New Bush Spokesman Has Trust of President, Press

By SCOTT LINDLAW
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Scott McClellan, the new press secretary for President Bush, is a 35-year-old Texan known as an affable but tough spokesman. So far, he has succeeded in maintaining the trust of both his boss and the press corps.

For the past two years McClellan has been the No. 2 White House spokesman, watching Ari Fleischer's daily briefings from the sidelines and occasionally filling in. Easygoing but less polished than Fleischer in front of the television cameras, McClellan took over in July as the public face of the administration.

Unlike most White House press secretaries, McClellan has little Washington experience.

He joined Bush's statehouse office in Texas in early 1999 and soon became the governor's deputy communications director. He was the traveling press secretary for the Bush 2000 presidential campaign.

His roots run deep in Texas politics. McClellan's mother, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, has served as mayor of Austin and as Texas railroad commissioner and is currently the state's comptroller. He was campaign manager for his mother three times, each effort a success. He first came to know the future president and key members of his team, including communications adviser Karen Hughes, in 1993 and 1994.

"I've known Scott for a long time," Bush said as he announced McClellan's appointment before leaving on a fund-raising trip to Georgia. "He'll be able to do the job, like Ari did, with the highest amount of professionalism and class."

McClellan's brother, Mark, is commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Scott McClellan counted health issues as part of his portfolio as a deputy White House press secretary. The brothers sometimes ribbed each other during briefings at the White House or aboard Air Force One.

McClellan was assigned to work with reporters on some of the thorniest issues facing the administration: Bush's plan to give religious charities a larger role in government aid projects, the environment, election reform, Bush's plan to inoculate military and emergency personnel against smallpox.

He won over many reporters by being well versed and by disarming them with jokes that would crinkle his face into a contagious smile. When the policy battles of the day are over, McClellan is always ready to talk about Texas Longhorns football.

"He's got a lot going for him, starting with the fact that he's extremely well liked by the press corps," said Bill Sammon, senior White House correspondent for The Washington Times. "He's also very conscientious and apparently a very good research guy. But the job is a meat grinder. I think most reporters hope he'll succeed at it."

McClellan oversees a staff of 11, and coordinates White House efforts with Bush's re-election apparatus.

"Scott is beloved," said Nicolle Devenish, who left the White House earlier this month to head the re-election communications team. "He shares his knowledge of the president's record, both at the White House and from the governor's office, freely with other spokespeople."

During Bush's first two years in office, Fleischer turned increasingly to McClellan for news briefings, a show of confidence since the sessions often range across huge swaths of domestic and foreign policy. A mistake can have serious repercussions.

McClellan has sometimes frustrated reporters by stubbornly sticking to the "talking points" the White House has drawn up, leaving questions unanswered. He refuses to leak, but will discuss issues more expansively than some of his colleagues.

McClellan can tangle with reporters. He has been known to telephone reporters he thought wrote unfair or inaccurate stories, telling them firmly, with his touch of a Texas accent, what he thought.

Ever true to his boss' demand that no White House announcement be upstaged by advance leaks, McClellan wouldn't budge as reporters tried to persuade him to make his appointment official in the wake of Fleischer's announced departure.

"I never speculate on personnel matters. But I guess we are getting close," he said with a grin - and a pause. "I might as well go ahead announce it - Yes, I'm getting married in November."

Then he refused to provide any more information, including his fiancee's name.

"It's probably best to leave her out of this," he said. "She's a wonderful woman who lives in Austin and I'm looking forward to it."