Gibbs walks back comments as "inartful"

[Ruby the Liberal]

I watch too much cable, I admit. Day after day it gets frustrating. Yesterday I watched as someone called legislation to prevent teacher layoffs a bailout -- but I know that's not a view held by many, nor were the views I was frustrated about.

So what I may have said inartfully, let me say this way -- since coming to office in January 2009, this White House and Congress have worked tirelessly to put our country back on the right path. Most importantly, to dig our way out of a huge recession and build an economy that makes America more competitive and our middle class more secure. Some are frustrated that the change we want hasn't come fast enough for many Americans. That we all understand.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/robert_gibbs_concedes_attack_o.html

[asdjrocky]

1. I say we walk back Gibbs and this whole fucking administration. nt

[maxsolomon]

13. in favor of what?

gibbs, emmanuel - i get the frustration. they're trying to placate the ignorant middle by bashing the base. the base who haven't had a bone thrown their way since the carter administration in stalled solar panels.

but this is reality. there is no better option than reelecting obama in 2012. when he's done, you'll look back on these 8 years and admit that it was a net positive, or that there was no further regression to the right.

at the very least, it could have been worse. a republican could have been president. and i think we've been in that place, a defensive holding pattern, for decades. in the face of the right's relentless propaganda campaigns, just holding the line is actually impressive.

[asdjrocky]

20. In favor of the truth.

In favor of the People. In favor of the Poor. In favor of the Sick.

[maxsolomon]

32. but that's not the way politics has ever worked on this planet

and when someone tried, that politician caught a bullet. Lincoln, Trotsky, Joe Hill, Ghandi, JFK, RFK, Rabin.

[HughBeaumont]

66. That's a matter of proper bulletproofing and not flying on small planes.

It's also why you never see any middle class candidates for presidents. They're almost always going to have to be rich from this point on.

Don't ever make me president. I'd be in a Popemobile 24/7, behind bulletproof glass and whatnot. Anybody calls me paranoid, I'll just say "proving a point. Not going out like JFK or Sadat. You govern like I do, you're going to piss some people off to the point where they want to put a bullet in your skull. I know that's scary, but history proves me correct. The rich want what they want when they want it; that's the way it's always been. That era is over, and they'd best get used to it FAST."

I'll put these Republicans, bitch lobbyists and corpocrats in their place so fucking fast you would think I was Pacino in And Justice for All. "I RUN THIS COUNTRY, NOT YOU, YOU FUCK!!!"

[daleanime]

33. But that's the problem....

the 'ignorant' is not the middle, what the MSM calls the left is! As some one else posted, whens the last time Gibbs has blasted the right like he has the left. Yes Obama is probably the best option on the table, but take a look back at Lincoln's primary to see how they deal with challenges from the left. And how involved in the 'health care' debate was he, did he help guide the 'discussion', did we, as a nation, start to learn how to work toward a goal of any thing other then tear your opponent down.



There's no room on my back for many more straws, lets just wait and see what they do with Warren's appointment (it should be hers, no ones in the same class). If some insider gets it instead of her, then ALL bets are off.

[LooseWilly]

46. "there was no further regression to the right"??? Is that the new standard of success??

My translation: "At least we went a little while without being poked in the eye with a sharp stick... sure we were kicked in the gonads a few times, but that eye really needed a little break..." ??

Now that's some brilliant tacticianing.

[maxsolomon]

59. what was the Clinton administration?

i'd say it was exactly that - we didn't regress further (i know, some will argue we did). and professional leftists looks back on it with fondness.

i'm not trying to be a tactician. i'm trying to be a realist about expectations.

[LooseWilly]

64. The Clinton administration was a complete sellout, which happened to profit from a bubble.

Aside from the good times of the dot-com bubble, the Clinton administration was a regression (NAFTA- which I still think of as the Tratado de Libre Comercio, TLC, because I was in Mexico when it passed... and the Indígenas I was working with considered it the worst travesty and spot of economic injustice that they'd seen in a long time; and Welfare-to-Work,,, come to mind).

The Clinton administration, and Gore's apparent tacking even further Right inspired me to vote for Nader.

As I said... if that's all the standard that "realists" are willing to "pragmatically" hope for... well, I'll simply refer to precedent...

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. Yeah... his true meaning was lost in his inartful presentation

:rofl:

[blogslut]

3. The last paragraph should be read and practiced

By all of us:

So we should all, me included, stop fighting each other and arguing about our differences on certain policies, and instead work together to make sure everyone knows what is at stake because we've come too far to turn back now.

[Luminous Animal]

21. Too bad for Gibbs & Obama. I won't stop fighting FOR single payer...

and I won't stop fighting against the flaws in the health insurance bill.

[walldude]

24. Really? Shut up and follow us should be practiced?

Sorry, if I have a difference on certain policies it's my job to speak out about it. Did the Democrats really think we were going to be like the Dittoheads and rubber stamp every shitty policy? Sorry, not happening.

[blogslut]

28. He didn't say "Shut Up"

He said "STOP FIGHTING EACH OTHER".

Can you do that?

[walldude]

35. Stop fighting and arguing about our differences...

Sounds like shut the hell up to me. And no I cannot stop arguing that the war in Afghanistan is wrong. Or that the failure of the 9/11 health care bill was not a huge disaster, or that the renewal of the Partiot Act wasn't a huge mistake. Sorry if that pisses you and Gibbs and Rahm off but this is still America and I still have a say.

I don't know what these jerks are worried about, we don't have anyone else to vote for, there is no reason to treat me like I am some kind of outcast loser. All they managed to do was insure that they get my vote but no money and no help. It's a brilliant plan really. :eyes:

[blogslut]

37. I'm not pissed

Nor am I Robert Gibbs or Rahm Emanuel.

I am your fellow DUer and I am begging you, please. Stop the hostility. Stop the witch hunts. Stop the name calling.

We're on the same side. It's the messy, complicated side but it is the same side.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

41. "Stop the hostility" = "the messy, complicated side"

Just a heads up.

[provis99]

25. what Gibbs means:

The left should shut the fuck up and let the DLC run things in the party.

[LWolf]

49. +1,000

[Arkana]

60. And I'm sure they'd love to have the DLC run things

just as soon as they move out of the Amana refrigerator/freezer box they've been holding meetings in.

I hear their membership rolls include three hobos and one very sick cat now.

[n2doc]

4. "the right path"

Well, I thought we were already on that path. It leads to hell. We need to go left.

[bigtree]

5. more

"So we should all, me included, stop fighting each other and arguing about our differences on certain policies, and instead work together to make sure everyone knows what is at stake because we've come too far to turn back now.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/robert_gibbs_concedes_attack_o.html

[EFerrari]

18. Except over and over they show what they really mean is

that we should shut up and get work, a la that DLC post on Sunday night: "stop complaining and get to work".

I don't see this ending very well.

[bigtree]

26. RG is a schmuck

Politically, his boss, the President is hitting the right notes and making a good case for supporting his continuing agenda. He strikes a more conciliatory tone than Gibbs has here when he comments on dissent from his left-leaning critics.

[piratefish08]

6. Gibbs. straw. camel's back.

so you can STILL fuck off.

[47of74]

7. Gibbs needs to resign

Like last fucking year.

[BzaDem]

8. His only mistake was walking back the comments.

True, maybe it wasn't a mistake in terms of optics. But in terms of truth, his comments were right on.

[TBF]

51. And that is why Obama will lose the next election -

his most ardent supporters do not have a clue what they are doing.

People will forget what you say, they'll forget what you do, but they'll never forget how you made them feel.

This is very damaging to the party and those of you who really care about Obama should figure out how to patch this up if you care about a second term. Personally I think it's too late. First Emanuel and now this - really damaging.

[Arkana]

56. You've been pissing down our throats since day one

because you didn't get EXACTLY what you wanted EXACTLY when you wanted it. Forgive us if we don't indulge your victimhood.

I'll admit Gibbs' remarks were ill-advised, but be honest--they didn't change your opinion one whit. You already hated Obama and everything he's touched before Gibbs even opened his mouth.

[girl gone mad]

63. Expressing disappointment over terribly policy and personnel decisions..

= pissing down your throat?

mmkay...

[Snotcicles]

9. Wife beaters get inartfull taking out their frustration. Mr Gibbs. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. LOL. A "professional" CYA statement.

[Individualist]

11. Too late, Gibbs, you neolib asshole.

[gratuitous]

12. We're ready to work with you any time you get around to it, Mr. Gibbs

Maybe we can start with an easy one: doing away with DADT or a strong statement in favor of same sex marriage, rather than this mealy-mouthed "full equality except here, here, here and here" nonsense. We can go on from there, but a little leadership from the White House would make this struggle go a lot easier. And the people you might "lose" by taking a strong stance? You weren't going to win them over, anyway.

[LostinVA]

15. blahblahblah -- they always do this

And by "they," I mean TPTB. I am sick of it.

[Luminous Animal]

16. So he used, as an example, a comment from the professional right in order to support...

his slam against the professional left.

[derby378]

17. Let's analyze Gibbs' statement

But in 17 months, we have seen Wall Street reform...which preserves "too big to fail"...

historic health care reform...that didn't reform health care, but instead enslaved us to Big Insurance...

fair pay for women...okay, nice one...

a recovery act that pulled us back from a depression and got our economy moving again...except that unemployment rates haven't been properly dealt with yet...

And at the end of this month, 90,000 troops will have left Iraq and our combat mission will come to an end...but we're keeping troops and mercenaries in Iraq, which means the occupation will continue.

:eyes:

[BzaDem]

19. I think the problem is with most of what you said, rather than what Gibbs said.

For example, when you say that the bill didn't reform healthcare, that is a mistake of yours (not a mistake of Gibbs for pointing out the obvious).

[derby378]

22. Then why are my premiums still going up after the bill was passed?

Why can't I choose my own doctor, let alone choose a more competitive plan?

And Big Insurance still gets to make its own rules.

[BrklynLiberal]

31. and why were women's health choices thrown under the bus along the way??

[tnlefty]

57. 'Cause the right wingers had to be catered to...

hurry up back under the bus or our heads might be run over.

Rep. Degette, CO, stood up for us, and I sent her flowers for doing so.

[BzaDem]

38. The bill hasn't even taken effect yet.

I find it quite hillarious that people are blaming premium increases that have always happened on a bill that hasn't even taken effect yet. If they want to bash HCR, they should AT LEAST wait until 2014 (to make them sound more credible).

[derby378]

40. Funny - all we're ever told is to "wait"

And when the reform bill fails to deliver on improving our overall quality of life, we'll be told again to "wait" - perhaps 25-50 years - for the first significant fixes to this legislation.

[Luminous Animal]

23. Even the White House called it health insurance reform instead of health care reform.

They made the linguistic switch around August 2009.

[nightrain]

52. It didn't reform health care, it tinkered with health INSURANCE.

[JVS]

27. He should resign.

[provis99]

29. resign? Why? He perfectly reflects the attitude of the White House.

[WinkyDink]

67. That's his problem. ;)

[suffragette]

30. Wait. So Republicans go on cable and call teacher layoffs

a bailout.
Gibbs then turns his anger at that against liberals and lashes out at what he calls "the professional left." :crazy:
Then he issues this non-apology apology?

That's just doubly insulting.

[whistler162]

34. inartful but accurate just by reading this board

and the melt down "Liberals" are having over being called out by Gibbs!

[moksha]

36. Bullshit! That has none of the sentiment of the first statement.

The truth is he wanted to take a hit the real left. He took it. This updated statement would have been fine, but it doesn't say the same thing at all. It is a different statement and meaning altogether.

[Iggo]

39. Inartful? Try fucking stupid, dick.

[Frisbee]

42. It's really quit simple, Mr. Gibbs...

The President made promises during his campaign, and now he is NOT honoring those promises. We supported him then, based on those promises, and entrusted him to right the wrongs of the past 8 years and put this nation back on the right track. Since he is not honoring those promises, we the people who put him in office have every right to be mad as hell. And for you to throw us a few bones every now and then, while puckering up and kissing the ass of those who are doing every thing in their power to continue to drive this country off a cliff in the name of bipartisanship, is simply not acceptable. Either dance with those who brought you to the dance, or don't act shocked that they are less than faithful or have lost interest in you in 2012. This President, the first black President, could have gone down in history as one of the greats had he fought to fix the mess he inherited. Instead, it sure looks to me like he will go done as yet another ineffective President who may have meant well, but lacked the courage to fight for what he believed in, and by doing so, accomplished little.

[mike r]

43. I can smell the sincerity

[Hatchling]

45. Sincerity smells like bullshit?

I didn't know that. Learn something new every day.

[GSLevel9]

44. Gibbs is an idiot and should be fired ASAP. nt

[Ramulux]

47. Fuck Fuck Fuck

He just doesn't fucking get it! He doesn't even understand what we are mad about and now hes going to walk back a comment that we know he meant. God hes a fucking joke. If Geithner and Emmanuel weren't so incredibly horrible Gibbs would easily be the worst individual in this administration.

There has to be someone in the white house who has some sense about why liberals are pissed and can give Gibbs just a simple lesson in basic political science so he maybe one day he will understand that liberals are not going to show up to vote for a democratic president who pushes a conservative/centrist agenda.

[TheKentuckian]

48. Not a compelling case for my vote, Mr Gibbs

Fuck off

[tnlefty]

53. Bzzzttt...wrong! He's assured that your vote is iron clad and not in

need of earning. :evilgrin: However, this new, multiple insult strategery by Gibbs and others is intriguing. Nothing makes me want to serve on local party committees, phone bank, drive people to the polls to vote, etc. quite like this new multiple insult strategery. Why, I've never been so energized, and you?

[TheKentuckian]

55. Desperately driven like the Devil's lash was at my back

[TBF]

50. Inartful? Try fucking retarded as Mr. Rahm would say.

He should turn off the damned tv and get to work for the people who elected his boss.

[Bluenorthwest]

54. When you accept $172,000 a year for your ability to be artful

with words, and you do a thing like this, you should give the money back. His entire job is to be a term of art in pants. Geez.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

58. Yeah, yeah Gibbsy ... Fuck YOU, asswipe! n/t

[Dark]

61. Notice he didn't say "innaccurate"

Asshole.

[activa8tr]

62. Gibbs can walk back all the public dollars he has been paid... then I will be

listening again.

Otherwise, his credibility as a spokesperson for Obama.....DEAD!

[tavalon]

65. I guess "inartful" is the new word for jackass

Who knew?