Judas, Thy Name is ... McClellan? Stephanopoulos? Regan?

Bush loyalists, outraged by Scott McClellan's disloyalty, are taking comfort from the inevitable fallout. Scott's newfound friends on the left, they muse, will drop him as soon as it's convenient. And while his book may earn him a lot of money, he'll never work in Washington political circles again.

Maybe, but if history is any guide, he may find safe haven in New York financial or media circuits instead.

Remember George Stephanopoulos? In 1999 he wrote "All Too Human," an insider tell-all about Bill and Hillary Clinton. These days he's anchor of ABC's "This Week" Sunday talk show.

Then there was David Stockman's "The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed." President Reagan took his OMB director to the "woodshed" over the book (maybe the title?) but afterwards Stockman had a nice run on Wall Street. (Until recently when he was indicted in a fraud case.)

And of course there's Dick Morris, who wrote "Behind the Oval Office" about his efforts to teach Clinton how to triangulate. After a brief period of censure for having a long-term relationship with a prostitute, Morris was back on the lecture circuit, practically making a living off analyzing the Clintons.

So if dissing a president doesn't destroy a career, if there's no downside to disclosure, what's a White House to do? Loyalty oaths sort of went out with the Joe McCarthy witch hunt era. As for civility well, let's not even go there. I thought Tim Russert put it nicely the other morning on the Today Show when he said, "Beware of the quiet guy standing in the corner of the room."

--Johanna Neuman