About The Reuters Panel: Graff

Garrett Graff was there last night from FishbowlDC.com and has the honor to be the 1st White House Accredited Blogger. Garrett and I were asked to wait in a kindof green room before we did the panel on blogging, so it gave us time to talk. Only problem was, just the two of us were there and everyone else was in another room. No big deal, we found out way to the others in the end. And got a chance to recount stories from his experience as the press guy for the Dean campaign.

In fact, we got to both recount our experiences with the Dean campaign where he was trying to keep bloggers like me, Britt Blaser, Doc Searls and others to stay in the loop with him, as we all dug our way deeper and deeper into the campaign without checking in with him now and then. Truth be told, things were moving so fast there, it wasn't easy to do that. We recounted some Vermont and New Hampshire below zero winter horror stories that any Deaniacs would appreciate. Like that time I tried to drive to New Hampshire to listen to Dean speak but my car was shellacked over with so much ice I couldn't open the doors.

On the panel Garrett could be relied upon to bring a reasonable and moderate view -- often in the defense of journalists and their virtues of accuracy, objectivity and deep research -- and be as critical of bloggers faux pas as the next guy.

Speaking of the next guy ... that would be Paul Holmes.