Video- Robert Gibbs whumps Les Kinsolving on definition of "press conference"

VIDEO: Robert Gibbs on tweeting

By GottaLaff

Robert Gibbs has certainly gotten the hang of tweeting. We in the Twitterverse retweet him a lot:

On CNN's Reliable Sources, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs discussed how he came to join the Twitter mania. Gibbs said its a "fascinating" medium, but he hasn't quite mastered it yet; “it takes an amazing amount of discipline to write out all of what you want to say in 140 characters or less.”

As for his "fast moving medium" comment, that doesn't even begin to say it. It's like IMing with 2000 people simultaneously. No wonder I'm so tired at the end of the day.

And now all those zippy messages are being archived.

Video- Robert Gibbs on press corps, tv show briefings

Yes Robert, that's a dead giveaway.

Gibbs: "Michael Steele’s problem isn’t the race card, it’s the credit card"

By GottaLaff

Today's Quickie:

Gibbs called Steele’s remark that criticism of his leadership is motivated by race “silly” during a meeting with reporters.

“I think Michael Steele’s problem isn’t the race card, it’s the credit card,” Gibbs added.

How's that Voyeury Scandaly thing goin' for ya?


That was today's Quickie. Was it good for you?

More here.

Robert Gibbs: No more recess appointments

By GottaLaff

Why not? Dawn Johnsen hasn't been held up long enough?

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday that President Barack Obama will not make any more recess appointments while Congress is out of town for Easter break. [...]

The announcement means that the president will avoid making more appointments such as the ones that angered Republicans last weekend.

Gosharootie, the last thing anyone in the White House would ever want to do is anger the Rushpublics. They've been so compliant and sweet-natured up until now. Wouldn't want to rile 'em up and start something.

Now that Prez O is treating them with so much respect by not acting too aggressively and not making the government work more efficiently, betchabygollywow that the GOP will fall right into line and stop all that silly blocking.

Those fun loving rightie scamps and their antics.

Gibbs: By next Sunday, healthcare reform will be 'law of the land'

By GottaLaff

Think positive:

"We'll have the votes when the House votes, I think, within the next week," Gibbs said on "Fox News Sunday."

Gibbs added that those on next week's Sunday talk shows "will be talking about healthcare not as a presidential proposal but I think as the law of the land."

President Barack Obama will look to campaign on the new healthcare law in midterm elections, Gibbs said.

"We believe healthcare reform is going to pass, and once it passes we're happy to have the 2010 elections be about the achievement of healthcare reform," Gibbs said.

Of course, it goes without saying that the GOP is thinking negative.

Presidential records now include tweets

Holy crap, hell really has frozen over. I even went by the Twitter today to follow Craig Ferguson just to see what he is saying. (@CraigyFerg in case you want to know)

Washington (CNN) – White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced Wednesday that his tweets will be saved for posterity.

"What I write and what I tweet is archived as a part of this Presidential Records Act of 1978 because it is work product created as part of my job at the White House," Gibbs said during his daily press briefing due to questions raised by reporters on this issue.

The press secretary is not the only official at the White House with a Twitter account. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton tweets, as well as Macon Philips who runs new media operations for the White House. @WhiteHouse is their flagship account with over 1.7 million followers.

All four accounts feature the following disclaimer: "Official WH twitter account. Comments & messages received through official WH pages are subject to the PRA and may be archived. Learn more http://wh.gov/privacy."

Gibbs explained that people who follow and "re-tweet" White House Twitter accounts will not be archived. However, the archive will keep people who directly respond to official accounts.

Robert Gibbs is a Twitterer

Or Twithead or whatever they call themselves. (I know, I'm an out of the loop grandma relic. 23 Skiddoo Daddy-O!)

Washington (CNN) – Count White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs among a growing group of Democratic press operatives who have recently joined the microblogging site Twitter.

The top White House spokesman set up his Twitter account Saturday, Gibbs confirmed to CNN; Gibbs goes by the Twitter handle @PressSec on the popular service.

Gibbs’ arrival on Twitter comes as a number of his colleagues in the Democratic communications apparatus have also joined the site which allows users to broadcast short messages.

(snip)

In mid January, Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton (@billburton44) began using a previously dormant Twitter account.

And last month, President Obama made history when he personally clicked the send button on a tweet from the @RedCross account while on a visit to the Washington headquarters of the Red Cross.

VIDEO- Chuck Todd, Savannah Guthrie pile on Robert Gibbs re: terrorism

By GottaLaff

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I see Savannah and Chuck got hold of a few GOP talking points. As Gibbs said, Savannah "greatly oversimplifies the process."

And she did, again and again.

How many times does this administration have to repeat the same information? The Underpants Bomber case was handled well and the outcome to date has been successful. He's spilled his guts and no torture was necessary.

Add to that the fact that our court system works well, and no terrorists have broken out of prison, nor has any city had problems when their U.S. federal courts were used to try them.

This looked like Chuck and Savannah piling on to create a stir with the intention to perpetuate a "controversy" and gin up their ratings.

VIDEO: Robert Gibbs Mocks Palin At White House Briefing

By GottaLaff

It's okay. It's satire:



Gibbs was frisky today.

H/t: Ryan at Double Dutch Politics

Gibbs Responds to Boehner, Cantor

By GottaLaff

Dear GOP,

Via the White House blog in response to these demands by Eric Cantor and John Boehner:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs just responded to a letter sent today from House Republican Leader John Boehner and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor regarding the proposed bipartisan health care summit:

The President is adamant that we seize this historic moment to pass meaningful health insurance reform legislation. He began this process by inviting Republican and Democratic leaders to the White House on March 5 of last year, and he’s continued to work with both parties in crafting the best possible bill. He’s been very clear about his support for the House and Senate bills because of what they achieve for the American people: putting a stop to insurance company abuses, extending coverage to millions of hardworking Americans, getting control of rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reducing the deficit.

The President looks forward to reviewing Republican proposals that meet the goals he laid out at the beginning of this process, and as recently as the State of the Union Address. He’s open to including any good ideas that stand up to objective scrutiny. What he will not do, however, is walk away from reform and the millions of American families and small business counting on it. The recent news that a major insurer plans to raise premiums for some customers by as much as 39 percent is a stark reminder of the consequences of doing nothing.

And that's the way it is. I hope.

Gibbs to Sen. Bond: Apologize to law enforcement, White House for leak claim

By GottaLaff

Why stop with this? The GOP should apologize for the last 9 years:

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is calling on Republican Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) to apologize "to the law enforcement community and those that work in this building" for alleging the White House had leaked classified information about its Flight 253 investigation.

None of that information about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's recent cooperation with investigators was classified, Gibbs assured reporters during Thursday's press briefing.

Gibbs:

"I think he owes an apology to the professionals in the law enforcement community and those that work in this building, not for Democrats and Republicans, but who work each and every day to keep the American people safe and would never ever, ever knowingly release or unknowingly release classified information that could endanger an operation or an interrogation."

The rest is here.

The chances of this White House getting anything even close to an apology from anyone on the right is....

VIDEO: Ed Schultz Tells Robert Gibbs He’s ‘Full Of Sh*t’ And ‘You’re Losing Your Base’

By GottaLaff

Last night I was on Twitter (am I ever not on Twitter?) and noticed The Uptake's tweets on their live coverage of Minnesota progressive talk radio AM950’s Blue State Bash at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

I toddled over to their feed and saw Ed Schultz speaking very freely-- and frankly-- about a lot of things.

That's how it should be. We need to be able to speak our minds. And whether I agree with Ed or not, I appreciate his bluntness and passion. (Speaking of which, you can do that too, here on TPC)

For example:

Schultz also noted that April 7 will be his first anniversary of his TV show, a date that coincides with Sarah Palin’s scheduled appearance on behalf of Michele Bachmann in Minnesota. Schultz — resides in Minnesota — made this pledge to the audience:

If all of you here will make a commitment to me tonight that if I bring my TV show right across the street from where they’re doing their rally, you’ll all show up. [applause] That a deal? Ok, we’ll do it. [...]

We need to get rid of Michele Bachmann. [applause] Any congressional member who thinks that members of Congress should be investigated for their anti-American views doesn’t understand what voting is all about.

He-e-e-ere's Ed:

VIDEO- Gibbs: All is not "Lost"

By GottaLaff



Seriously?

Social media Web sites – especially Twitter – have been buzzing with concern over the possibility that the Commander-in-chief might delay the long-awaited premiere. A Twitter hash tag was created: #NoStateOfTheUnionFeb2.

So Lost, a fictional show on the Tee Vee Machine, is more important to many than the state of their own country as it continues to struggle through a recession, war(s), terrorist threats against Americans, a health care crisis, and Tea Party insanity?

Come on, Tweeple, which has more cliffhangers? Will your family survive high unemployment numbers? Cancer? IEDs? Terrorism? ...

... Michele Bachmann?

Now that's a thriller series.

Stay tuned. Oh, and try DVRing Lost.

Liveblogging Robert Gibbs briefing: The economy, more

By GottaLaff

Robert Gibbs: (forgive my shorthand... it's the only way I can get most of the convos down)

We knew this was gonna be a long road... ups and downs. There are some light spots that are at least encouraging... People have lost their jobs and are hurting.

Re: Gasoline prices rising... Yes, a concern to the president. He will make a statement.

Tapper: How worried is Obama about double dip recession?

Gibbs: He wakes up concerned every day, understands millions are hurting, whether last months job losses or present... He's not satisfied with where we were. He's not an economic prognosticator, but concerned about the economy, people hurting, stories he's heard for many, many years, creating environment to hire (re: small businesses, etc.)

Tapper: Gitmo... where are 6 you transferrred?

Gibbs: Not getting into transfers.

Tapper: Convert prison to supermax. Timetable?

Gibbs: No timetable. We'll work with Congress re: retrofitting, purchasing prison in Thomson, moving prisoners.

Ed Henry, CNN: Geithner should testify?

Gibbs: Geithner not involved in emails (NY Fed). He wasn't party to the decision being made.

Ed: 1000s more emails. Transparency?

Gibbs: I'll point you to Treasury. Emails did not involve him. Decision made by 2 people, didn't involve him. He has Obama's full confidence.

Chip Reid: President hasn't opened himself up to questions lately. Why?

Gibbs: You all reminded me of our "dramatic overexposure" last time.

Chip: That was then. [laughter]

MSNBC: Net job growth this year?

Gibbs: Look at trajectory, numbers, leads you to believe positive job growth, yeah.

MSNBC: Detainees... Yemen... Gitmo has been a black eye on US. Guarantees that other govt's will treat prisoners properly?

Gibbs: Won't discuss it today.... back and forth on something we're not gonna discuss today, don't want to do that.

VIDEO: Robert Gibbs spars with Chinese media

By GottaLaff



Cringeworthy:

It was media mayhem in Copenhagen Friday. The Chinese press reportedly flooded a meeting between President Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, with many of Robert Gibbs' "people" left in the dust. Even CNN's Rick Sanchez seems upset. CNN

VIDEO: Robert Gibbs' tense exchange with April Ryan

By GottaLaff



Cringeworthy:

However, the one that took place Wednesday between White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and April Ryan of American Urban Radio, in which Gibbs essentially compared Ryan to a petulant child, is among the most heated (and entertaining) in recent memory. [...]

Ryan claimed that there have been whispers around Washington insinuating that Rogers had overstepped the traditional role of her title at the event to become the "belle of the ball," thus "overshadowing the first lady." Frustrated by Ryan's tabloid-y line of questioning, Gibbs instructed her to "calm down" and to take a deep breath," adding "I do this with my son and that's what happens."

Squirmitude.

Gibbs: Drinking age higher than GOP approval rating

By GottaLaff

Oh, suh-nap!

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in his West Wing office Friday that the Republican Party's approval rating is "only slightly above the national drinking age."

Gibbs was criticizing GOP efforts to delay Senate passage of the healthcare bill.

Send that man a drink.

Liveblog: Robert Gibbs talks Afghanistan at daily briefing

By GottaLaff

Robert Gibbs is holding his daily briefing. Liveblogging:

Obama envisioned: We are going to increase number of our forces in Afghanistan, more there sooner, staying longer in order to degrade Taliban, fight insurgency... while helping train Afghan army, police forces. July 2011 is when he believes we should begin transition. We're not gonna be there forever.

We'll provide them with the incentives they need to get their act together to train security force and army, and we can transfer responsibility to the Afghans.

Obama believes that this is best course forward.

Jake Tapper: Pressing about Rumsfeld 2001-2006, whether level of resourcing decisions, etc. were sufficient... Gibbs won't bite.

Gibbs: 9/11 brought us to Afghanistan.

Tapper: March speech, Obama said if Taliban returns it would be bad for women/girls. Didn't mention that last night.

Gibbs: In context of 3 pillars, human rights is obviously part of what is happening, more broadly. That includes women/girls... nothing to read into here. Basic human rights of everyone would include that.

Q: Stability there in 2011, or is that less important?

A: You can't have one w/o the other... Gates said he believed what we laid out was achievable... Part is to incentivize Afghans. We won't be there forever. Providing security will have to rest mainly with Afghan security forces. The team believes conditions will be met.

Q: So if they're not up to speed...? leave again?

A: We're there to make sure it happens. We started w/ 32K military in Afghanistan in January. Then 68K by summer. By end of summer 2010, another 30K. Triple the resources in order to accelerate the training. Bench marks will be laid down to ensure on a frequent basis that we're achieving level of training necessary to do what plan envisions doing. Gates and others who testified today and others believe it's achievable.

Helen: Didn't mention pipeline in speech.

A: Didn't come up in the 9 or 10 meetings. It's about Taliban, 9/11.

Helen: You gonna keep referring to 9/11?

A: As Jake mentioned, in authorization to go in there was a result of 9/11, Afghan safe haven.

Helen: Isn't that an intervention? (I missed some, unintelligible)

A: We're in Afghanistan. We hae a plan that incentivizes actions, whether training, improving governance... if those who are responsible are providing services that it needs, then we'll have a great rel'ship working with them. If not, we'll find people who will... because we'll have, by mid next year, more men and women... (Helen keeps pushing about whether they want us in)... They approve of us being there, quite clearly... but not forever.

Helen: Why do you have to demand of a sovereign country what they do?

A: There's congressional authorization. If you ask if they want us there, they say yes. But not a permanent dependence on us being there. Incentivize, training, blahblah... meet needs of people... security force to prevent Taliban overthrow or safe haven for Al Qaeda to prevent attack on us.

Chip Reid: Majority doesn't support sending troops.

A: What poll are you...? Well, he didn't make a national security decision based on polling. Obama believes the decision is the right one and he'd like to tell America why he thinks it's right. It's not a one shot deal... any one of your news orgs will poll reactions to speech, etc. This isn't a one shot deal.

Chip: But over coming months, if polls still low...?

A: We didn't make decision based on polls, and won't in future. If we looked at polls before decisions, the financial system would have suffered collapse... There's be one domestic auto company.. maybe we would have pulled out of Afghanistan. He didn't believe in our system collapsing....

And now both CNN and MSNBC cut away...

Video- Gibbs Hammered with Questions, But Says Social Office Not At Fault in Party Crashing

I'd bet good money (if I had any) that April Ryan is friends with the Social Secretary that was fired.