Posted on 04/17/2009 2:16:42 AM PDT by seanmerc
WASHINGTON -- White House spokesman Robert Gibbs and President Barack Obama share the same trait: They both are very cautious when speaking with reporters.
Gibbs measures his words hesitantly between some "ums" and "ahs," before voicing carefully selected words in response to a reporters question.
As White House press secretary he is in the bulls eye every day at televised news briefings, which may explain why he appears most comfortable with the reporters for wire services and TV networks he schmoozed with on the campaign trail.
In a position where many predecessors have blown their tops out of frustration or melted down in irritation over repetitive questions, the soft-spoken Gibbs keeps his cool and loves it when his acerbic wisecracks get a laugh.
He is very formally addressed as "Robert," not "Bob" or "Bobby" as he was called as a kid.
Some reporters actually pay him homage by thanking him for giving them a chance to question him at White House briefings. Not me. Thats his job.
Gibbs is part of the White House inner circle that includes chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and senior advisor David Axelrod. He also has a close and loyal relationship with Obama, who told the Wall Street Journal last year: "Hes the guy I want in a foxhole with me during incoming fire. If Im wrong, he challenges me. He is not intimidated by me."
Gibbs sees himself as the "protector of the (Obama) image."
The 38-year-old Gibbs was born in Auburn, Ala., and still has a soft southern accent.
Politics apparently is the love of his life. Emily Sparrow -- his high school history teacher -- says he was a `political junkie at 17."
His work experience was mostly on Capitol Hill for different Democratic senators, and there he honed his skills in speaking for the "boss" and taking on the bosss detractors.
For all his low-key demeanor and pastel neckties, he can be aggressive in defense of Obama and has been known as "the enforcer." Speaking of ties, Obama swiped Gibbs light blue tie for his speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. That was the address that won Obama national attention and set him on the road to the presidency.
"It (the tie) was requisitioned for a higher purpose," said Gibbs. "I have never gotten that back and I never had the illusion that I would."
Sometimes Gibbs has to dance around a bit when a questioner asks about glaringly inconsistent administration positions, such as blocking habeas corpus (the right of appeal) for prisoners we hold at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan but allowing it for captives at Guantanamo.
Its up to Gibbs to field the questions, running the gamut of trouble spots.
Obama has had two prime-time formal news conferences. In his second news conference, Obama went out of his way to call on representatives of bloggers and even government-supported news outlets, like Stars and Stripes, the militarys newspaper.
The Gibbs press operation has this annoying practice of alerting selected reporters that Obama plans to call on them during a presidential news conference. It all smacks heavily of managed news.
I fear the next step will be that the White House staff will ask the selected reporters what they intend to ask the president if they are called on.
In an interview Gibbs told broadcaster Peter Maier that he would never lie as a White House spokesman. Where have I heard that before?
Well see.
An example I transcribed, Ødumba says ahhhhh so many times in what should be normal speaking, its hard to follow, and just as hard to read or get any understanding.
From;
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21382&Itemid=163
Ødumba The key purpose is to ahhhhh, ahhhhh, make sure we had a chance to talk to ahhhhh, some of the commanding officers as well as the Troops here ahhhhhh, to get a sense from them about ahhhhh, how we are approaching a consolidating some of the reduction in violence to ahhhhh, this here. ahhhhh, comparing note about what that means in Iraq and what that means in Afghanistan.
Ødumba knows the right way to be fiscally responsible, yet makes all the wrong choices, and him and Gibbs are just covering the campaign...
Obama vows to cut federal spending on contractors
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/555604.html
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama moved to claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility in a roiling economy, vowing on Monday to slash federal spending on contractors by 10 percent and saving $40 billion.
Urging members of his own party to be just as fiscally tough as the most conservative Republicans, Obama said the $700 billion economic bailout plan proposed by the Bush administration and congressional leaders is forcing a renewed look at federal spending.
As president, Obama said he would create a White House team headed by a chief performance officer to monitor the efficiency of government spending.
It is just a horrific visual I cannot get out of my head.
Enormously revealing quote. This guy isn't an American. He may not be a vertebrate.
Meanwhile, MSNBC is running a tingly-leg poll here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093/
(Link deliberately left not live)
FREEP THIS POLL
</OT>
Oh, horrors! I’m going back to bed and pull the covers up tightly.
Interesting that the old girl actually pointed this out...And, equally interesting that the editor let it stay in.
Oh, alright, I'll go back to bed after reading a few more articles.
I sincerely hope you NEVER get old.
She started it with her own miserable comments. As for the getting old part, ha-ha! Too late, I'm already there!
Beauty’s only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.
Warning for dial-uppers: might take 30 or so secs to download:
http://www.sondrak.com/archive/skpics2/helen_thomas_mean.jpg
Or, in the immortal words of Frank Zappa:
“What’s the ugliest part of your body?
Some say your nose, some say your toes,
But I think it’s your mind.”
I got a good laugh at the part where Obama said he is the guy I would want in my foxhole.
I cant imagine Obama in a foxhole.
“a friend in DC told me a rumor from uniformed SS that Michelle is very, very flatulent.”
Has to be from all that caviar and lobster tail.
Lighten up Francis.
I think I went to high school with Duncan...
Ahhhhhh -- Ahhhhhhhhhhh -- Ahhhhhhhhh...stop! -- stop!
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