Bush's Journalist Stool Pigeons

First it came out that a conservative talking head named Armstrong Williams was paid by the Bush administration with taxpayer dollars to promote the Bush Education Plan. Let me repeat: THE ADMINISTRATION PAID A JOURNALIST WITH TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO PROMOTE ITS AGENDA.

Then, it comes out that conservative columnist Maggie Gallagher was paid by the administration with taxpayer dollars to defend the Bush administration’s position on marriage, specifically the strengthening of marriage.

Neither Armstrong nor Gallagher notified their readers of these conflicts of interest.

But wait, there’s more: conservative columnist Mike McManus was paid by the administration to train marriage counselors as part of the agency's initiative promoting marriage to build strong families.

Now comes word that one James Guckert, a White House reporter for the Talon News Service under the name "Jeff Gannon," is quitting his job. So what, you ask? Well, he has come under scrutiny because he is an employee of a Republican-owned news website that is closely linked with GOPUSA, a GOP activist organization. This man somehow got access to the exclusive White House Press Corps under an assumed name. Why would he need an assumed name? Well, he seemed to make a point of lobbing softball questions to Mr. Bush at press conferences.

At a news conference on January 26th, Guckert asked Bush how he could deal with Democratic congressional leaders "who seem to have divorced themselves from reality." Do you think maybe he was there to help make Bush look good to other reporters, who would then report how good he looked to their readers around the country?

Guckert admitted to having conservative beliefs. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when journalists’ beliefs lead them to become propaganda tools for the administration, something is definitely wrong. Williams, Gallagher, and McManus were wrong, and Guckert/Gannon appears to be. Is it just me, or does all this seem just a little shady?

Asked about Guckert, the White House offered no comment. Well, duh. Bush has said “Our agenda ought to be able to stand on its own two feet." Well, obviously, he doesn’t believe that. If he doesn’t even think his agenda is good for all American people, why should we?