit of time and a bit of distance to pick out what matters for a book. This is particularly true this year. When Trump is triumphantly re-elected and the story becomes how he managed to make America great again in the face of the attempted coup, an "insider" story which panders to the present hysterical anger of the deep state and its ally, the fake media, will then seem dated and treacherous. Lies and truth-shading will be evident. "How I helped James Comey." "What Jeffrey Epstein said to me at a party." "How I helped Bring Down General Flynn."
When you can fake loyalty, integrity and trustworthiness you can get the big bucks while still maintaining viable future employment.
Blogger Temujin said... You should put up one of your polls to see how many people would actually embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values.
Most people do. The limited skewed sampling of the uber ambitious elite we are exposed to by media and internet just makes it seem like it's infected the entire culture. On balance, things are not as bad as they seem.
Making money might be nice, but it’s not their real concern
Yes. It is the existence of the tome what helps to further the political narratives. The book makes money or it's a loss leader, la même chose...
I think there has been a shift toward political staffers always thinking of themselves. Loyalty used to be a part of the job that didn't have to be mentioned. Frank Mankiewicz, who was a senior staffer to both Bobby Kennedy and George McGovern, probably gave up more big careers than many people ever have a chance at. He was pretty much Hollywood royalty, but rejected any career there as superficial. He served in the Army, and became a lawyer in LA. Then he became kind of a social justice warrior of the day--Peace Corps, close to Sargent Shriver and the Kennedys. Yes, he was no doubt thinking there might be a big job in the White House coming, but even after the RFK assasination, and then McGovern's crushing defeat, he didn't just set out to be the biggest gun he could be in Washington. He had policy commitments, and his books were about his hatred of Nixon, not any flaws he might have detected in his Democratic heroes.
In contrast, I have often thought about Peggy Noonan. Arguably when it comes to policy, she has remained faithful to Reagan. The "old guys" around Reagan were the first ones to push the idea that she was brilliant--and look! a Reagan Democrat! A young female Irish Catholic, quite different from those country club guys!. At some point she was the one leaking that she was the main author of some famous speeches, and she went on to fame and fortune. The weirdest thing was that at the time of Reagan's funeral, she went public about how the Reagan speech-writing shop was nasty to her, one guy especially should have been fired, and Reagan apparently wasn't competent enough to do anything about it. She became bigger than the team, and in a way bigger than the leader.
"Notice Spicer does not embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values."
I don't see how you get that from what he said, Ann.
Bannon was a source for fire and fury, i think he realizes now he was too impatient.
I thought that Team Of Vipers by Cliff Sims was generally favorable to President Trump, and an interesting read.
The levamdowski and bossie books had the best psrspective, the rest were varying sorts of prog paranoia striking
@JohnHenry:
Theranos, not Thanos.
Theranos, not Thanos.
Snap!
She was a secretary. Hope Hicks is the one who could write a great book.
Lucien, Darrell,
Yes, theranos
John Henry
I have no doubt she signed a non-disclosure agreement. Finto.
Even Gen. Mattis is going CYA to promote his new book.
"Critics say Mattis is using veiled attacks on Trump to preserve his own legacy after having chosen to serve in an administration that injected politics into the military in ways Mattis himself was known to abhor," reports the AP three days ago.
Your take on Spicer is unconvincing. This is a pretty common way of speaking, and indicates he does value being a decent and honest person. X says “You have a choice, become a dirt bag sellout and get ugly looks from people, or be a decent human being.” You think X is saying you really ought to weigh the alternatives carefully. I say X is announcing he doesn’t want to be a dirt bag.
I mean, Spicer's way of speaking is less boastful than saying “I am such a paragon” but the fact is his actions and his words both indicate decency is a core value.
I think this is why Trump insists on boasting of his greatness all the time. Relying on people to sound your own horn has never been reliable, especially when they see a non-existent undercurrent to Spicer's completely decent and humble remarks.
Your take on Spicer is unconvincing. This is a pretty common way of speaking, and indicates he does value being a decent and honest person.
Agreed. I'm sensing a growing hostility to Trump on the part of Ann. Soap Opera about covers it.
The levamdowski and bossie books had the best psrspective, the rest were varying sorts of prog paranoia striking
Yes and Conrad Black's book, which is a real balanced biography.
@Althouse, I agree with the commenters who say that your interpretation of Spicer’s statement is unfounded and mean-spirited.
Trump is as close to an open book as they come. He'll tell you whatever he thinks on Twitter. I don't need a book. The only people who think that book will sell are those that believe Trump is conspiring to do something in secret, aka conspiracy theorist. Such stuff sells within the ranks of the FBI, CNN, and MSNBC but otherwise turns out to be a dud.
and the appearance of loyalty, integrity,
No, he said a level of loyalty, integrity,
Misquoted due to animosity or simply biased inference of what Spicer actually said. Sad.
@Althouse, let me deconstruct your thinking.
(1) Sean Spicer is a conservative Republican.
(2) Loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness are good traits, therefore conservative Republicans can never possess them.
(3) Consequently Sean Spicer does not embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values.
She probably could make millions, the honest way. As opposed to Democrats who get book contracts that don’t sell, but they always secure huge multi-million dollar advances. Payback for a job well done.
I want to read the book from Phil Rucker of the WaPo on the honor and integrity involved in agreeing to an "off the record" dinner, and then spreading the details of that dinner because he got a hot gotcha slam on Tiffany Trump. Perry White of the Daily Planet would fire his ass.
I was disappointed in Stormy Daniels. I would have looked to porn performers to be more discreet and respectful of non-disclosure agreements. I wouldn't expect this same level of integrity in a Washington operative, however. So good for her......What's the current score on Stormy? Was she a net winner or loser?.......Robert Caro wrote a tell-all book on LBJ, but you had to wait a couple of generations. Some of the bad news about Dems eventually comes out, but you have to wait years and years.
Uhhhh......NDA? Airtight NDA with liquidated damages if breached along with equitable remedies?
- Krumhorn
She’s in her twenties, attractive, and had an ultra premium job. All she had to do was keep her mouth shut and ride the wave for the next 6 years on her White House pass and trips on Air Force One, and she could have banged anyone she wanted. Keeping her mouth shut was the difficulty.
- Krumhorn
Just because you can ...
I find it hilarious that Althouse can misread core values as "appearance."
At the same time people were discussing in yesterday's blog post Warren having to "shift to the middle" after she wins the nomination.
Which in political speak means "lying about being a moderate despite running as a full-bore lefty to win the nomination."
I've been reading that circumlocution in news stories about presidential campaigns for a long, long time.
.Robert Caro wrote a tell-all book on LBJ, but you had to wait a couple of generations
The Johnson people refused to cooperate with him. I'll bet he began as a lefty supporter of LBJ and learned too much. Doris Kearns Goodwin did the literary blowjob.
A couple of his chapters are biographies of men Johnson and his acolytes smeared and made non-persons. Like Coke Stevenson. He was such a terrific man, I'm a little surprised some one has not done a biography.
Frank Hamer was his friend, which says a lot. The new NetFlix movie about him has done much to restore his reputation after "Bonnie and Clyde" smeared him.
Mockturtle
You have nailed Althouse misquoting. What's the over/under on an acknowledgement? I'll take the day after never.
Doris Kearns Goodwin did the literary blowjob.
She and Merle Miller.
@Ken B, Mockturtle, and others: If/when Althouse gets around to responding, she will point out that in the wording you highlight, she did NOT use quotation marks, so she did not “misquote” anyone. She provided her interpretation of what someone really meant.
I think she’s wrong — or at least I don’ t interpret the words that way — but she needn’t confess to misquoting.
Althouse’s typical bias and obtuseness. Spicer says “trust”, she says “career”, totally inapt.
She says he said “appearance “, a word he neither used nor implied. “Cruel neutrality” Althouse, or are you just a cynical never was?
I come here for the commenters, not Althouse. She lowers the standard of conversation, but not single handedly, she has help from a few obvious mush-brains.
Godfather
Okay fair point, misrepresentation not misquotation. BUT Althouse has demanded apologies for that exact same thing.
In any case can anyone recall Althouse copping to such an error? I cannot and I have been a regular for about 15 years. Even Trump admits error more often.
I come here for the commenters, not Althouse.
Me too. Her choice of topics is odd and I often go elsewhere for good discussions. The cafe posts are the best, usually.
Notice Spicer does not embrace loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness as core values. The core value is one's career, and the appearance of loyalty, integrity, and trustworthiness is a means to that end. Sad!
The Althouse I know would have stomped out this kind of lazy analysis. Who is this imposter?
I still come here for Althouse, but less confidently than I used to. She usually had a sharp and insightful take, even if it wasn’t always sound. But recently her hot buttons have been pushed a lot, and predictably. Still it’s sad to see a post like this one. One of the true plagues Of our time is playing dumb: deliberately misunderstanding, misrepresenting, or misquoting someone to score group membership points. Althouse used to be good at nailing that. But here she is, playing dumb with a perfectly conventional self-effacing statement in response to a question.
Blue@9
I see we agree!
Bill Peschel
The most striking thing is the pretext she uses. Spicer is prompted. He makes a straight forward reply, but because it is an implicit claim of virtue he tosses in a common bit of boiler plate self effacement. Althouse seizes on this latter to pretend he is Machiavelli running a linear program on his laptop to maximize his career.
Sad.
Spicer is just keeping it real. The people who value loyalty, will be loyal no matter what Spicer says. But some Careerist will know understand that "cashing in" only works once. After that, you're untrustworthy dead meat.
BTW, being a "Traitor" in US politics only works if you betray a Republican and then PERMANENTLY change sides and become a Dem/liberal. CF: Gary Wills, John Dean, etc.
Peggy Noonan should have retired 15 years ago and the same is true of George Will.
"Even Homer nods." Even Althouse.
I agree that our Hostess's interpretation of Spicer cannot even remotely be found in anything he said. A distinctly cruel lack of neutrality is in evidence.
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