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First White House Briefing Addresses Gitmo, Oath
Lots of questions, little actual news as Gibbs meets the press anew
By Harry Kimball
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Posted Jan 22, 09 2:20 PM CST
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(Newser)
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White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs met his audience for the first time, covering everything from President Obama’s oaths to the economy to torture, the Chicago Tribune reports. Gibbs faced questions about the administration’s hiring of a lobbyist, against previously stated rules—“Any standard is not perfect”—and whether Obama would freeze his own pay, like his staff’s. “I think his salary is determined by law,” Gibbs said.
On ordering Guantanamo Bay closed, “the president believes that what he did today will enhance the security of the American people,” he said. Gibbs also said the administration would move quickly on stimulus, and that Obama would receive daily briefings on the economy. Gibbs was asked how Obama was settling in. “At the end of the first night he had to ask somebody where he was supposed to go next.”