WP Dan Froomkin, on jeff gannon, March 10, 2004.....

[diamond14]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A45953-2004Mar10¬Found=true

Inside the Real West Wing

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, March 10, 2004; 10:15 AM


-snips-

And then there's Jeff Gannon of Talon News.

Who? Of what?

I first wrote about Gannon in my Feb. 19 column. Gannon works for a tiny, supremely conservative organization called Talon News which publishes a Web site by the same name as well as one called GOPUSA.com. With the sole exception of Gannon, who says he is compensated, all the "reporters" are volunteers.

Gannon's presence in the White House briefing room is something of an irritant to most of the press corps, which considers his questions at briefings to be preposterous softballs.

And in return, Gannon sometimes writes on his own Web site about his views of the corps and how there is "perhaps no depth to which it will not sink in order to undermine a presidency."

Anyway, the reason Gannon is on the list is most likely an attempt to find out who gave him a secret memo that he mentioned in an interview he had with Plame's husband, former ambassador and administration critic Joseph Wilson.

---------------------------------------


Gannon won't talk about it. But he does keep lobbing those softballs. Sometimes he even brings props. And press secretary McClellan seems to appreciate it.

Yesterday, for instance, McClellan was getting hammered with questions about the 9/11 commission and the possible inappropriate juxtaposition of a visit to a 9/11 memorial with a fundraiser on Thursday.

It was getting ugly. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," McClellan said in response to a jibe.

Then he saw daylight:



See the full text of the briefing. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040309-5.html



"Go ahead, Jeff."

Gannon: "Thank you. First of all, I hope the grand jury didn't force you to turn over the wedding card I sent to you and your wife. (Laughter.) Do you see any hypocrisy in the controversy about the President's mention of 9/11 in his ads, when Democratic icon Franklin Delano Roosevelt's campaign issued this button, that says, 'Remember Pearl Harbor'? I have a visual aid for folks watching at home."

McClellan: "You're pointing out some historical facts. Obviously, Pearl Harbor was a defining moment back in the period of World War II, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was strongly committed to winning World War II and talked about it frequently."

Gannon: "So you think it certainly is valid that the President does talk about it and --"

McClellan: "Yes, he addressed this this weekend, when he was first asked about it. September 11th was a defining moment for our nation. We all shared in that experience. And it's important that we look at how we lead in a post-September 11th world. And that's an important discussion to have with the American people, and to talk about the differences in approaches to winning the war on terrorism and preventing attacks from happening in the first place."

[LisaM]

1. He had a visual aid with him?

Does that seem a bit unusual?

[diamond14]

2. the whole thing is GHASTLY....undermines OUR democracy and OUR

government....


bush* pays shills to hype his 'education' plans


bush* pays shills to hype his 'marriage for couples only' plans


and NOW, bush* has faux non-journalists hype up his agenda IN THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCES....


where am I????? Soviet Union??? Red China????

[HEyHEY]

3. Has he had his pass revoked?

He should

[Canuckistanian]

4. Gannon: "Is the president great or what, Scottie?"

McClellan: "Why yes, now that you mention it, I think he is the greatest president we've ever had, Mr... Gannon, is it?"