Gannon's to the Right of Me

By: Greg Mitchell Ten days ago, James Guckert told E&P he was through talking to the press, and now he won?t shut up. He?s even suggesting that some of his critics are ?tingling? from viewing ?sexy pictures? of him on the Web.

On Thursday, the once and perhaps future reporter known as Jeff Gannon, appeared on the "Today Show" and reactivated his Web site. It?s called ?Jeff Gannon: A Voice of the New Media,? with the tagline, ?So feared by the Left it had to take me down.?

Claiming he was ?bruised but not broken,? James/Jeff announced: ?I?m baaaaaaaack!? He vowed to ?battle the Left,? which he accuses of ?21st Century McCarthyism? against conservatives. ?I?m stronger than before,? he threatened.

But forget about answering any of those charges about his ?personal life. ... I won?t be discussing any of that stuff here.?

Just days ago, some wondered if the Gannon scandal would ever warrant the revered suffix ?gate.? Now, on the site, he repeatedly refers to ?Gannongate? himself.

And James/Jeff also wants your money. He says ?recent developments? have left him without an income, and asks for donations (via PayPal) to ?keep my voice from going silent.?

When he walked away from the site two weeks ago after his real name and sex-related background were outed by liberal bloggers, Guckert posted a notice announcing that his ?voice? had been stilled. But no longer.

Guckert has put up a new column, titled ?Fear and Loathing in the Press Room,? which likely is not an homage to the late Hunter Thompson but rather the title of a book he hopes to sell. In fact, in his initial column, he refers to the need to write a book to get the full truth out, so ready or not, here it comes.

He also now has the blog. But why not, since everyone else does? In it he unevenly balances supporting statements from Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, someone from the Biblical Christianity blog, and Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online, with a slam from the Raw Story site. But hey, it?s his blog.

He also thanks Howard Kurtz for a "solid piece." And he insinuates that The Nation's David Corn is a friend, but throws that into question by calling him David Korn.

Jim/Jeff observes that Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, had recently declared this was no time for editors to "swear off alcohol.? Then Guckert adds: "I'm not sure if that is what has been fuelling their coverage for the last 50 years, but it would explain a lot, especially Maureen Dowd."

In his column, Guckert claims that during his two-year tenure as a White House insider, ?I developed some good friends there who welcomed the refreshing perspective I brought to the briefings and respected my courage for asking the questions that I did.? He doesn?t name them, which is probably OK with them.

He denounces those who found ?sexy pictures? of him on the Web, which inspired ?rumors and conspiracy theories.? Forget for a moment that Guckert has now refused, on half a dozen occasions (including three interviews with E&P), to deny his part in the sex-escort trade. Here he says, ?Based on some of the emails I?ve received, many of these people were conflicted with hatred for my politics and tingling they experienced while viewing pictures said to be me.?

He also thanks God for his ?career as a reporter? and the fact that he was ?further blessed to become a White House correspondent.?

Then there?s this gem: ?If I had been a liberal reporter with the salacious past now attributed to me, I would be the Grand Marshall of the next Gay Pride Parade as well as a media darling, able to give softball interviews.? Well, he is an expert on softball questions, that?s for sure.

But I have a feeling that if he'd been a liberal reporter, he would have been skewered by Fox News and branded ?The Hapless Hooker? by the New York Post, two outlets largely silent about Gannongate so far.