For those of you cynical of Gannon's story growing legs in MSM

[Domitan]

Just think of it as a corrosive leak that just keeps on eating and eating away at the illusory armour of untouchability. It may not seem much at first for most people...but give it time, it grows larger and uglier. The eroded armour exposing the true innards that people can no longer deny.

[benburch]

1. You have no idea how ugly this really is.

Imagine every "Clergy caught in the act" scandal you have ever heard of rolled into one.

This would appear to go right to the Oval Office.

[vickie]

2. I heard Imus (the dried up/drunken cokehead) snickering about

it this morning. The ridiculously lame Howie Kurtz was forced to write a WP story about it yesterday (as the lie about the 'inactive' escort/porn website was batted down). Americablog is doing outstanding work following this (he's very good and telegenic, too), so as long as there are revelations this will remain on the burner.

[dddem]

3. I recall during monicagate

that it was a process that took about 9 or 10 months before it really came to a head (sorry - unintentional pun). My friends thought I was crazy for being so upset about the disrespect shown to President Clinton. They told me it was gossip and too stupid to possibly amount to anything. Something told me from the get-go that this story wasn't going away. I'm hoping that democrats with clout will treat this story the same, and not let it fade into the background. Obviously illegal wars and record deficits aren't enough to shock and upset people, so bring on the indiscretions! Bring on the sex! Bring on the Internet and the escorts and bald fetishes! BRING IT ON!

[Ninga]

4. I must take a bit of issue with your perception of how the Monica

story first broke in the MSM.

I was on a business trip and when it first broke, everybody the next day at the conference was tittering about it, and it continued in the MSM and never gave up.

The Gannon story however hasen't "hit the fan" so to speak, in a forceful below the fold front page way.

I am taking heart.....Jon Stewart hammered away last night and was brilliant. Hopefully, others will follow.

[Ripley]

7. Exactly. It broke like a dam and rushed to the Ocean for months.

I recall seeing Monica in her stupid beret every day I turned the news on. I still can't believe CNN talked about cum on a blue dress.

Suddenly they're *not* interested in sex, lies and immorality. Even after 9/11 "changed everything." Funny huh? Well, no, not funny, sick and frightening really how Fascism is accepted here because the young women reporting the news are dressed and painted like fashion models and they sooth us with their puffy lips telling us how safe we are now...

[Toots]

14. We still to this day hear about Monica daily with shows like Leno's Tonigh

Jay Leno does his obligatory Clinton _ Monica bit every single night. And he "Presumes" to be Middle of the Road. I can't even imagine what is said in conservative circles on a daily basis. Gannon will never reach these heights.

[dddem]

9. Perhaps I misrepresented my message...

Although it WAS gossiped about, nobody thought it would become more than that. Nobody believed me when I said the republicans would try to bring him down. In fact, I recently has an argument with a co-worker in which he STILL seemed angry. Why? He was bullshit at how much it cost us taxpayers to DEFEND Clinton. Naturally I set him straight and explained that the Clintons paid for their own defense, while it cost us millions to try to prosecute a blow job.
I apologize for confusing the issue, I only meant to suggest that this scandal needs to be afforded the same weight and importance as the lewinski "affair"; and that it took a while for monicagate to gain serious momentum, as a political issue and not just late night monologue fodder. We can only hope!

[No Exit]

11. That begs the question:

What if "Jeff Gannon", with the same background (prostitution, pandering), were a female?

The conventional wisdom (FWIW) says that Our President is hetero. So, what if suddenly there were found a woman in the press corps with all the dubious credentials of Gannon/Guckert? A woman who had naked pics of herself out on the web, complete with a price listed for her "escort" services? A woman who was backed by Robert Eberle, Texas republican?

Even the dimmest-bulb repukelican lemming would soon be asking itself, "Hey.... so, did the Prez partake of her?"

[MADem]

13. MoDo has it, and she's GREAT

She likens Jimmy Jeff to a barbieri faun... http://images.google.com/images?q=barbieri+faun&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search ...if you have seen his nekkid pictures, you can't help but roar with laughter at her description. She also notes that SHE was turned down for a WH pass, took her MONTHS to get in. She shoulda been a hooker, instead of a New York Times columnist!!!! http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/opinion/17dowd.html

[vi5]

5. Sorry, but given all the stories that have withered and died...

...and how many of those stories had people on here declaring "the tide has turned"...or "bush is toast" or "this is going to be the one that takes them down".....

We are no longer fighting perceptions or ideology. We are fighting a stubborn cult of personality marked by an obsessive persecution complex. Anything we try to do only makes them stronger, aided and abetted by the media.

You'll have to forgive my cynicism.

[Domitan]

16. I understand, but

there's something about this that reminds me of a card that you remove, and it turns out to be the one that brings the house of cards crashing. Not right now...but down the road.

[AllegroRondo]

6. Jon Stewart covered it last night

so it is getting out there.

[sui generis]

10. its about effing time!

I was just about to delete him off my Tivo schedule for not mentioning it.

[zann725]

18. It was SOOO funny. Thought I'd pee myself. It'll re-run tonight...

for those who missed it.

[DavidDvorkin]

8. I'm one of the cynical ones

I've expressed that cynicims on DU and other boards, and I remain cynical.

But I'd looooove to end up being wrong.

[wishlist]

12. I'm cynical too after his 9/11 failures, Iraq WMD lies and Abu Ghraib

None of the despicable actions of this Administration have seemed to taint him very much with most Americans. There seems to be a halo around him where he manages to not be held accountable for any duplicity or incompetence or coverups or illegalities, even when he fails to hold anyone else on his payroll responsible either.

All he has to do is make a couple of dismissive remarks expressing his ignorance, surprise and disapproval over Gannon, and that will probably be the end of this saga. Hope I'm wrong though!

[distantearlywarning]

15. I agree. I believe that the more they try to suppress things like this

the more suspicious people will become. We have already seen some of the Freepers discussing WH funded journalism as though it is a fact (the "kicked off" ones, but still), and starting to view other things through that lens. I predict this effect will snowball, and over time we will see a shift in American consciousness where MSM gradually becomes more and more disrespected and marginalized. It may take a few years though.

It is natural for people to want to read about and look at things they think are forbidden to them. The right-wingers have never understood this basic principle of human behavior (e.g. why Red States have the highest rates of porn consumption in the US), and their ignorance is going to bite them in the ass on this one.

We all need to keep pointing out media suppression everywhere - this plants the seeds of doubt that will blossom later when other cases like the Gannon one come out. And let the Rovians suppress all they want to - we still have a very powerful weapon in the internet. Give it time. Change takes time. If you are expecting every idiot in America to suddenly "get it" tomorrow morning, you will be disappointed. But in a year or two, you may start noticing a cultural shift in the direction you want. It takes quite a while to move millions of people.

Think about the torture thing - 4 years ago state-sponsored torture would have been unacceptable in the minds of most Americans. The right-wingers have been working on it for a year or two now, and now the idea is becoming mainstream - nobody woke up one day and decided torture was ok - it was a slow and subtle process (not an example that we actually WANT to see, but still exemplifies what I am talking about). Keep supporting these bloggers, keep pushing these stories on Air America, call out all the pathetic wimpy journalism when it needs to be called out, and don't lose faith!

[Domitan]

17. Amen

This is the second superpower at work here: the internet folks!

[moggie12]

19. You're right -- the fact that Katie Couric talked about it today,

means it's gone mainstream.

[DemReadingDU]

20. Gannon was the story on my local TV NBC news

and Brian Williams carried the Gannon story too