The horror... the horror

Wrong Kurtz, perhaps. But WaPo's Howard is about as trustworthy as his namesake when it comes to Gannongate.

His defense of Gannon to fellow shill Wolf Blitzer has been widely covered. But he rushed to Gannon's aid a few days ago as well.

It was hard not to notice the question at last month's presidential news conference.

Invoking Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harry Reid, reporter Jeff Gannon said: "Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. . . . How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"

Gannon writes for Talon News, a Web site whose reports also appear on another site, GOPUSA, whose self-declared mission is "Bringing the Conservative Message to America".

But White House spokesman Scott McClellan says President Bush didn't know who Gannon was and that it's "nonsense" to suggest the president was trying to get a sympathetic question. Gannon got a day pass to the White House, available to any journalist, commentator or blogger who writes for an audience. "I don't think it's the role of the press secretary to get into the business of being a media critic or picking and choosing who gets credentials," McClellan says.

Anybody see anything remotely resembling reporting in those 'graphs? "Ah, yup, yup, yup... Scottie says it was on the up and up, and that's good enough for me!"

We report accept without question whatever crap the White House shovels, you decide. And that's the way it is, on Cable Foxington Post.