Do Deborah Solomon’s interviews in the New York Times Magazine make anyone else uncomfortable? (She does the “Questions for…” feature that runs near the front.) They’re exceptionally harsh — to the point that I think of British political culture, where journalists are far more confrontational than here. I want a more aggressive press corps, but I still believe that interview subjects deserve respect, and some of her questions are basically personal attacks.

Here’s a sample from her interview with Jeff Gannon/Guckert:

SOLOMON: Should I call you Jim Guckert or Jeff Gannon?

GANNON: My Amex card still comes in the name of James Guckert, but I want to be called Jeff Gannon. That is who I am.

SOLOMON: Or rather it is the pseudonym under which you gained access to White House press briefings for two years, until your identity was revealed. Why do you think they let you in?

GANNON: I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t know the criteria they use. I asked to be let in, and they allowed me to come. I was very fond of all the people in the press office. They treated me well. They probably treated me better than I deserved.

SOLOMON: Are you suggesting that Bobby Eberle, the Republican operative who hired you to shill for his Gopusa under the guise of his Talon News service, has special access at the White House?

GANNON: I just don’t know the answer to that question.

SOLOMON: Scott McClellan, the press secretary to President Bush, called on you and allowed you to ask questions on a nearly daily basis. What, exactly, is your relationship with him?

GANNON: I was just another guy in the press room. Did I try to curry favor with him? Sure. When he got married, I left a wedding card for him in the press office. People are saying this proves there is some link. But as Einstein said, “Sometimes a wedding card is just a wedding card.”

SOLOMON: You mean like “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”? That wasn’t Einstein. That was Freud.

GANNON: Oh, Freud. O.K. I got my old Jewish men confused.

SOLOMON: You should learn the difference between them if you want to work in journalism.