Why did Maureen Dowd want a hard pass?

[Eric J in MN]

In her column, "Bush's Barberini Faun" at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/opinion/17dowd.html

she writes, "At first when I tried to complain about not getting my pass renewed, even though I'd been covering presidents and first ladies since 1986, no one called me back. Finally, when Mr. McClellan replaced Ari Fleischer, he said he'd renew the pass - after a new Secret Service background check that would last several months."

But why couldn't she go to the press room as often as she wanted getting a daily pass each time?

How would that have been different?

[LisaLynne]

1. Maybe she could have ...

but, from what I understand, she always had the hard pass, so why would she not seek to renew it?

[imenja]

3. it also shows the Bush press policies are entirely politically motivated

They revoke Dowd's pass, deny all NYT reporters seats on the Bush campaign plane, and refuse to talk to the Washington Posts' Dana Milbank. They've refused to allow access to the two leading papers in the nation, yet give Gannon daily entrance and call on him during presidential press conferences. A five year old could see what's going on here.

[merh]

6. See, that is the real issue --

the sex and lies just makes it, well sexier.

Maureen Dowd was not allowed into the WH press briefings, not with a hard pass or a day pass. They would not allow her in, she was banned.

A hard pass requires a Secret Service background check that Jimmy-Jeff would never have cleared. So the admin got around the requirement for a Secret Service background by giving him a continuous day pass. His name was always on the "admit" list. Dowd's was on the "do not admit" list.

Its that simple, they found their way around the Secret Service background requirement because they new of his moonlighting.

Side note: Prostitutes usually don't pay state or federal income tax. I wonder if Jimmy-Jeff did!

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Because a hard pass means you're in the big league as opposed to

the soft pass being in the minor league.:shrug:

[imenja]

4. hmmm, the word pass next to a picture of Bill Clinton

was that deliberate? :spank:

[imenja]

5. also, it's time consuming

she would have to go to the press office and get a new one every single time she went to the White House as opposed to simply being able to walk in with the hard pass. Why should she? She's earned her stripes.
Apparently she's pretty chummy with Papa Bush. It's Baby Bush who hates her and the entire NYT staff.

[Eric J in MN]

7. So how time consuming was it for "Jeff Gannon" to get

his daily pass each time?

He seemed to be at almost every White House press conference for 2 years.

[bunkerbuster1]

8. In his defense

it's not like he had a real job, or anything else to do.

[teamster633]

9. "it's not like he had a real job, or anything else to do."

At least during the day...well, the occasional matinee...easy enough to work around.

[imenja]

10. He's not a journalist, Dowd is.

and she had covered the White House since the 1980s. Revoking her pass was obviously politically motivated, as is the Bush refusal to grant access to any NYT reporters or to Dana Milbanks.
Gannon shouldn't have had a pass in the first place.