In its piece on the McClellan book, the Washington Post includes a quote McClellan himself once gave about a tell-all by former national security adviser Richard Clarke.

“Why, all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise these sooner?” McClellan said. “This is 1 1/2 years after he left the administration. . . . He has written a book, and he certainly wants to go out there and promote that book.”

Great quote, right? Makes McClellan look bad and all. Ironic at the very least. Good digging by the Washington Post!

Except…not really. Turns out the Post had a little help from the White House.

As Politico reports, emphasis added…..

As part of a sophisticated pushback by presidential allies, a little bird pointed reporters to a 2004 briefing in which McClellan said of a critical book by former anti-terror czar Richard Clarke, “I mean, why, all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise these sooner?

”Might that little bird be this person?