in their own words
 |
|
|
|
 I Don't Know If Anybody Has Talked To Her - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 5/29/09 — Friday, May 29, 2009 —  Q Can I ask you, on the Sotomayor nomination, has the White House or anyone here had a chance to talk to her about that 2001 Berkeley speech to see if she might have wished she chose different words or meant to say something other than what she said? And on a related note, do you know if she has any personal reaction to people throwing words around like "racist" or apparently today Rush Limbaugh compared her to David Duke? Is it difficult for her, given her background, to hear those type of things or does she just sort of slough it off? MR. GIBBS: Well, I don't know if anybody has talked to her specifically about that comment. I don't think you have to be the nominee to -- (Cell phone interruption.) MR. GIBBS: That's helpful. (Laughter.) Q Sorry. MR. GIBBS: I don't think you have to be the nominee to find what was said today offensive. And I think maybe the best example of that, Josh, is to look at any number of conservative and Republican leaders who over the past 24 hours have specifically addressed the comments of people like Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh. It's sort of hard to completely quantify the outrage I think almost anybody would feel at the notion that you're being compared to somebody who used to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan. It's amazing. On the other question, obviously folks have -- she's been here, she's made calls. Look, I think that -- I've not talked specifically with her about this, but I think she'd say that her word choice in 2001 was poor; that she was simply making the point that personal experiences are relevant to the process of judging; that your personal experiences make you -- have a tendency to make you more aware of certain facts in certain cases; that your experiences impact your understanding -- I think we all agree with that; and that on a court that's collegial, that it can help others that are trying to wrestle with the facts of those cases. And, I mean, look, there have been allusions to this in the media over the past few days. I mean, if you look at -- let me read some quotes from current and recent justices, or in this case, both. Justice Alito, during his confirmation hearing, referenced his heritage. He said that, "When a case comes before me involving someone" -- and there's some ellipses in here, but -- "someone who is an immigrant, I can't help but think of my own ancestors because it wasn't long ago when they were in that position." Or he later says -- this is not paraphrased -- "You know this could be your grandfather, this could be your grandmother. They were not citizens at one time and they were people who came to this country." More recently -- Q Obama voted against Alito. MR. GIBBS: I understand. I hope that doesn't preclude me from being able to quote him. Q Well, I mean, it adds a little context. MR. GIBBS: Well, he wasn't here for Justice Ginsburg -- wasn't here to vote on Justice Ginsburg, but Justice Ginsburg just recently said, I think quite clearly, in a case involving the strip search of a 13-year-old girl, that -- that she said that some justices seem to ignore the humiliation that might be involved because "they've never been a 13-year-old girl. It's a very sensitive age for a girl. I don't think that my colleagues, some of them, quite understood." So I think that's what Justice Sotomayor was talking about. Q But Robert, those both seem to talk about identity with a certain circumstance, where the 2001 speech said because of her experience she would come to a better conclusion, which to some people -- MR. GIBBS: Well, that's why, Major, I started this by saying I think if she had the speech to do all over again, I think she'd change that word. Q How do you know that? MR. GIBBS: In discussions with people. Thanks, guys. Q Discussions with who? Q What's your people? MR. GIBBS: People who have talked to her. Nominees | Obama Administration | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Supreme Court | White House Press Corps Labels: Nominees, Obama Administration, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Supreme Court, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 6:27:00 PM  She Said One Was Better Than The Other - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 5/27/09 — Thursday, May 28, 2009 —  Q To follow up on Chip, briefly, are you saying that there's no racial dimension and there should be no racial dimension interpreted or drawn from Judge Sotomayor's comments made in 2001 at Berkeley -- after she was confirmed both times by the Senate, so the Senate never had a chance to evaluate that, just to point that out -- that there is no racial dimension? Americans who look at that should think, what, if they think that their might be a racial dimension there? MR. GIBBS: I think, one, I think Americans should read all of what she talked about. Read the full article. I admonished April yesterday for her YouTube clip. Read the whole article, and I think there's -- Q There's a larger contextual point there -- MR. GIBBS: Read a couple of sentences past that and we can certainly discuss that. But more importantly, Major, let's -- as I said to Chip and others, you have somebody with the vast federal judicial experience that she has, not somebody who served on the court for a year or less than a year, but somebody who served on the court for quite some time. I think there's a strong record with which to evaluate. I think we can all move past YouTube snippets and half-sentences and actually look at the honest-to-God record of these nominees -- even as April shakes her head. I think even April will do some due diligence and come to the conclusion that the President came to, that we've nominated somebody that deserves -- Q It's out of her mouth. Those were words that she said out of her mouth. You can admonish YouTube. You can admonish that and talk about her record, but she said these words. Q Well, I'm just asking you, Robert -- MR. GIBBS: I understand, but I'm asking -- Q I'm just asking you if you want to offer -- as the White House had nominated her -- something that you believe the American public should read into it or evaluate from that statement that they read that we haven't heard from the podium so far. So I'm just offering you the opportunity -- MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry, just tell me the last part again. Q Something that the White House wants to add to what Americans who may look at that fair-mindedly and say, this sounds to me as if there's a racial dimension to it, and maybe that might trouble them. Do you have anything to add to that? MR. GIBBS: I think it -- I have confidence in Americans reading not just part of, but the whole statement, and I have confidence in Americans evaluating the full depth of her record and coming to an honest and open-minded conclusion. Q In all fairness, a follow to that -- it's not just a racial dimension, but it's a gender dimension. And do you at least acknowledge that she did say these words? You're asking us to look beyond. MR. GIBBS: I can confirm that it appears likely that she intoned both of those sentences, yes. Q I mean, you're spinning it, trying to make us look at the record. Okay, we look at the record. But we're also looking at her words. MR. GIBBS: Can I just say -- and I want to make sure that I get this on the record -- looking at the record isn't spinning you, okay. Q I know, but you're spinning -- MR. GIBBS: I appreciate that -- Q -- what she actually said. MR. GIBBS: I'm not spinning what she said. If I'm spinning what she said, April, then you at least have to acknowledge that you're not understanding even remotely the full context of what she said in that debate. Right? Q I understand it, but I -- MR. GIBBS: No, no, no, no, no. I just want to know, do you believe that in judging eight seconds, or six seconds of what somebody says in a 40-minute clip, you've fully understood and taken into account the full context of what she said? Q You have to look at the context -- MR. GIBBS: Is that a spin? Q -- but, yes, as well, you have to also see the words that she said. You have to have a whole -- MR. GIBBS: Well, I feel confident that if you look at the context and then listen to the words, you, your listeners, and everyone that you talk to will have a greater and fuller appreciation for exactly what she said, just as I hope that people don't take a 10-second snippet of what you and I are talking about and form some larger conversation. Q Robert, some of us have read the entire speech -- Q Thank you. Q -- and we're wondering if you can explain what she meant. Because some of us who have read the entire, lengthy speech -- MR. GIBBS: And I talked about this yesterday. Let me get -- Q She wasn't saying that a Latina woman judge and a white male judge would have equal views; she said one was better than the other. MR. GIBBS: Here's what I believe. I think she's talking about the unique experiences that she has. I think the next sentence -- I don't have it in front of me -- I think the next sentence denotes that -- Q We want to get it. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: I am surprised you don't have it, right, April. Have you -- cue your YouTube up right there on your Blackberry. Again, I think if you look at the totality of this, if you look at the next few sentences, I have every confidence that people will come to the conclusion that -- and again, and look at her whole record. Q You're not spinning us. We're asking you, spin us. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: I appreciate -- Q Explain what you think she meant. Q Thank you. MR. GIBBS: I have done that now -- Q And why there is no racial component to it. MR. GIBBS: -- I have done that -- Q You dismissed Newt Gingrich as not doing well enough at Princeton or doing as well as Judge Sotomayor at Princeton -- MR. GIBBS: I think -- I don't think -- Q -- and all he's saying is there's a racial component to it, and a fair-minded person could read that and wonder to themselves if there's not a racial component. You deny that. I'm just trying to get an explanation as to why. MR. GIBBS: Well, I'm saying -- I'm also saying you should read all of it. Q We have. MR. GIBBS: I think you should look at the totality of -- (laughter) -- let my look denote that I'm casting doubt on what you just said, April. Q Have you read it? MR. GIBBS: I've read most of it, yes. Q And what conclusion do you draw? And what conclusion does the White House draw? MR. GIBBS: That she has different experiences than -- she has lived a different life than some people have, based on her upbringing; that she understands that -- Q And it's okay, therefore, to say that that different life could lead you naturally to better conclusions than someone who didn't live that life? MR. GIBBS: Or you could certainly lead to different conclusions, because we all have perspectives. Q She said "better." MR. GIBBS: Again, look at the totality of it. I have confidence that people will come to a reasonable conclusion on this. Nominees | Obama Administration | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Supreme Court | White House Press Corps Labels: Nominees, Obama Administration, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Supreme Court, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:54:00 PM You'll Get A Text Message - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 5/22/09 — Saturday, May 23, 2009 —  MR. GIBBS: Good afternoon. Thanks for coming out here a little early -- I've got a meeting with the President, a few of us do, a little after 1:00 p.m., so I'm going to try to practice some brevity today. We'll see if that works out.Let me give you a quick run through of the week ahead. At 6:30 tomorrow morning the President will announce his Supreme Court nominee. (Laughter.) Gotcha! I'm done. That's obviously a joke, but I did love to see that -- if somebody can quickly text me the name of a chiropractor because at least four dozen necks snapped in one direction. (Laughter.) Q If it's quarter to seven it's -- MR. GIBBS: Don't worry, you'll get a text message. It's cool. Haha | Nominees | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Supreme Court | White House Press Corps Labels: Haha, Nominees, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Supreme Court, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 3:33:00 AM An Impartial or Empathic Judiciary? - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs (Interrupted by President Obama) 5/1/09 — Friday, May 01, 2009 — Q It's a mutated form of the virus, as the President said for the first time, I believe. MR. GIBBS: Yes. And -- THE PRESIDENT: Hey. I'm sorry, but Gibbs is screwing this thing up. You know, there's a job to do -- please, everybody, have a seat. There's a job to do, you got to do it yourself. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: See you guys later. Have a good weekend. (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: This is kind of cool. MR. GIBBS: It's way cooler than it seems. (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Absolutely. The reason I'm interrupting Robert is not because he's not doing a good job -- he's doing an unbelievable job. But it's because I just got off the telephone with Justice Souter. And so I would like to say a few words about his decision to retire from the Supreme Court. Throughout his two decades on the Supreme Court, Justice Souter has shown what it means to be a fair-minded and independent judge. He came to the bench with no particular ideology. He never sought to promote a political agenda. And he consistently defied labels and rejected absolutes, focusing instead on just one task -- reaching a just result in the case that was before him. He approached judging as he approaches life, with a feverish work ethic and a good sense of humor, with integrity, equanimity and compassion -- the hallmark of not just being a good judge, but of being a good person. I am incredibly grateful for his dedicated service. I told him as much when we spoke. I spoke on behalf of the American people thanking him for his service. And I wish him safe travels on his journey home to his beloved New Hampshire and on the road ahead. Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as President. So I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book; it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives -- whether they can make a living and care for their families; whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation. I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient for arriving as just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values on which this nation was founded and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time. As I make this decision, I intend to consult with members of both parties across the political spectrum. And it is my hope that we can swear in our new Supreme Court Justice in time for him or her to be seated by the first Monday in October when the court's new term begins. And with that, I would like you to give Robert a tough time again. (Laughter.) Q Mr. President, when did you learn -- Q -- Supreme Court practices when you were a Senator? Q On that -- Q Will you -- Q I guess he wasn't in the mess today. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: I have an announcement to make. (Laughter.) I've been notified that Judge Souter is stepping down from the Supreme Court. (Laughter.) I have this from the very highest levels in our government. (Laughter.) Do you see that the guy -- you know, he read the statement and he left the questions to me. Okay, well, where were we? Q Did you know he was coming? MR. GIBBS: Did I know he was coming? No, I didn't know he was coming. No, we would have put a fancy seal up and everything. Q No offense, but you're kind of a let-down now. (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: Well, you guys are, too. (Laughter.) So it's -- we're kind of fair. Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted? Q Robert, the President said, empathy in looking at the way the law intersects with average, ordinary people -- you said it before. There are some critics who say the courts should not be about that; that it should be about interpreting the work of legislatures, whether they be federal or state, and the Constitution; and within that construct, law must be made and that you err if you're a Justice when you try to find this empathetic approach outside of what legislatures, duly elected, have decided or what legal precedents established. What's the response to that line of criticism? MR. GIBBS: Well, I would have those critics listen quite carefully to the words of the President just a few moments ago. He's looking for somebody who understands and respects constitutional values, who understands and respects the rule of law, as well as somebody who understands and respects the importance of what they're deciding and how that impacts millions of Americans in their daily lives. Judiciary | Justice David Souter | President Obama | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Supreme Court | White House Press Corps Labels: Judiciary, Justice David Souter, President Obama, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Supreme Court, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 8:10:00 PM
|
|
