Former Bush aide McClellan defends his brother, Scott

Former Bush administration official Mark McClellan on Thursday defended his brother Scott, the president’s embattled ex-press secretary.

In the wake of fierce pushback from the White House and allegations that Scott McClellan was disingenuous in writing his explosive new book, Mark McClellan said that his brother “really believes what he’s saying.”

{mosads}Asked about the tome at a policy conference on healthcare reform in the nation’s capital, Mark McClellan said, “He worked long and hard on that book … I have respect for Scott’s beliefs. This is what he wanted to do.”

Mark McClellan served in the Bush administration as head of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He noted Thursday that his administration positions “were very different” than Scott’s.

In a press conference last week, White House press secretary Dana Perino said the president “doesn’t recognize this as the Scott McClellan he hired.”

Asked about charges that Scott McClellan has changed since he left the White House, Mark McClellan responded, “Straightforwardness, candor and bipartisanship are the ways to get solutions.”

Scott McClellan’s book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, is No. 2 on Amazon.com’s best-seller list.