Scott’s Top Ten Obfuscations

In honor of his departure, CQ has assembled Scott McClellan‘s greatest hits. Or, more accurately, his ten favorite ways to not inform the public and counted up how many times he used each ploy.

It’s a great list, made all the better by the sample quotes for each example. It is, though, sullied somewhat by the inexplicable listing of only nine items instead of the promised ten:

1) Doesn’t Know: Used at Briefings 574 Times
2) Cannot Comment on an Ongoing Investigation: 210 Times
3) Doesn’t Have Any Further Information: 160 Times
4) Won’t Speculate: 155 Times
5) Hasn’t Heard Anything: 58 Times
6) Cannot Confirm or Go Into Details: 52 Times
7) Ask Someone Else: 50 Times Doesn’t Remember: 19 Times
9) Wants to Be Left Alone: 1 Time

Anyone want to nominate a 10th item from Scott’s repertoire to help round out the list?

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