Soon after his departure he said a few impolitic things in a BBC interview. Since then, he has abandoned candor, cracking only the mildest of Lewinsky jokes. As Clinton's mouthpiece, McCurry was partisan and sarcastic, manipulated reporters into softening stories, and bullied those who crossed him. He berated reporters self-righteously. Even so, McCurry remained hugely popular among his press corps because he was one of them.
Pols come and go, but press secretaries and reporters are forever.
McCurry helped reporters do their job, and they adored him for it. He explained complicated policies, spoke calmly during crises, and dug for inside information a notable contrast to the ignorant Dee Dee Myers or the secretive Stephanopoulos. All press secretaries mislead reporters, but McCurry did it less than most. He never forgot that politics was if not a game at least a pleasure. He began one briefing with a paper bag over his head, playing an anonymous source.