Dear Press, You're Not the Boss of Robert Gibbs

Robert Gibbs' takedown of the "professional left" continues to generate buzz among media types, and today produces two diametrically opposed views:

• Paul Krugman, New York Times: The press chief needs another job if he can't take this heat. Liberal critics are voicing the "real concerns of real people," he writes. A good temper tantrum can serve a purpose, but "if you vent for the sake of venting; if you alienate people you’re going to need; then you’re just being stupid."

• Roger Simon, Politico: Sorry, liberal journos. Gibbs knew exactly what he was doing, and it's a safe bet that President Obama did, too. Here's the point everybody forgets: "Gibbs has one boss, and it isn’t the press. It’s the guy in the Oval Office." A press secretary is by definition partisan. He gets in trouble only when the "boss thinks he is not defending the White House and its policies vigorously enough."