Showing posts with label Gibbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gibbs. Show all posts
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Monday, September 23, 2013
Revealed: Obama came up with ObamaCare because he needed a throwaway applause line in a campaign speech
◼ Knowing what you know about him, if you had to guess the genesis of his biggest domestic legislative initiative, which would you guess? - HotAir
That he spent years studying the issue, consumed by the intricacies of health-care policy and determined to make a difference if ever placed in a position to do so? Or that he needed a killer line for one of his speeches and couldn’t let pass a golden opportunity to grandstand? QED. Even the transformation of American health care is but a subplot to Hopenchange image-making.
◼ The most important red line of Barack Obama’s presidency was scrawled hastily in January 2007, a few weeks before he even announced he was running for president. - Politico
Soon-to-be-candidate Obama, then an Illinois senator, was thinking about turning down an invitation to speak at a big health care conference sponsored by the progressive group Families USA [in January 2007], when two aides, Robert Gibbs and Jon Favreau, hit on an idea that would make him appear more prepared and committed than he actually was at the moment.
Why not just announce his intention to pass universal health care by the end of his first term?…
“We needed something to say,” recalled one of the advisers involved in the discussion. “I can’t tell you how little thought was given to that thought other than it sounded good. So they just kind of hatched it on their own. It just happened. It wasn’t like a deep strategic conversation.”…
The candidate jumped at it. He probably wasn’t going to get elected anyway, the team concluded. Why not go big?
That he spent years studying the issue, consumed by the intricacies of health-care policy and determined to make a difference if ever placed in a position to do so? Or that he needed a killer line for one of his speeches and couldn’t let pass a golden opportunity to grandstand? QED. Even the transformation of American health care is but a subplot to Hopenchange image-making.
◼ The most important red line of Barack Obama’s presidency was scrawled hastily in January 2007, a few weeks before he even announced he was running for president. - Politico
Soon-to-be-candidate Obama, then an Illinois senator, was thinking about turning down an invitation to speak at a big health care conference sponsored by the progressive group Families USA [in January 2007], when two aides, Robert Gibbs and Jon Favreau, hit on an idea that would make him appear more prepared and committed than he actually was at the moment.
Why not just announce his intention to pass universal health care by the end of his first term?…
“We needed something to say,” recalled one of the advisers involved in the discussion. “I can’t tell you how little thought was given to that thought other than it sounded good. So they just kind of hatched it on their own. It just happened. It wasn’t like a deep strategic conversation.”…
The candidate jumped at it. He probably wasn’t going to get elected anyway, the team concluded. Why not go big?
Labels:
Gibbs,
Obamacare,
President/Candidate Obama
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Former White House Spokesman Gibbs: I was ordered not to acknowledge drone program existed
◼ Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday that he and other administration spokesmen often seem evasive about the government's drone program because they have been told not to acknowledge the secret strikes.
“When I went through the process of becoming press secretary," Gibbs told MSNBC, "one of the things, one of the first things they told me was, 'You’re not even to acknowledge the drone program. You’re not even to discuss that it exists.'"
Current White House press secretary Jay Carney has acknowledged the drone program in recent weeks, as questions have swirled over a leaked Justice Department white paper that outlines the legal justifications that the government claims enable it to carry out drone strikes against terrorist-affiliated American citizens abroad. But President Obama had previously spoken publicly about the drone program, freeing the current press secretary in some regards.
Carney has said the strikes were "necessary to mitigate ongoing attacks" and argued "they are legal, they are ethical, and they are wise."
“When I went through the process of becoming press secretary," Gibbs told MSNBC, "one of the things, one of the first things they told me was, 'You’re not even to acknowledge the drone program. You’re not even to discuss that it exists.'"
Current White House press secretary Jay Carney has acknowledged the drone program in recent weeks, as questions have swirled over a leaked Justice Department white paper that outlines the legal justifications that the government claims enable it to carry out drone strikes against terrorist-affiliated American citizens abroad. But President Obama had previously spoken publicly about the drone program, freeing the current press secretary in some regards.
Carney has said the strikes were "necessary to mitigate ongoing attacks" and argued "they are legal, they are ethical, and they are wise."
Labels:
Dishonesty,
drones,
Gibbs,
President/Candidate Obama
Monday, February 25, 2013
TV critic: Gibbs and Axelrod pushing ‘propaganda’ on MSNBC
◼ CNN’s “Reliable sources” host Howard Kurtz and Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik debated on Sunday whether MSNBC’s hiring of former Obama officials Robert Gibbs and David Axelrod is punditry or propaganda. - Michal Conger/Washington Examiner
Labels:
Axelrod,
Gibbs,
Media bias,
Propaganda
Thursday, February 21, 2013
"Whatever one wants to call this, "journalism" is the wrong label."
◼ MSNBC boldly moves to plug its one remaining hole - By hiring long-time Obama spokesmen Robert Gibbs and David Axelrod, the cable news network clarifies its function - Glenn Greenwald/The Guardian
I wonder: does someone who goes from being an Obama White House spokesman and Obama campaign official to being an MSNBC contributor even notice that they changed jobs?
...But whatever one wants to call this, "journalism" is the wrong label. Even ideologically-friendly media outlets which claim that mantle should be devoted to accountability and treating those who wield power adversarially, not flattering the preexisting beliefs of their audience and relentlessly glorifying political leaders. Presidents have actual press secretaries and Party spokespeople for that.
◼ Wrong Headline, Professor - The Other McCain
I wonder: does someone who goes from being an Obama White House spokesman and Obama campaign official to being an MSNBC contributor even notice that they changed jobs?
...But whatever one wants to call this, "journalism" is the wrong label. Even ideologically-friendly media outlets which claim that mantle should be devoted to accountability and treating those who wield power adversarially, not flattering the preexisting beliefs of their audience and relentlessly glorifying political leaders. Presidents have actual press secretaries and Party spokespeople for that.
◼ Wrong Headline, Professor - The Other McCain
Labels:
#VetThe Media,
Axelrod,
Gibbs,
Media bias,
MSNBC
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