Remember Jerry terHorst?

Scott McClellan could have taken the higher ground and resigned immediately

"What Happened," former press secretary Scott McClellan's scathing book about the lies and deceptions of the Bush administration has been all over the media this week.

While McClellan's book reveals nothing that well read people don't already know, it does remind us of another former presidential press secretary whose name has become a historical footnote - Jerry terHorst.

As President Gerald Ford's first press secretary, terHort was a reporter and columnist with the Detroit News. As Detroit's then afternoon newspaper, The News was generally viewed as the town's conservative voice with the morning Detroit Free Press being the liberal voice.

Appointed in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, terHorst served Ford for one month before abruptly resigning. TerHorst resigned over Ford's decision to pardon Richard Nixon.

Aside from the time they served, the difference between terHorst and McClellan is stark. terHorst immediately resigned after his boss made a decision he could not support.

McClennan could have done the same.