As everyone probably knows by now, Garrett Graff, a blogger who created Fishbowl DC earlier this year, is now a credentialed member of the White House press corps.
This is of even greater interest because of the Gannon/Guckert fiasco and the surrounding questions about who gets access to the briefing room and who doesn’t. With that in mind, it’s only natural to wonder what the fake reporter himself thinks about all of this. Well, wonder no more.
Gannon writes: “The New York Times is hailing the first blogger to be issued a ‘day pass’ to a White House press briefing. It goes to great lengths to play up his genealogical background in journalism, but fails to mention that the Vermont native served as deputy national press secretary on Howard Dean’s presidential campaign last year. Hmmm… no political ties there!
“According to the ‘Gannon Standard,’ I am expecting to see other bloggers’ reports on his sexual and financial history as well as some conspiracy theories about who this guy is.”
The poor man couldn’t be more confused. Indeed, the notion of Guckert criticizing a writer for covering the White House despite “political ties” is rather stunning in itself. And surely Guckert understands the difference between someone’s private life and a man who advertises his services as a male prostitute on the Internet, right?
Graff is using his real name and works for an independent political outlet (his blog); Guckert used a fake name and was employed a partisan political organization. Why Guckert believes these circumstances are analogous is a mystery.