What is your major malfunction, Bobby Gibbs?
Not to be vulgar, but someone needs to play back Full Metal Jacket for White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and ask him: “What is your major malfunction, numbnuts?”
Gibbs, never ceasing to amaze by failing to act professional, has certainly redefined the position as one that requires total ignorance and no shame.
Certainly, all press secretaries of the White House are expected to handle the heavy spinning in order to promote their president’s agenda. There are catchphrases and buzz words used when necessary, and that is perfectly acceptable, if not expected.
Gibbs, however, has been doing much more than spinning.
His key tactic has been to play dumb to questions that he cannot possibly handle. Any good press secretary would be aware of the several stories that have been on the front page of Drudge Report regarding what his president has been up to.
The rather bizarre exchange that took place on Thursday shows that either Gibbs does not do his homework or is perfectly happy playing the village idiot. Rather than answer a question about the request from the White House to forward the e-mail addresses of those sending “fishy” e-mails about healthcare to flag@whitehouse.gov, Gibbs simply pretends to not understand what the reporter is referring to.
But Gibbs shows his hand in the final moments of the response, as he accuses the reporter of trying to hatch a “nefarious plot.” Wouldn’t the normal response be to ask the reporter to clarify if Gibbs truly did not understand what was being said?
This is far from the first incident involving Gibbs acting like a sniveling child when dealing with members of the media. One of his most memorable exchanges came before Obama’s faux-public town hall meeting, which even got Helen Thomas in a tizzy:
User Comments
Karen
August, 2009
How can I contact Joe Luppino-Esposito?
Thank you.