UPDATE: The White House has announced that deputy press secretary Bill Burton will conduct today's daily press briefing, instead of Gibbs.
by Mike Memoli
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is now apologizing for stark comments directed at partisans on the left he had claimed are insufficiently appreciative of President Obama's accomplishments.
Speaking with Sam Youngman of The Hill, Gibbs said critics among what he termed the "professional left" would not even be "satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president."
"I hear these people saying he's like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested. I mean, it's crazy," Gibbs is quoted as saying. More from the piece:
Gibbs's tough comments reflect frustration and some bafflement from the White House, which believes it has done a lot for the left.
In just over 18 months in office, Obama has passed healthcare reform, financial regulatory reform and fair-pay legislation for women, among other bills near and dear to liberals.
Obama is also overseeing the end of the Iraq war, with the U.S. on schedule to end its combat operations by the end of this month.
He's also added diversity to the Supreme Court by nominating two female justices, including the court's first Hispanic. Yet some liberal groups have criticized his nominees for not being liberal enough.
"There's 101 things we've done," said Gibbs, who then mentioned both Iraq and healthcare.
Gibbs has since released a statement apologizing for his remarks, saying, "I watch too much cable." Read the rest after the jump.
Day after day it gets frustrating. Yesterday I watched as someone called legislation to prevent teacher layoffs a bailout -- but I know that's not a view held by many, nor were the views I was frustrated about.
So what I may have said inartfully, let me say this way -- since coming to office in January 2009, this White House and Congress have worked tirelessly to put our country back on the right path. Most importantly, to dig our way out of a huge recession and build an economy that makes America more competitive and our middle class more secure. Some are frustrated that the change we want hasn't come fast enough for many Americans. That we all understand.
But in 17 months, we have seen Wall Street reform, historic health care reform, fair pay for women, a recovery act that pulled us back from a depression and got our economy moving again, record investments in clean energy that are creating jobs, student loan reforms so families can afford college, a weapons system canceled that the Pentagon didn't want, reset our relationship with the world and negotiated a nuclear weapons treaty that gets us closer to a world without fear of these weapons, just to name a few. And at the end of this month, 90,000 troops will have left Iraq and our combat mission will come to an end.
Even so, we will continue to work each day on the promises and commitments that the President made traveling all over this country for two years and produce the change we know is possible.
In November, America will get to choose between going back to the failed policies that got us into this mess, or moving forward with the policies that are leading us out.
So we should all, me included, stop fighting each other and arguing about our differences on certain policies, and instead work together to make sure everyone knows what is at stake because we've come too far to turn back now.
(Photo Credit: White House / Pete Souza)
Comments
One "accomplishment" Gibbs left off that the Left should be happy about is that the Obama adminidtration and its friends in Congress are successfully destroying the United States. For that, the Left ought to be gleeful.
Posted by: John D | August 10, 2010 2:24 PM
Getting a little testy there, eh Bobby boy? It kinda sucks when your base abandons you, doesn't it?
But then again, maybe Gibbs has a point. I mean, if even OBAMA isn't stark raving liberal enough for these people... wow, talk about your whackjob lunatic fringe (tip of the hat to Don Fitzgerald on that point). Why is Obummer trying to pander to these nutjobs anyway?
Posted by: Take a valium, Bobby. | August 10, 2010 3:14 PM
Posted by: John D | August 10, 2010 2:24 PM
;
Sir, what are you talking about? Educate me.
Posted by: Timmy Calahan | August 10, 2010 3:21 PM
The "professional Leftists" Gibbs refers to includes most D.C. political reporters.
Posted by: Equal time | August 10, 2010 3:23 PM
"....the Left ought to be gleeful.
Posted by: John D | August 10, 2010 2:24 PM
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Gleeful? The left? Not in their DNA. They are just not happy people. That's why no one wants to be around them.
Posted by: Bye Bye MSM | August 10, 2010 3:30 PM
What a surprise that one of their own steps on their tongue and the trolls, Don, Rob, Doug R., HHH (now Tawanda) are not here.
Posted by: Lost in Space Donny from Plainfield | August 10, 2010 4:16 PM
Yes, the left has fundamentally changed America to a socialist quagmire that cannot produce jobs, has millions on government welfare, because the government has failed to produce an economy that produces jobs, has a president that hates business, has a cuckoo for coco puffs Speaker that thinks her healthcare fiasco, that most Americans hate, will allow us to start a band and run off to join the circus as entrepreneurs. The left has innumerable people in power that break the laws that they pass; of course those laws don't apply to them you silly peons. They should be allowed to retire with dignity, will they rip you off for every hard earned cent you make. That money is NOT YOURS; it belongs to Nancy Pelosi and her merry band of drunken spenders and political hoes; and I don't mean the garden variety.
They want ignorant citizens, and their comrades in the press are willfully making America dumber with the propaganda that comes out of the MSM. All you have to do is read the leftists here on the Swamp for an example of that.
But that's still not enough for these leftist zealots. The won't stop until we are a third world socialist state, forever in debt to the government for all that we have or ever will have. Chains you can believe in.
Posted by: Free to Watch the Liberal's Summer Meltdown | August 10, 2010 4:18 PM
"I hear these people saying he's like George Bush." - Well that is one thing we know BO is not like, President Bush. BO won't have 73 consectutive months of economic growth and 42 months of full employment.
Posted by: Terry | August 10, 2010 6:30 PM
This fool does not now and never has had the temperament to deal with the Washington press corps. When he's not being beclowned on video by Jake Tapper and Major Garrett he's putting his own foot in his mouth in this situation and his non-answers over the bribe the administration offered to Joe Sestak. Who wants to bet he'll be the first rat thrown off the ship after the November meltdown?
Posted by: Jeff | August 10, 2010 6:58 PM
Gibbs and Obama are doing an amazing job in the face of opponents...ON THE RIGHT...that will do ANYTHING to re-establish the conditions that got us into the mess we are in.
Posted by: Gus | August 10, 2010 8:36 PM
"I hear these people saying he's like George Bush." - Well that is one thing we know BO is not like, President Bush. BO won't have 73 consectutive months of economic growth and 42 months of full employment.
Posted by: Terry | August 10, 2010 6:30 PM
Yeah, give me an unlimited budget under 6 years of a rubber stamp Republican Congress and I'll show you some growth.
Unfortunately, after a while the bill comes due. And the hang-over is one that isn't going to be one that you can turn off overnight. In fact, the last time a Republican was allowed to run the economy into the ground like GW did it took decades to get beyond it.
Posted by: Tell the Truth | August 10, 2010 8:50 PM
Well, BO has had 19 months, a money drunk Congress, a 24/7 printing press creating fiat money and guess what: NO GROWTH! Gibbs has no reason to apologize to Leftists, BO is doing their deeds as well as can be done.
Posted by: Illinoistom | August 10, 2010 8:56 PM
Name me one Republican who apologized for their complicity in the Bush years? None. They hold the line. Lefties though, whine and whine. Gibbs is right ... wake up.
Posted by: Gibbs is right | August 10, 2010 9:29 PM
Wouldn't Know the Truth if it hit him in the face,
So what's BO's excuse? He has a filabuster proof Congress and all he is doing is piling-up the debt.
So if we had a hangover after Presideny Bush, what's BO doing - just extending the bender?
Here's the bill genius.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
It started at $10,626,877,048,913. Not bad, BO has added $2.7 Trillion to the debt in 19 months. So when is this bill coming due?
President Bush only had both houses of Copngress for about 4 1/2 years. See if the name Jim Jeffords means anything to you.
Posted by: Terry | August 10, 2010 9:59 PM
It seems that all of the commenters here are from the amateur right. Thank you for your histrionics I now have my RDA. A day without divisive politics is like a day without right wing extremists.
Posted by: Richard | August 10, 2010 10:20 PM
Glibb is absolutely correct. the LEFT does suck.
Liberals suck most because what they want is to get what they want but not have to pay for any of it themselves. They think as long as the gullible US taxpayer doesn't smell the liberal odor of rotten policy they will pay, pay, pay.
WELL, REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER AND VOTE THESE LEFTIES OUT AND AWAY.
Posted by: truspeek | August 10, 2010 10:41 PM
I don't know where these progressives are coming from with all of that Fox Noise they are screaming. Sure they helped elect President Obama, but so did African-Americans, Latinos, Gays, Liberals, Moderates, Independents, workers and many other groups. Everyone wants their issues taken care of, yesterday, but come on, ladies and gentlemen, our country was in a Bush&Cheney crater and we had to dig our way out, without the help of the perpetrators, who landed us there, the Republican-Libertarian-T.Baggers. You must be starting to believe the lies the Rabid Right have been propagating since President Obama's victory in 2008. He is not a savior, he is not a miracle worker. He is a serious worker, a diligent worker and, above all, and honest worker, much like America's workforce of 50 years ago, when we took pride in what we did. My hope and prayer is that our President continues to look after America's interests first, before some insider group, who demands their entitlement for " electing " President Obama!! Wake up, progressives, or you'll have Bush&Cheney to kick around for anther 8 years!! Get real.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | August 11, 2010 10:37 AM
Never attack your base.
Posted by: ornery | August 11, 2010 1:15 PM
I'm waiting for "pee-off" between Cindy Sheehan and Fibbs.
Posted by: Terry | August 13, 2010 6:34 PM