Who Is "Rewriting History" Here?

Most of you in the blogisphere know about the former CIA analyst who challenged Rummy by quoting Rummy back to Rummy: A fun game the Whitehouse likes to call "rewriting history." The trouble for the W, Rove and Co is that when you don't tell the truth, their past will come back to haunt them. Have a look at how Scotty tries to paint this CIA Analyst:

Q Some people seemed to take out their frustrations yesterday on Secretary Rumsfeld. What did the President think about that exchange? And does it change his opinion at all about the Secretary?

MR. McCLELLAN: People have a right to express their views, but I think you ought to step back and review history a little bit, not try to rewrite history. Saddam Hussein's regime was a threat. It was a threat to the region, it was a threat to the world. And in the aftermath of September 11th, this President made a determination that we were going to confront threats before they fully materialized, before it was too late.

And this President has led the way. We all saw the same intelligence. Now, the intelligence was wrong, but it was the collective judgment of the intelligence community that decisions were made upon. And this President took steps to appoint a bipartisan independent commission, and that commission took a look at the intelligence because it's vital in this dangerous time we live in when there are terrorists who still want to strike America, that we make sure we have the best possible intelligence.

And they recommended reforms, and we're moving forward on those reforms. In fact, the Director of National Intelligence is a new position that was -- that came out of those reforms. And there are a number of other reforms we've taken, as well. And that's what's important to look at. And regardless of where you stood before, this is a time when we all need to be coming together to support our troops in Iraq and to support our plan for victory in Iraq, because success in Iraq is critical to winning the war on terrorism. It is the central front in the war on terrorism. The terrorists recognize that. They recognize how high the stakes are, and you see the Zarqawi video. We must continue to move forward and help the Iraqi people who have shown that they want to build a brighter future, that they want to live in freedom, when 12 million people show up at the polls, and when a group of leaders that they elected comes together and forms a national unity government.

Q So you thought that this former CIA analyst who challenged Rumsfeld was trying to rewrite history, is that what you're saying?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm saying that people can express their views, but what I was talking about is, let's step back and look at history, and look at what the facts were, and look at what people knew at the time, and to also put it in the context of the post-September 11th world that we live in.

Q But, Scott, that's what he was trying to do, the CIA analyst. Why was a CIA analyst trying to rewrite history? He was just reading quotes.

MR. McCLELLAN: Those are your words. I'm saying that people can express themselves.

Q Okay, who was trying to rewrite history? That was what the question --

MR. McCLELLAN: But I've seen coverage of this, and -- well, my point is that let's go back and look at history. Let's go back and look at the facts and look at where we are today in Iraq, as well.

Q Isn't that what he was trying to do, is look at the facts?

MR. McCLELLAN: He can express his views however he wants. People have the right to do that. But let's look at the collective judgment of the intelligence community. It was outlined in the National Intelligence Estimate, and it was provided to members of Congress, too, so that they could look at. Intelligence around the world, in different countries around the world, was the same kind of intelligence that we saw. And the world recognized that Saddam Hussein's regime was a threat.

But we all know that the W has said himself that the intelligence was bad. So again, we have to ask, who is really trying to "rewrite history" here?