You can hear Marc Cooper's an interview with David Corn on the Gannon story at
THE NATION.
I believe that David Corn is speaking with the heart of a journalist and the mind of a Democrat, yet I think he's missing the bigger issue, of which Jeff Gannon is only a small part. I think it's time we started thinking with a common soul, with all that it means to be American. Freedom of the press and freedom of conscience is at issue here. Gannon is just a poster child for what should, in truth, be called Propaganda-Gate.
Mr. Corn is a seasoned journalist and it's clear he thinks with the journalist's mind. One idea Corn raises is that the story could be viewed from a different standpoint. Corn suggests that perhaps it wasn't a scandal that a partisan reporter from a highly questionable "news organization" got into the White House Press room via a series of day passes. Corn asks us to think a bit differently - Do we know of any "reporters" who
COULDN'T get in because they were left-leaning partisans from highly questionable "news organizations? From a journalist's point of view, the "Left-outs" would be more telling than the "Let-ins". I do think this is a good point.
Corn is being overly cautious and uneasy, in my opinion, in discussing Gannon's sex-related issues. I don't think Corn should be so shy to express outrage or to express ironic humor, at best, over an easily-detected prostitute from a fake news organization doing national politics reporting which has been entered into our nation's most solemn Congressional Record.
Mr. Corn believes that Karl Rove is probably happy, seeing all the to-do about Gannon while no one is making a concerted effort to press for the declassification of documents regarding past activities of (National Intelligence Chief nominee) John Negroponte. Corn believes the left should not be in the business of "scalp-hunting", but should concentrate on policy issues. This is where I suggest that Corn is thinking with the mind of a Democrat. Concentrating on policy issues didn't get John Kerry very far (and worse, Gannon was part of the extremely damaging White house-enabled Kerry-disinformation scheme-through-journalism last year).
I believe Mr. Corn offers an all-too easy excuse for the White House, stating that it might have been just a 'simple screw-up' to allow Gannon in. When our fine journalists fail to see the bigger picture, they betray the nature of the First Amendment. I think Mr. Corn is being far too soft on this issue and I really don't understand why, except for the probability that he's missing the boat or afraid to offend. Perhaps he wishes to separate himself by those he sees as "scalp-hunters".
I consider Jeff Gannon to be the poster child for Propaganda-Gate.
Gannon, in and of himself, is not "the scandal". Yet, he is a glaring example of the corruption which has taken place in the public (dis)information dissemination 'machinery', in which the White House is proven to have been been complicit.
Mr. Corn believes Gannon may be a waste of political time. While that may be true, we've ignored the little Gannons, Hannitys, Limbaughs and Fox News propaganda for too long. As always, the elephant in the room escapes detection.
Mr. Corn seems to be saying "Aww, they're not so bad" as the Bush administration is ripping him and his fellow discerning journalists to professional shreds. I've valued David Corn's ideas and his writing in the past, and I hope he will take some time to think this one through and reserve his judgement on what Gannon means, in terms of "the big picture" for a later time when it becomes more clear. (And I believe it will). This is about far more than gay prostitution and scalp-hunting. It's more a philosophical discussion we need to be having and less a concerted effort to destroy Mr. Gannon's already-poor reputation.
We can act in the mindset of Democrats and we can think with the heart of the journalist within us. Yet, if we do not start thinking with the soul of our common American traditional values, we will be forever lost. Freedom of the press is crucial to the life of American democracy.
JUDE