Jeff Gannon Pops Up in 'Doonesbury,' as 'Toady' Looks for New 'Stooge'

By: E&P Staff Jeff Gannon has finally made it as a pop culture icon, proving that his 15 minutes of fame is far from extinguished. Forget the "Today" show, The New York Times and Time magazine: Gannon, the former GOPUSA/Talon News White House correspondent (also known as James Guckert), landed in the comics pages today -- where, some might argue, he always belonged.

In today's Doonesbury strip (its Hunter Thompson tribute concluded), a new Secretary of Toady Affairs decides the administration needs ?a new plant in the White House press corps ... someone the President can point to when the questioning gets snarky.?

He continues: ?We can't use an outside stooge like Gannon this time, we have to rent an existing stooge.? The solution? In the final panel, Roland Hedley, still in a pith helmet and downing a donut, gets the call from the White House.

Now, who is Roland Hedley? For all we know it could be the new alias for Guckert/Gannon.

But no, he is a longstanding Garry Trudeau character. According to his official Doonesbury ?bio? he is a ?man of many talents, none of them of any use to a journalist.? He ?began his career at Time magazine, and was assigned to the Saigon bureau, where he covered sports. Deciding to add his mellifluous baritone to the cacophony of American broadcasting, he joined ABC Wide World of News, and has made a name for himself by traveling constantly to the world's hotspots, stopping briefly at laundromats between assignments. He has covered numerous presidential campaigns and world tours, mercilessly badgering officials with probing questions and inane queries alike. ...

"Without a doubt Hedley is best known for his l980 election-eve expedition into Reagan's brain.?

But now, according to the bio, he has ?made the move to narrowcasting, becoming chief content provider and portal correspondent for AOL-Time-Warner-CNN-Yap!com. ? Among his recent adventures: ?Traveling incognito in Afghanistan he was captured by the Taliban, wounded by Spam in a U.S. food drop, then rescued by the CIA.?