Day Tripper

Yesterday, Americablog linked to a diatribe from uber-GOP-connected CNS News that mentioned that pseudonyms were common among TV and radio journalists. The three journalists I've asked (an admittedly small sample) said that while it is common among radio and TV journalists, it's unheard of among print journalists.

Now while that issue may be a red herring, I do think it's worth scrutinizing because we need and deserve to know whether someone used a fake name to gain entrance to the White House briefing room. Not only are there post-9/11 security concerns but also GOP propaganda concerns.

A few questions: What level of scrutiny are prospective briefing-attendees subjected to? Did Gannon provide the Secret Service with a fake name (Gannon)? If so, why aren't the Secret Service and FBI (and White House) worried that somebody snuck in? If Gannon gave them his real name, Guckert, how did Scott McClellan know to call him Jeff? This is a "reporter" who showed up repeatedly with a day pass, which, if his real name was on it, aroused no suspicon when he was called by another name? Ever?

Today, DailyKos points to an Augusta Free Press editorial that claims getting a White House day pass ain't so easy. They write:

One point on the controversy involving now-deposed Talon News and GOPUSA politics writer Jeff Gannon got our attention.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan has said that Gannon, actually James Dale Guckert, 47, was given access to presidential briefings and a Jan. 26 news conference with President Bush on a day-by-day basis - and that this practice is basically a routine one that many journalists go through.

It sounds convincing on first hearing. Doesn't it?

Forget that Talon News and GOPUSA are partisan outfits that are friendly to the president, McClellan was telling us.

Doesn't matter.

Nor does it matter that a number of White House correspondents are saying that they saw Gannon with what appeared to be a permanent White House press pass.

And that the pass featured his picture and name - his fake name, mind you.

Never mind that the White House day passes that we have in our scrapbook don't have anybody's picture and name on them.

Yes, we have been through the process for obtaining White House day passes.

And let us just say that it is not at all an easy process to get through.

Needless to say that it is difficult to think that it could have been done using a fake name - the Secret Service needs your real name so it can do a background check on you before letting you inside the gate.

Several phone calls placed over the course of a two-week period were needed to get us inside.

And that was for a one-shot deal.

To think that Gannon or Guckert or whatever we should call him now did this on a regular basis makes us wonder when he had time to do any writing.

Which is why we applaud his gumption - if not his choice of afterhours business ventures.

By the way, in light of all this, the CBS Rove editorial listed in last night's post is looking better by the minute.