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 Because Democrats and Republicans Worked Together (Laughter) - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 2/13/09 — Wednesday, February 18, 2009 —  Q Can I follow up one thought, or try Jennifer's question one more time --MR. GIBBS: Sure. It's allowed. (Laughter.) Q -- looking forward on the Gregg nomination. What can you do differently to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again. Does it -- does the White House Counsel's Office need to be more deeply involved? Do they need to ask more questions? I mean, you know, the -- MR. GIBBS: Well, I just -- I'm not entirely sure. You guys ask questions for a living. What might we pose that -- Q Yes, that would be an excellent idea. Get us involved. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: "Are you likely within a seven-day period to come to a different conclusion than the one which you're giving the President?" (Laughter.) You know, I don't -- Q Well, most of us thought he might. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: I mean, I don't know -- I don't know, maybe -- Q "Are you aware the President is a Democrat?" (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: You know, the ten best questions I'll certainly get from you all over e-mail, I'll pass on to the Counsel's Office to expand our process. You know, again, I think that -- you know, like I said, it's hard to generalize over individual instances. You know, I mean, there's been a lot of discussion about, even in today's papers, about what does this mean for bipartisanship; is bipartisanship dead; isn't it just futile or silly for the President to reach out to the other side of the aisle? You know, it all seems somewhat silly to me, the arguments. I think if you look at the four -- the almost four weeks of this administration, and even a little bit beforehand because the President had to be -- was involved in talking to senators, including working with Senator Gregg on approving the money for -- the additional $350 billion for financial stability. That was done with Democrats and Republicans. The legislation the President signed to ensure that if a woman works in a factory all her life and is paid less than a man, that that won't stand in a court of law in this country. And that was done with Democrats and Republicans working together, and the President's signature. The expansion of children's health insurance, a very successful program that will now cover an additional 4 million people, was done with bipartisan support, and the President's signature. And I think when the dust finally settles today, whatever time that is, I think you'll see an economic recovery plan that moves forward because Democrats and Republicans worked together in order to get it to the President's desk -- something, as I've said, he'll sign quickly. And then we'll look forward and continue to reach out to Republicans in a way that moves an agenda forward that works best for the American people. The President is not going to -- the President is not going to stop reaching out to Republicans because one Republican he respects decided to change his mind and continue to serve and represent his state in the U.S. Senate. The President will continue to work and reach out to folks to move the agenda of this country forward. Bipartisanship | Congress | Economy | Legislation | Nominees | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Bipartisanship, Congress, Economy, Legislation, Nominees, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 9:22:00 PM
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