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 Just Passing In The Night - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 11/3/09 — Wednesday, November 04, 2009 —  Q If Creigh Deeds or Jon Corzine or Bill Owens were to win today, the President doesn't want any credit, and if they lose he doesn't want any blame?MR. GIBBS: No, I don't -- unclear if I've had an opportunity to intone either of those. Q Please take it now. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: I simply said -- and I find it -- I'm always amused by the fact that the motives for which I say these things are always imparted -- this is just what I believe. I don't think the two gubernatorial races -- I don't think looking at the two gubernatorial races, you can draw with any great insight what's going to happen a year from now any more than if Jake's team wins tomorrow night I can tell who's going to win next year's World Series. Q Not really what I was asking. (Laughter.) If the three candidates that the President has campaigned for and wants to win and are seen as the three key races this year, if they win, will the White House view it as support for the President's views or -- MR. GIBBS: Again, we don't look at either of these gubernatorial races or the congressional race as something that portends a lot for our legislative efforts going forward or political prospects in 2010. Q You still didn’t hit it on the nail, you know that? Is it deliberate, or is it -- MR. GIBBS: I don't -- maybe we're just passing in the night, Mark. I don't know whether that's -- maybe with less sound, but it's -- yes, go ahead. Democrats | Elections | President Obama | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Democrats, Elections, President Obama, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 8:38:00 AM  What Do You Tell Generic Democratic Congressman X - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 11/2/09 — Monday, November 02, 2009 —  Q On tomorrow's elections, what do you tell generic Democratic Congressman X not to read into the results in New Jersey or Virginia?MR. GIBBS: Well, I would -- well, I think, one, I'd wait for the results to talk to Congressman X, without -- like I said, I don't want to play pundit in Afghanistan or certainly don't want to pre-play pundit here. Obviously, as we talked about -- Q Are you guys going to take a lot of credit if Corzine wins, but then -- MR. GIBBS: No, I would point you to the answer I gave on Friday, which is I don't think that these elections will portend a lot for what happens in 2010 any more than the 2001 elections seemed to denote relative electoral legislative strength for President Bush in 2002. It's just -- Q But are you concerned that some Democratic incumbents in Congress might suddenly be tougher -- MR. GIBBS: -- the results based on the pundits on cable TV? That and corporate governance -- or corruption in governance are at the top of my list today. Democrats | Elections | President Obama | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Democrats, Elections, President Obama, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:28:00 PM The President Made A Commitment - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 8/3/09 — Monday, August 03, 2009 —  Q Thanks, Robert. The President has been pretty clear he wants to cut the deficit in half within a decade; he wants a health care overhaul that's deficit-neutral; and during the campaign he promised no tax increase on the middle class. Is there a point where you just say two out of three of these ain't bad? And can you get everything done, all three of these done?MR. GIBBS: The President is committed to doing those things. The President was clear in the campaign about that. I think in some ways those goals overlap. We're not going to make progress on the deficit without dealing with health care. So some of those goals actually work in tandem. I don't think we're going to get the deficit under -- begin to get the deficit under better control until we get the economy moving again. In order to get -- lay that new foundation, the President strongly believes that health care reform is important. The President was clear during the campaign about his commitment on not raising taxes on middle-class families. And I don't think any economist would believe that in the environment that we're in raising taxes on middle-class families would make any sense, and the President agrees. Q Then why didn't Secretary Geithner and Dr. Summers say that they would not raise taxes on those families? MR. GIBBS: Well, having -- I did not watch the shows; I read some of the transcripts -- I think they allowed themselves to get into a little bit of a hypothetical back and forth. I will say this, and I think this is important for all of us to understand, and we've talked about this issue throughout the team that we've been here: We do have big, structural deficits that are going to have to be dealt with in order to meet the President's commitment of cutting this deficit in half and getting us back on a path toward fiscal responsibility. That there's no question about. And I think what they both talked about was, one, we're not going to have -- we're not going to be able to sustain any sort of economic recovery unless or until we do have a path toward fiscal responsibility. But they also said that that shouldn't be done in a -- as a way of burdening middle-class families. So I think the President's commitment on this is clear. We have a lot of big challenges. We're already looking at ways to cut wasteful spending. As part of health care reform, the President has identified half a trillion dollars in spending that he thinks can be cut. We've worked just in the past two weeks on a bipartisan basis to look at a program like the F-22 and cut some of that wasteful spending out of the budget as well. [...] Q Robert, in terms of what Geithner and Summers had to say yesterday, it really wasn't too much of a hypothetical back and forth. It was about the -- do they think it's possible to do deficit reduction. But that's not a -- that's -- MR. GIBBS: Well, we can quibble about whether the word "possible" -- Q No, that's not what the word "hypothetical" -- is it possible to do everything the President wants to do without increasing revenues from the middle class? MR. GIBBS: Right, and I want to just state again clearly here that the President has made a very clear commitment to not raise taxes on middle-class families, period. Q But if economists, including the President's own economists, don't necessarily think that it's possible to do so without raising taxes on the middle class, how is that dealing candidly with the American people? MR. GIBBS: Well, again, Jake, there are a series of things that have to be done. I think you'll actually hear an announcement from Treasury later this afternoon about how much money has to be borrowed versus what they thought was going to have to be borrowed and what will have to be borrowed as a result of financial stabilization. In terms of cutting the amount of money that's needed, again, I think the President has been clear on this. The first thing that we can do -- the most important thing that we can do right now is get our economy growing again. We know that the deficit -- part of the reason that the deficit is up right now is that the economy has slowed down so much that tax revenues -- because it's what happens in an economic slowdown -- have regressed a lot. I think the President -- obviously we're going to have to make some decisions down the road on some of the President's legislative priorities and some of the things that Congress wants to do to evaluate how we move back towards -- on a path toward fiscal sustainability. Q So did Geithner and Summers go off script or were they sort of testing the temperature out there of what something like this would -- MR. GIBBS: I don't know. I know the President has been clear about his commitment on it. Q So there is no -- there's no real scenario there, as the administration sees it, where middle-class taxpayers might be hit with a hike? There's no scenario right now -- MR. GIBBS: The President has been clear, very clear. Q Could I make that even a little more precise? The President, as you well know, is -- not just middle class, but he's been very precise about it: no family -- MR. GIBBS: Let me be precise. Q Go ahead. MR. GIBBS: Let me be precise: The President's clear commitment is not to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year. Q So any implication anybody drew from Geithner and Summers yesterday to the contrary is flatly wrong? MR. GIBBS: I think the President has been clear. I think you heard him reiterate it not that long ago right outside this room in the Rose Garden. Q But you can understand why people took what they said yesterday as Geithner and Summers trying to open the door a little bit? MR. GIBBS: Well, I hope you'll take my reiteration of his clear commitment as an update. Q So they were not -- the door is closed? They did not open the door at all? MR. GIBBS: I am reiterating the President's clear commitment in the clearest terms possible, that he's not raising taxes on those who make less than $250,000 a year. Q Did he speak to them about the fact that they did raise this little bit of a -- MR. GIBBS: We talked about a number of economic issues this morning in the Oval Office as part of the daily briefing. Q So is everybody going to be on message now, that absolutely no tax cuts [sic] for families -- MR. GIBBS: Promising that everybody is going to be on message may be a bar that's too high for me to leap over. Q But that's the goal -- everybody is on -- MR. GIBBS: The goal is to get the economy moving again. The goal is to get our government back on -- Q Without any tax cut [sic] for any family making less than $250,000 -- MR. GIBBS: Our goal is to get our government back on a path toward fiscal sustainability; to lay the long-term foundation for economic growth. And let's also -- one point that I forget that I think is important in this: Within the very first month of the President taking office, 95 percent of Americans received a tax cut. That's everybody in the middle class. The President ran because for eight long years the middle class had borne the brunt of bad economic policies. Even when jobs were being created, even when you saw positive economic growth, for the very first time in our history you actually saw wages for the middle class decline. That's one of the reasons that led the President of the United States to want to run for President of the United States: to protect the middle class, to cut their taxes -- which he did -- and to make sure that their voices were heard in the economic policymaking of this country. Q The door is not open even a millimeter on raising taxes? MR. GIBBS: I hope you'll take seriously what I said. [...] Q Just to clarify, is this confusion on the tax thing -- this is something that Summers and Geithner maybe got caught up in hypothetical questions? Or is this a media interpretation? I mean, who is -- MR. GIBBS: I think a confluence of some of that stuff, sure. [...] Q Were you in the morning meeting on the economic topics you talked about a moment ago? MR. GIBBS: Yes. Q Who else was there? Was Mr. Geithner and Mr. Summers there, I guess? MR. GIBBS: They were there; Peter Orszag, Rahm Emanuel, Anita Dunn. Q Did the President bring up what was discussed in the Sunday talk shows, or did Mr. Summers and Mr. Geithner volunteer -- MR. GIBBS: I don't believe -- Q -- did either one of them volunteer the hypothetical back-and-forth characterization -- MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry, what? Q Did either one of them explain -- MR. GIBBS: No, I made that up all by myself. Q That's how you interpreted it, as a hypothetical back and forth? MR. GIBBS: Well, I read the transcript a few times. And I do think that -- yes, I think there was some -- Q Did the President seek an explanation from either Mr. Summers or Mr. Geithner about what they were trying to do? MR. GIBBS: We talked about it as an issue, but we didn't -- it wasn't sort of -- this wasn't a, you know, like "school is in" type of thing. Q Or a woodshed type of thing? MR. GIBBS: Right. No. [...] Q Robert, not to belabor the tax thing, but when the President was talking to the team this morning, did he say to Geithner and Summers: You guys should not have left this open, it should have been clearer? MR. GIBBS: No. We talked about this going forward. And there were -- Dr. Romer talked about the recent numbers on international manufacturing. Q But did the President reiterate his position on middle-class taxes? MR. GIBBS: Yes. Q In that -- Q In that meeting -- to them? MR. GIBBS: To all of them. Q To make sure there was no confusion? MR. GIBBS: Yes. [...] Q Just to close a loop on taxes, is there any time -- MR. GIBBS: I was pretty sure I did that by at least the end of the second row, but -- (laughter.) Q I want to take one last crack at you. MR. GIBBS: Okay. Q Is there any time limit to -- because one of the things you said to the front row -- MR. GIBBS: This is the hypothetical game I'm not -- again the President -- Q No, but you said in this -- in this environment -- MR. GIBBS: I'm going to say this. I'm going to deal with this and I'll do this one more time. The President was clear; he made a commitment in the campaign; that commitment stands. Q And he will never raise taxes on -- MR. GIBBS: That commitment stands. Q But commitment doesn't mean he'll do it, Robert. I mean, I can be committed to losing -- MR. GIBBS: What else are you going ask then? You asked if the President is going to make his commitment. I'm saying he's made a commitment. Q But that's not completely shutting the door. You can say I'm committed to doing something, but you may not do it. MR. GIBBS: Fine. Ignore everything I've said in the last 45 minutes. Bill. Q Robert, back on health care, yesterday -- MR. GIBBS: If you don't trust what I'm going to tell you, then I don't know why we do this. Q Well, you keep using that "commitment" word -- if someone says yes or no -- is he closing -- MR. GIBBS: The President made a commitment in the campaign. The President made a commitment in the campaign, he's clear about that commitment, and he's going to keep it. I don't know much more clear about the commitment I can be. Q Then why didn't Geithner and Summers say it? MR. GIBBS: They left it to me. (Laughter.) Bill. Elections | Health Care | President Obama | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Taxes | Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner | White House Press Corps Labels: Elections, Health Care, President Obama, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Taxes, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 11:53:00 PM Do We Care What Happens In Iran? - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 6/17/09 — Wednesday, June 17, 2009 —  MR. GIBBS: Yes, ma'am.Q Do we care what happens in Iran? And does both sides -- are they both planning to continue nuclear -- their nuclear development? MR. GIBBS: Well, obviously we care about -- Q The outcome. MR. GIBBS: Of the election? Well, as I said yesterday, Helen, I think regardless of -- and I think the President certainly said this, as well -- regardless of who emerges from this election, there are still two principal national interests that this country has relating to Iran. First is their pursuit of a nuclear weapon, and second is their support and sponsorship of terror. Those are causes and concerns, as I said, that we had the day prior to the election and in the days after the election. I would also say that the President remains committed to engagement and understanding that the principle of national interest that I talked about, the sponsorship of terror and the pursuit of a nuclear weapon, are in many ways policy aspects relating to foreign policy and national security that are controlled by the Supreme Leader, who is likely to be the same regardless of who wins the election. Q So why are we worried? MR. GIBBS: Why are we worried -- Q At all? MR. GIBBS: Well, obviously we have -- Q And how do you know they sponsor terrorism? What is terrorism? I mean, we're in two countries. MR. GIBBS: Well, we can get into a long discussion about the definition of this. I think this one is fairly well held. Q You mean you oppose the status quo? MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry, I don't understand. Q Sponsoring terrorism and terrorists -- the American revolutionaries were called terrorists. MR. GIBBS: Well, I think, leaving aside whatever moniker might have been affixed several hundred years ago -- Q Not that long. MR. GIBBS: Yes, I will -- I think there's a fairly well held definition of what that means today. Yes, sir. Q Following up on her question. Yesterday the President, and you mentioned -- the President addressed this yesterday -- in one of the interviews yesterday, the President said the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi, in terms of their actual policies, may not be as great as has been advertised. Is that U.S. policy, that there's not really much difference between these two candidates and that there's no preference for one over the other? MR. GIBBS: Well, look, I think I was asked in this room prior to the election whether this country had a preference. And we're not going to get involved in picking candidates in elections. Q But he did get involved in a way in saying that. What was he trying to say by saying that? MR. GIBBS: Well, I think he was saying exactly what I've said the past two days, and that is, regardless of the outcome of what we're seeing, the United States still has two principal national interests as it relates to the Islamic Republic of Iran: the state sponsorship of terror and the support of terror, as well as their pursuit of a nuclear weapon. I don't think that's likely to be markedly changed, even throughout this process. And it's something that still obviously is a principal concern of our country and something we'll pursue. Q You said not going to be markedly changed -- you mean no matter who is elected here. MR. GIBBS: Right. And I'm echoing what he said in there, as well as, I think, underscoring that our principal national interest, as it relates to Iran, regardless of the outcome, are still going to be the same. Q Is this another way to phrase that, to say it doesn't really matter who wins this election in Iran? MR. GIBBS: No. Again, I'm not going to get involved and our government is not going to get involved in picking a candidate. Obviously there is international concern for the way an election was conducted, and it's being looked into, and certainly, we believe, rightfully so. But at the same time, again, there are principal national interests that we had as a country Thursday, we had before the polls opened -- the moment before the polls opened and the moment after the polls closed. Those remain. Q No preference? No preference? MR. GIBBS: It's just not the policy of this administration to pick the leaders of other countries. Elections | Iran | Obama Administration | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Elections, Iran, Obama Administration, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:31:00 PM Something For Iranians To Work Out - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 6/16/09 — Tuesday, June 16, 2009 — MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry? Q The President is still willing to talk to Ahmadinejad about the various U.S. issues, and that's not been changed at all by the -- MR. GIBBS: The President is committed to -- Q -- status of this election? MR. GIBBS: The President is committed to direct engagement with the Iranian government on issues of our national interest, including their pursuit of a nuclear weapon and their sponsorship for terror. Q And the disputed election does not in any way change that? MR. GIBBS: Well, again, the disputed election is something for Iranians to work out. Q Does the administration have an opinion as to whether or not foreign journalists should be allowed to cover that story and remain inside Iran? MR. GIBBS: Obviously the President spoke both yesterday and today about what he thinks of his universal values, and obviously -- Q He spoke about people in the streets and Iranians -- MR. GIBBS: Let me -- Q I'm sorry. MR. GIBBS: I think having a robust free press that covers an important story for the world is something that the President believes strongly in. Q Does the administration believe the Internet and texting access should be restored? MR. GIBBS: Absolutely. Yes, sir. Q A follow-up? Sky News has designated a spot on their Web site, as other organizations have, for people who are tweeting, who are sending SMS's, et cetera. In light of the fact that we don't have a diplomatic relationship, is the White House monitoring these various Web sites for that information? MR. GIBBS: I can check with somebody at NSC, but I don't have anything specific. Q The President said in Cairo that countries that elect their governments are better -- the governments are better, more stable, better able to provide economic opportunities. Does the United States have a national interest in the will of the Iranian people being accurately reflected in this election? MR. GIBBS: Well, I think that he's expressed concern, as the international community has. Obviously any election, if it's going to -- any election should reflect the will of the people. That, by definition, is an election. I would also mention, Scott, that the President said that it's important -- elections are important, but also the decisions that governments make after elections are important. That's why our interests as they relate to the Iranian government are unchanged. Q Robert, are you at all concerned that the measured response of the United States so far to the Iranian elections could harm America or the President's image among democracy advocates not only in Iran but around the world? MR. GIBBS: No, I think this administration's commitment to democracy has been demonstrated in the commitment in resources that we've put forward. But at the same time, I think it's important that I reemphasize what the President said about sovereignty, but more importantly, that I emphasize that this is a debate inside of Iran for Iranians. Ahmadinejad | Democracy | Elections | Iran | President Obama | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Ahmadinejad, Democracy, Elections, Iran, President Obama, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:38:00 PM Heartened By The Enthusiasm Of Young People In Iran - Air Force One Press Gaggle by Robert Gibbs 6/15/09 — Monday, June 15, 2009 —  MR. GIBBS: How are you guys?Q How are you? MR. GIBBS: Good. Fire away. Q Does the President think the Iranian election was run fairly and that the announced results are accurate? MR. GIBBS: Well, I don't have a lot to add to what -- the statement that we put out this weekend and what Vice President Biden said yesterday. Obviously we continue to have concern about what we've seen. Obviously the Iranians are looking into this, as well. We continue to be heartened by the enthusiasm of young people in Iran. But I think what's important is the concerns that we have about their nuclear weapons program, and the concern we have about their support for terror isn’t any different than it was on Friday. Q Does the margin of victory announced for Ahmadinejad seem reasonable or plausible to the White House? MR. GIBBS: I think there are a number of factors that give us some concern about what we've seen. Air Force One | Democracy | Elections | Iran | Press Gaggle | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Air Force One, Democracy, Elections, Iran, Press Gaggle, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 2:13:00 PM Thrilled To Have Him - Air Force One Press Gaggle by Robert Gibbs 4/29/09 — Wednesday, April 29, 2009 —  Q Robert, it's fairly unusual for a sitting President to basically endorse a candidate in a party primary. Can we expect President Obama to be doing more of the same in the next election cycle?MR. GIBBS: I don't think it's at all irregular for a President to endorse an incumbent member of his own party even if it's a new member. I think you can go back and find a lot of examples of that. The President is, as I said and he said yesterday, happy to have Senator Specter as a member of the Democratic Party, thrilled to have him, support him fully. He's made a decision of how to best represent the people he represents in Pennsylvania and we're happy that he did so. Q Robert, to follow up on Ed's question, it was -- I think, seven minutes lapsed before the President was on the phone with Senator Specter saying he would support him in the primary -- MR. GIBBS: Seven minutes after he called him, yes. Q Well, could you on that point say when did he have an inkling before that -- he thought it through? How did he arrive at the decision to offer that support, and did he consider supporting maybe a candidate who had been backed by the unions? MR. GIBBS: No, he supported a -- he supported the, albeit new, member -- incumbent member of his party. There wasn’t any meeting about it. The President offered his support to Senator Specter and it's a commitment he'll keep. Q Did he decide in that seven-minute span? I think he said no. MR. GIBBS: My sense is it probably took him less than about seven seconds, so he might have had some extra time to think about other stuff. Air Force One | Democrats | Elections | President Obama | Press Gaggle | Robert Gibbs | White House Press Corps Labels: Air Force One, Democrats, Elections, President Obama, Press Gaggle, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 3:10:00 PM
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