Gibbs, Obama, and the left
I notice that Robert Gibbs hasn’t done the full mea culpa for his criticism of the “professional left” the other day. In his latest encounter with the press, he lets us know why:
“[Q]What do you say to progressives who, on reading your comments yesterday, say, ‘Well, if that’s their attitude, I’m staying home in November’?”
[A]”I don’t think they will,” Gibbs said.
I beg to differ; I think that quite a few are angry enough to stay home.
Gibbs goes on to offend them further by stating he meant what he said when he made his original remarks: given the opportunity to claim he had his foot in his mouth and didn’t mean them, he instead says, “I think I have both my feet firmly planted on the floor.”
This is unequivocal: like Horton, Gibbs meant what he said and he said what he meant (although he’s not exactly faithful, 100%—except perhaps to Obama). If Obama cares about what happens in 2010, though, he ought to nip this message in the bud and tell Gibbs to eat crow.
But he’s not doing that. Perhaps Obama really does believe that the left has no place else to go and will still come out in droves for him, this November and then again in 2012.
Or perhaps he doesn’t care anymore; perhaps he’s tired of this whole president gig.
Or perhaps he has another electoral plan, as the more conspiratorial among us keep insisting.
Of one thing I’m pretty sure, however, which is that Gibbs was lying during the following exchange:
“Have you talked to the president about it?” Reid persisted.
“We haven’t.”
And if he’s telling the truth and they actually haven’t discussed it, this is incompetence on the part of Obama. He needs the left, and insulting them makes no sense at all.
But my strong suspicion is that not only have they discussed it, but they discussed it ahead of time. Gibbs is hardly a rogue operator. Perhaps behind the scenes there are now communications being sent to the left of a wink-wink strategy, an explanation that this is happening because Obama must appear to disassociate himself from them in order to woo the middle.
But if so, I doubt the left will buy it anymore, because he’s alienated them fairly deeply, even before the Gibbs remark (after all, Gibbs was responding to the fact that they were critical of Obama in the first place). And as for Obama wooing the middle, I believe (and continue to hope) that it’s too little, too late.
The bottom line is that almost nobody really trusts Obama any more—not the right (which never did), not the middle (which used to but has learned not to), and now a not-insignificant number on the left.
And by the way, nobody who dislikes Gibbs (and that’s just about everybody except Obama) should sit on a hot stove till Gibbs is fired. Gibbs and Obama are very close, and Gibbs is his surrogate and one of his alter egos.
Wow, Neo. You’re making my head spin. Perhaps your specualtions are correct but isn’t it sad that Obama who dismisses every GOP stance as political is so political in every move he makes probably even in the way he loves his family. Michelle and the girls. Probably pawns like everybody else. This guy is all wee-wee’d up!
Gibbs is Obama’s bad cop, with the difference that good cop Obama never publicly reprimands him. Gibbs gets to say what Obama would not like to say publicly.
Or is it that Obama is too lazy to i) put a tighter leash on what Gibbs says and/or ii) replace him? 🙂
Obama is savvy enough to realize that IF – and that is a small if – Gibbs says on occasion says things Obama would have preferred he didn’t say, were to Obama to publicly reprimand his official spokesman, that would ultimately result in loss of credibility for Obama. As if Obama has much credibility left.
Which leads me to the conclusion that if Obama didn’t approve of nearly all that Gibbs has said, Gibbs wouldn’t be there.
Gringo and Neo:
You both may be thinking in the right direction. Is it not likely that gibbs comment was not his own opinion but that of Obama given to gibbs to say what he himself could not say without impunity. He is in fact the mouth of Sauron.
This was certainly all calculated. I think the WH has all but written off this years election and are looking forward to salvage ’12. Obama might look better to the public with an opposition Congress (Finally someone to really blame, with the Bush line wearing thin). I think Obama is making lemonade.
Excuse me, meant to say also that he’ll pick up many more independents with this line than he’ll lose from the left. Of course I’m not the first to suggest this, but I’m sure it’s true.
I don’t think President Obama is that strategic. This is of a pattern we’ve seen from the beginning: he woos his enemies — his foreign ones, at any rate — and dismisses his friends, on the assumption that they will ALWAYS be there for him, no matter what he does.
He’s been dismissive of the press ever since he Won the election. (Actually, he wasn’t that nice to them BEFORE the election either, but people tend to forget that, the press most of all.) He knew they were on his side, so he never bothered to court them. And he knows that the far Left can never be so angry with him as to vote Republican, so he doesn’t need to woo them either.
Bottom line: I think this is arrogance towards his allies… combined with a rather simple-minded naivete.
We may one day find out, with respect to his Administration of Amateurs: was there no one to point out the obvious? Or did they, and did the President refuse to hear it?
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Is it not likely that gibbs comment was not his own opinion but that of Obama given to gibbs to say what he himself could not say without impunity.
The Won could come down from Mt. Olympus and tell the gathered press corps that they’re unrepenant racists and they’d believe him.
IMO, of course.
I know that there’s a wise saying, to the effect that it’s usually better to attribute bad moves to stupidity rather than some great plan. But does anyone else think that this is deliberate? What if he wants to lose one of the houses to save his Presidency? He doesn’t seem particularly loyal or principled, and it would give him the chance to lean center and make the Republicans make the hard decisions.
Eh, maybe I’m attributing too much intelligence to him.
I heard Glenn Beck talking about this on the radio yesterday. He said that while Gibbs is criticizing the left, others like Van Jones (and someone else he named) have recently given speeches that sounded like a call to action by the street troops. Unfortunately I don’t have a link; I’m just relying on memory.
I expect to see increasing mob intimidation and perhaps even violence, possibly around the time of the election.
If Obama didn’t approve of nearly all that Gibbs has said, Obama would get really “wee wee’d off” at him.
Can you imagine any other “world leader” using this pathetic baby-talk in public?