My former boss and friend Bill Bennett is a man of many talents and many virtues, with loyalty being high among them. Bill was on CNN’s The Situation Room yesterday discussing Matt Latimer, a former mid-level aide in the Bush administration and the author of a new “tell-all” book on it. Latimer had just been interviewed by Wolf Blitzer when Blitzer asked Bill for his thoughts. This is what Mr. Bennett had to say:

Talk about way over your head. He’s way over [his] head. That’s the best job he’ll have ever. The guy is a worm. He’s a worm. He belongs under a rock next to Scott McClellan. This is so disgusting. I don’t know if Don Rumsfeld knows what he’s getting. I have been critical of the Bush administration, but I did not work for the George W. Bush administration. This kind of disloyalty is — you know, give me ten ultra liberal Paul Begalas for his integrity. [Latimer] needs to read his Dante. He probably hasn’t read “The Inferno.” The lowest circle of hell are for people who are disloyal in the way this guy is disloyal and the very lowest point Satan chews on their bodies. Maybe Scott McClellan will chew on this guy’s leg in the after life. So creepy and so disgusting. Why waste 15 minutes on this guy?

This is a priceless take-down of a disloyal former aide who is now being flayed from every side — from conservatives and liberals and those in between, from Bill Bennett to James Carville, from people who worked with Latimer and people who did not.

Gloria Borger and Donna Brazile weigh in as well and draw a similar, if somewhat less vivid, conclusion as Bennett. The transcript of the exchange about Latimer is below:

BLITZER: All right. Let’s discuss what we just heard from Matt Latimer, the former speech writer for President Bush. Joining us now our senior political analyst Gloria Borger, a pair of CNN contributors, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and national radio talk show host Bill Bennett. Gloria, let me start with you. It’s not unusual for an insider to write a tell-all book.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, this is just plain self-promotion. He said he wanted to be like a tape recorder. I think what he really wants to be a cash register. This is all about cashing in, and I want to know why did he stay in the Bush White House if he thought that he was surrounded by buffoons and incompetent people? I think this is nothing more than an effort to try and make money and promote himself in a way.
BLITZER: Bill Bennett, he does really suggest that a lot of the people who worked in the Bush White House were way over their heads. They weren’t qualified to be there just because they were pals with the president, they got those jobs.
BILL BENNETT, NATIONAL RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Talk about way over your head. He’s way over [his] head. That’s the best job he’ll have ever. The guy is a worm. He’s a worm. He belongs under a rock next to Scott McClellan. This is so disgusting. I don’t know if Don Rumsfeld knows what he’s getting. I have been critical of the Bush administration, but I did not work for the George W. Bush administration. This kind of disloyalty is — you know, give me ten ultra liberal Paul Begalas for his integrity. [Latimer] needs to read his Dante. He probably hasn’t read “The Inferno.” The lowest circle of hell are for people who are disloyal in the way this guy is disloyal and the very lowest point Satan chews on their bodies. Maybe Scott McClellan will chew on this guy’s leg in the after life. So creepy and so disgusting. Why waste 15 minutes on this guy?
BLITZER: Let me ask Donna. What are the ground results? You know a lot of people who have worked in Democratic White Houses and Republican White Houses. Sometimes these people come out and they write these books and others just hold it to themselves.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, Wolf, I think when you have the opportunity and the privilege of working in the White House or on Capitol Hill, I think part of that job is to help protect the institution, and there are some things that are said in the room that should stay in the room and most professionals understand that. Clearly this young man had no bright lines. He was taking notes and hopefully wanted to cash out as Gloria says.