Gibbs Isn't Afraid to Throw Verbal Punches

(NEWSER) - Robert Gibbs said today Sonia Sotomayor regrets the way she phrased 2001 comments that have some Republicans calling the Supreme Court nominee a racist, the Hill reports. “I think she'd say that her word choice was poor,” the White House press secretary said. He suggested that Sotomayor was not trying to say Latina women make better judges than white men, but that “your experiences impact your understanding.” More»

Press secretary will also hit the speech circuit

(NEWSER) - Robert Gibbs confirms that he's part of the long-rumored White House shakeup today, telling the New York Times that he'll leave the job in early February to become a political adviser. He's also looking to pick up a little loot on the speaking circuit. A successor is expected to be named within two weeks; aides tell the Times that President Obama is finalizing his staff changes today. More»

Reporters' gripes about Obama pile up

(NEWSER) - The right likes to say the media is in love with President Obama; if so the affair has gone sour. White House reporters find Obama's administration thin-skinned, vengeful, and unfairly stingy with information, they tell Politico . "The White House seems to imagine that releasing information is like a tap that can be turned on and off at their whim,” the New Yorker's George Packer—one of the few Politico sources willing to be named—said. More»

Date for speech not set, but it's not Feb. 2: Gibbs

(NEWSER) - The date isn't set yet, but couch potatoes can relax: President Obama's State of the Union address will not muscle out the 3-hour premiere of the final season of Lost on Feb. 2. "I don't foresee a scenario in which the millions of people who hope to see a conclusion to Lost are pre-empted by the president," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said at today's daily briefing. "You can quote an administration official on that." More»

(NEWSER) - Helen Thomas has covered a lot of presidents, and she’s not much of a fan of how the current one manages the press. The 89-year-old reporter tells CNS that Obama’s White House tries to stage-manage news conferences and other media events like no other. “Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.” More»