Guckert/Gannon Via LA Times Via Yahoo!

[Annie]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...nidentitycrisisunfoldsinanotsoelitepresscorps

ACLU and anyone else that wanted to jump onto this bandwagon, welcome aboard the sinking dingy. Please note, there is a reason to wonder if GOPJeff is a 'plant.'

..."If you look at the question Gannon asked, it obviously reflected his conservative views," Fitzwater said.

"But it's no different from the ones Helen Thomas [formerly of United Press International, now of Hearst] asked of Reagan, or Dan Rather [of CBS] asked in his more famous comments about Richard Nixon.

"This guy [Gannon] got caught and he's a little weirder than most — but he's no weirder than Evelyn Y. Davis," said Fitzwater, referring to the shareholder advocate who covers the White House for her corporate newsletter, "Highlights and Lowlights."

"I've always thought it was dangerous for the White House to get into the business of defining who is and is not a member of the press corps," said Clinton White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry. "That is better done by the news media."

Reporters, too, seem reluctant to join the fray. The White House Correspondents Assn. met last week with White House spokesman Scott McClellan, but no action has been taken.

"We wanted to err on the side of inclusion," said Steve Scully of C-SPAN, who serves on the executive board. "Once you start dictating who is a journalist, you go down a slippery slope."

Former Press Secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites), who gave Gannon a day pass even before Talon News was launched, told the trade magazine Editor & Publisher that at one point he hesitated to call on the reporter, then resumed after being assured he was not a GOP plant.

Still, the impression lingers for some that the Bush White House — with its reputation for stage-managing the news — orchestrated softball questions. Others say the White House is simply a magnet for those eager to usurp its stage.

"I look at the Gannon story — I used to refer to him as Jeff GOP — as demonstrating the impact of televising the press briefing," said Martha Kumar, a political scientist at Towson University.

"The television lens has brought into the briefing room people who have a political viewpoint and find the briefing a way to express it."

 

[MJDuncan1982]

This is a security issue. How does a man get into the White House Press Corp under a FAKE NAME? Somebody (cough cough...a boyfriend in the White House) pushed him through.

The Bush White House has ties to gay prostitution - how amazingly ironic.

 

[SmarterThanYou]

I must be behind the curve ball on this, someone help me out.

This guy, Gannon, while pretending to be an off venue journalist, was given a pass to the white house to ask questions friendlier to the Bush administration. Do I have that right?

 

[musicman]

I know how thinking must upset your prejudices, guys, but let's gather a few facts before we rush to our convenient conclusions, shall we?

The pass was issued in the man's real name, while he operates under an internet pen name. He was issued a day pass (good for one day). That's no great feat. You or I could probably get one of those. I hate to dash your little hopes, but the only sinister thing going on here is Gannon's treatment by the hypocritical left.

 

[OCA]

Yes, anything seeming to not be critical of Bush and asked at a press conference is deemed suspicious by the LMM, what a joke.

 

[musicman]

Yes, anything seeming to not be critical of Bush and asked at a press conference is deemed suspicious by the LMM, what a joke.

They're killing me, OCA! Every time the left triies to sling shit anymore, they wind up wearing it. This is better than the movies!

 

[OCA]

They're killing me, OCA! Every time the left triies to sling shit anymore, they wind up wearing it. This is better than the movies!

Remember during the Lewinsky deal, if you were harsh on Bubba with your questions then you were part of the vast right wing conspiracy. I tell ya. they are cracking up before our very eyes.

 

[musicman]

Remember during the Lewinsky deal, if you were harsh on Bubba with your questions then you were part of the vast right wing conspiracy. I tell ya. they are cracking up before our very eyes.

And no more media monopoly to smooth the edges and mask the stench. America is finally seeing the left for the hateful, intolerant loons they really are. I laugh my ass off every day.