CBS' John Roberts: Scott McClellan is a "truth teller" and a "stand-up guy"

Via Media Matters:

On the November 6 edition of CNN's Reliable Sources, CBS News chief White House correspondent John Roberts vouched for White House press secretary Scott McClellan --after watching a video clip of ABC White House correspondent Terry Moran telling McClellan at an October 31 press briefing that it was not the job of the White House press corps to "vouch" for McClellan to the American people. During the briefing, Moran questioned McClellan about false statements McClellan made to the press about the involvement of White House officials in the alleged leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Despite McClellan's false statements, during the Reliable Sources segment, Roberts called the press secretary a "truth-teller" and a "stand-up guy" and noted that he and McClellan have "a pretty good working relationship."

Most sane people would take issue with Roberts' characterization of McClellan as a "truth-teller," but the "stand-up guy" reference is not far off the mark. In most contexts, "stand-up guy" refers to someone who is aware of wrong-doing, but who can be counted on not to rat out the wrong-doers. The mob, for example, places a premium on stand-up guys. Some low-level hood gets pinched by the cops. Said hood knows stuff about the family business. If he's a stand-up guy, it means he's going to keep his mouth shut when the cops start sweating him. He won't give up his friends in exchange for a deal that might spare him a couple of years in jail. "We gotta worry about this guy?"

"Ehh, don't worry. He's a stand-up guy."

Crooked cops like stand-up guys. A detective roughs some poor bastard up in the interrogation room. His partner sees it happen. But, when Internal Affairs starts sniffing around, the partner says the poor bastard tripped over a chair. He doesn't give his partner up. He's a stand-up guy.

The capos in the Bush crime family know they can count on Scott McClellan to be a stand-up guy. The best-case scenario for McClellan is that he is kept in the dark about everything and that he goes out with his talking points and does as he is told. In that case, he's just a stooge.

But, anybody who has seen McClellan's jitterings and gyrations in the White House press room has witnessed a stand-up guy in action. He might not get his orders directly from the don ("Yeah, that's right, senator. The family had a lotta buffers."), but he's definitely a made guy. He knows the garbage he's spreading is nothing but lies. He won't break under questioning. He's a stand-up guy.