Scott McClellan, known for his steady demeanor, self-deprecating humor and fierce loyalty to President Bush, makes his debut in one of the nation’s most intense arenas Tuesday when he officially begins his duties as the president’s chief spokesman. He replaces Ari Fleischer, who spent his last day on the job Monday.
“Scott came into the world very stoic, determined and disciplined,” said his mother, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, about the youngest of her four sons.
His oldest brother, Dr. Mark McClellan, 40, works across town in another Washington power job as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Twin brothers, Brad and Dudley, 38, are lawyers in Austin, the Texas capital. Scott McClellan is 35.
After two years as deputy press secretary, McClellan is making his ascent amid promising reviews. Even through the hypercritical lens of the White House press corps, McClellan is seen much as his family describes him: even-tempered, likable, responsive to the needs of reporters.
He is also leakproof.
“As a deputy, he has been very helpful, very open to reporters and also very careful in what he says,” said Bob Deans, White House correspondent for the Cox newspaper chain and departing president of the White House Correspondents Association. “I don’t think Scott sees the press as the enemy. I think he sees us as a conduit between the president and the public, and he wants that conduit to be open.”
McClellan acknowledged that he faces the perennial high-wire act performed by all press secretaries: balancing the interests of his boss with the often adversarial interests of the media.
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McClellan says he has “a good understanding of the president’s thinking.” He also has prepared himself by meeting with predecessors, including Marlin Fitzwater, who served as press secretary for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. “I told him it may be his last peaceful moment for many years,” Fitzwater recalled.
White House reporters are pushing McClellan for more access to the president and the senior staff, pointing out that Bush has held 52 news conferences, compared with 99 held by Clinton during the same period in his administration.
McClellan becomes the first presidential press secretary from Texas since Bill Moyers and George Christian served in that role for President Lyndon Johnson during the 1960s.