PRESSING YOUR LUCK
WRITTEN BY: Raphael Baker
It has been 100 plus days since President Obama has been in office, and many people are grading his presidency. He is actually doing a pretty good job considering all of the mess he inherited from the previous administration. The same, however, cannot be said for some of his staff.
If I were to give Press Secretary Robert Gibbs a grade, I would give him an “F”. Arguably, he is the worst Press Secretary that this country has seen in many years. Although George W. Bush is not known for his intelligence, he had sense enough to surround himself with smart people and excellent speakers.
The role of the Press Secretary is to act as the spokesperson for the President and his administration. His responsibilities include collecting accurate information from various sources about what is happening within the administration and the around the world and disseminating that information to the media in a timely manner.
There seems to be a big disconnection between the words of the President, and the ramblings of Robert Gibbs. Anytime Gibbs is giving a press conference, he is inarticulate, inaccurate and sometimes downright rude- the polar opposite of the man he is supposed to represent. His speech is monotone, his humor is dry, and frankly, members of the press do not like him. Here is an example from one of his recent briefings:
Q: Thank you. The $100 million target figure that the President talked about today with the Cabinet, can you explain why it's so small? I know he talked about -- you know, you add up a hundred million, a hundred million, a hundred million and eventually you get somewhere, but it would take an awfully long time to add up hundred millions to make a dent in the deficit. Why not target a bigger number?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I think only in Washington, D.C. does $100 million --
Q: The deficit is very large. It's not a joke. The deficit is giant; $100 million really is only a dent.
MR. GIBBS: No joke --
Q: You can make a joke about it, but it's not funny.
MR. GIBBS: I'm not making a joke about it; I'm being completely sincere. But only in Washington, D.C. is $100 million not a lot of money. It is where I'm from. It is where I grew up. And I think it is for hundreds of millions of Americans.
Q: But the point is it's not a very big portion of the deficit.
Q: You were talking about an appropriations bill a few weeks ago -- that at $8 billion -- being minuscule; a billion in earmarks. We were talking about that and you said that that --
MR. GIBBS: Well, in terms of --
Q: A hundred million is a lot, but $8 billion is small?
Courtesy of the White House Website
In another recent briefing about the Swine Flu outbreak, Gibbs was equally as appalling. He kept saying, “I’ll get back to you on that.” “I don’t know the answer to that right now.” He also gave snippy responses to reporters that showed concern about the President’s health after Obama encountered someone that later died from what was speculated as Swine Flu. A few times, Robert Gibbs even stated, “For the last time, I do not have the answer for that.”
President Barack Obama is a highly likeable, intelligent, eloquent man. However, his image is going to be quickly tarnished if he keeps allowing people like Robert Gibbs to represent him. We are known by our company, and by associating with Gibbs, Obama is keeping the company of fools. Hopefully, Gibbs will be replaced in the near future, before he has the chance to put both of his feet in his mouth.
