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Praise and criticism from journalists and fellow bloggers

Some journalists praised Graff for his tenacity in gaining entry to the White House briefing room.

"Landmark Day: First Blogger Gets White House Access," proclaimed the headline on the Editor and Publisher website.

Fellow blogger Ana Marie Cox, editor of Wonkette.com, penned a faux congratulatory post, stating that, "No one could be more thrilled than we are that a blogger is attending the daily White House briefing.

"As we've said, we'd like to see more gay hookers in the gaggle, not fewer, and blogging is about as close to turning tricks one can come without actually making any money," Cox wrote, a reference to former Talon News White House correspondent Jeff Gannon, who lost his job when it was alleged that he had also maintained a website advertising homosexual escort services.

"Seriously: Congrats to Garrett," Cox continued. "He deserves praise for all the hard work he did to secure the pass (we gather it had to do with something called a 'phone,' and talking to 'people')."

Graff insisted that his blogging is not political and there are, in fact, only passing references to political issues in his posts. But the former editor of the Harvard Crimson has taken several rhetorical swipes at White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.

In a post entitled, "FLASH: Scott McClellan Has No Visible Horns in Person," Graff, writing in first-person plural, described the moment when, "we proceeded back upstairs and found ourselves face-to-face with The Beast himself.

"Scott McClellan was working his way through the reporters' workspace, answering questions and handing down non-answers and obfuscating quotes left and right," Graff wrote.

Later in the same post, however, Graff seemed to defend McClellan personally while criticizing the White House's attitude toward the news media.

"Now overall, Scott got very good reviews from the press corps," Graff wrote. "While his main responsibility - stonewalling for an administration that is remarkably unfriendly to the press - doesn't win him many friends among the regular reporters, they generally describe him as an affable guy."

Graff noted that, following a 20-minute visit with McClellan in the press secretary's office, the two exchanged gifts; Graff offering a bag of chocolate mint cookies, and McClellan reciprocating with a box of White House M&Ms.

"Ahh, good ole chocolate," Graff wrote, "the great equalizer between power and new media."

Testing Jeff Gannon's White House access

Graff decided to seek access to the briefing after White House officials dismissed questions about daily passes issued to Gannon, whose real name is James Guckert. Critics, who had slammed Gannon for allegedly softball questions for McClellan and President Bush, were told that the passes were easily available to journalists who covered the White House even on a part-time basis.

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