Conspiracy theorists, stand down! Gibbs apparently not leaving

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Conspiracy theorists, stand down! Gibbs apparently not leaving
By: JULIE MASON
Examiner White House Correspondent
08/10/10 6:02 PM EDT

Robert Gibbs' hilarious, truth-telling outburst about crabby liberals is all the rage at the White House today. Gibbs, known as the "Barack whisperer," is so close to the president that when he says something intemperate, unexpected or off-message, it's safe to assume he's channeling.

So everyone was all agog when Gibbs told Sam Youngman (woot!) from The Hill that liberals are "crazy" and in need of drug testing, etc. It's what administration officials have been saying privately for a while now as criticism from the left gathered steam. But as Michael Kinsley said, a gaffe is when a politician (or in this case, the mouthpiece) tells the truth.

Complaining of a sore throat and sniffles, Gibbs skipped the briefing today, sending deputy press secretary Bill Burton out to face a scoffing, bemused and highly curious White House press corps.

"The problem is that drug makers have not found a Sudafed strong enough for Robert Gibbs, and so he's sitting upstairs, probably watching me talk to you with a sore throat and the sniffles, Burton said.

Oh, so he's not packing up his office and preparing to step down?

"I don't think there's any danger of that," Burton said.

Earlier in the day, Gibbs had emailed key liberal bloggers with a statement calling his remarks to Youngman "inartful" and blaming an excess of cable television viewing.

Burton also tried to walk back the skirmish, saying indeed White House officials get frustrated over "the coverage" they get, but Gibbs was really just complaining about liberal talking heads.

Oh, really? In truth, the pushback from the left has been gathering for awhile -- starting with President Obama backing off the public option for health care reform. Or did it start with his backtracking on Gitmo? Certainly it takes in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama's opposition to gay marriage, the slow inaction on "don't ask, don't tell" and the lack of a major push on climate change.

"I would say that there are legitimate disagreements," Burton alllowed.

[Geee]

Oh, Robert Gibbs! Now Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is calling for you to step down. Not good!

 

"This is not the first time that Mr. Gibbs has made untoward and inflammatory comments and I certainly hope that people in the White House don't share his view that the left is unimportant to the president," Ellison told the Huffington Post. "I understand him having some loyalty to the president who employs him, but I think he's walking over the line."

 

Hm. Did Gibbs really say that, though? Mostly he complained to The Hill that liberals weren't giving Obama enough credit -- not that they were unimportant.

 

No matter. It's awkward when a member of Congress from your own party calls on you to resign. But Gibbs is extra-special close to President Obama, and will probably stay in that job as long as he wants it (which doesn't seem long, the prevailing guess is he will leave it to Bill Burton after the election and formalize his role as adviser to the president).

 

Remember his flare-up with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after saying the Democrats could lose the House in November? Gibbs just shrugs that stuff off. As he likes to say, "This town!"

 

 

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Gibbs-under-siege-100390509.html

[Casino67]

From Twitter:

 

WestWingReport

 

"Gibbs will be back for tomorrow's briefing. Still going to get questions about his comments to The Hill's."

 

Ol' Gibby continues to stir up the left. Everyone wants him to tell the truth and when he does all hell breaks out. Keep it up Gibby.