White House Gaggle with Robert Gibbs

Coast Guard Exercise
Gibbs said that to his knowledge they had no advance warning, and that there were exercises going on all over the country. We are all safer because of them. Before people report things like this, he said, checking would be good. He did not question law enforcement in trying to keep the nation’s capital safe. As best he could tell, there was reporting based on listening to a police scanner that was not verified. A lot of this might have been avoided. He saw no analogy to the Air Force One fly over in New York.

Asked whether the President has an opinion about whether the public should have been informed that there was a training exercise on September 11th, Gibbs said he did not think the President knew about every training exercise federal, state or local law enforcement do in preparation for something happening again. It was hard to divorce the media coverage from the question. He suggested people should call the White House. If anybody is unnecessarily alarmed based on erroneous reporting that claimed that shots had been fired, everybody is apologetic. It is a Coast Guard decision. Neither the Commander in Chief nor his spokesperson are going to micromanage the training exercises.

Gibbs said there are a lot of responsibilities. People owe it to everybody, not just in the memory of what happened eight years ago, but in the memory of whatever could happen again, that we may not get this story first, but we may be the first ones to get it right.

Senator Carl Levin on Afghanistan
Asked about Senator Levin’s statement on not sending more troops to Afghanistan until the Afghan army and police have been built up, Gibbs said he has not seen Levin’s statement. The administration continues to assess the situation as it has done since the transition. Reorienting the strategy and getting it right is of the utmost importance to the President. There is no imminent decision on increased resources to Afghanistan.

Gibbs said there never was a timetable for an imminent decision. He did not expect anything to happen for many, many weeks. The President made some decisions early on. All of the resources encompassed in those decisions have not gotten to Afghanistan.

Asked if the President was concerned that he is losing members of his own party on Afghanistan, Gibbs said there is not an imminent decision. They would work to get the policy right. For a long time there was not a sufficient focus on getting Afghanistan right. That is what the President would do working in the administration and with members of Congress.

Previewing Monday’s Speech on Wall Street
Gibbs said that it will be on Wall Street because the financial instability started there and it caused it to be felt everywhere else on Main Street. It is the collapse of Lehman Brothers one year later and the financial instability that that signified and its dramatic impact on the economy. The President, even before that, but certainly on that day and the days that followed, has focused on ensuring that the U.S. gets its stability right, and there has been great progress on that. The speech will focus on the need to take the next series of steps on financial regulatory reform to ensure that after what happened a year ago, there are sufficient safeguards to ensure that does not happen again.

Asked if there was a new time frame for legislation, Gibbs said both chairs would say it is a big focus of their fall. The administration has outlined a financial plan and is working with Congress to implement it. It wants to demonstrate why it needs to move forward and why this can’t wait.

9/12ers Rally
When told about the “9/12ers” rallying on Washington on Saturday against the President’s health care reforms, Gibbs said he did not know what they were. “Have fun”, he said.

President’s Minnesota Speech on Saturday
Gibbs said the President will talk about the perils of not acting, and what happens if we delay again, health insurance reform. Ticket distribution will be open to the public, first come, first served. There will be other rallies like this. Asked whether the event is a political event or a Presidential event, Gibbs replied that it is a Presidential event.

Health Care Mandates For Low Income People
Nancy Ann DeParle was on a Yahoo Chat yesterday and spoke about low income people and health care and fines. A question was asked in some detail about this. Gibbs said there are hardship waivers for individual mandates to avoid penalties.

Health Care For Illegal Immigrants
Asked about a back and forth yesterday about whether illegal immigrants could buy insurance on the health exchange, Gibbs said illegal immigrants would not be allowed to access the exchange that is being set up. Asked if people would have to show proof of legal residence or citizenship, Gibbs said that is something they would work out with Congress, but yes.

Paying For Health Care
Asked about criticism from moderate Democrats that there was not enough specificity in the speech Wednesday about how the President was going to pay for health care reform, Gibbs said there was a very constructive meeting with moderate Senate Democrats on Thursday. Some people are surprised that the President is actually going to pay for a proposal, Gibbs said.

At 9.40 am the President signed into law the extension of the Cash for Clunkers legislation that the Senate approved yesterday.

Jobs Numbers
Gibbs said the numbers are more evidence that we have pulled back from the edge and brink of a depression. If you look at the averaging of the numbers over a period of time, the pace of job loss is declining, which is positive. However, last month, a quarter of a million people lost their jobs. The President is very focused on putting the economy back on track. It is still expected that the unemployment rate will reach 10% this year.

There will be good days and bad days. There is a long way to go. The Recovery Act has made a difference. Two thirds of the benefit has yet to make a difference. The focus is on implementing the recovery plan. Without seeing genuine, positive, sustained job growth, we will see the rate continue to 10%. We are pleased, though not satisfied, that the rate of that job loss is declining. Before recovery, there has to be stabilization.

Gibbs stated that he was informed of the jobs numbers at the same time as the markets. He said it is unclear if the numbers today are a trend. Asked if the numbers would go back up again, he said it was in all likelihood very possible. However, the rate of job loss has declined.

Death of Taliban Leader
Gibbs was asked if the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, has been killed. Gibbs said they cannot confirm it, though there is a growing consensus among credible observers. Mehsud is a murderous thug. He has planned and helped carry out some of the most heinous acts of terrorism and violence in Pakistan. He has killed scores of innocent men, women and children, and is supposed to have plotted the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. If he is dead, the people of Pakistan will be safer as a result.

The US is working very closely with the government of Pakistan to prevent the Taliban, al Qaeda and other affiliated terrorist organizations from killing innocent people. The US is very pleased with the level of cooperation and working together, and want to do everything to help Pakistan defeat terrorism. The President is regularly updated on this situation.

Closing of Guantanamo
Gibbs was asked whether there would be a delay in the closure of Guantanamo, based on something an administration official said yesterday. He said, no, he had looked at the transcript. He quoted the transcript which appeared to state that Guantanamo would close on time.

Violence at Town Halls
Gibbs was asked whether, with the increase of violence at town halls and a death threat, he would recommend that members of Congress do not hold town halls. He said no, that people that go to have their voices heard, that they have some respect for everybody else’s ability to be heard and participate in a town hall.

White House Gaggle with Robert Gibbs

President Bill Clinton in North Korea:
Gibbs reiterated that the White House had put out a statement and would not add to it for awhile. He said it was a private mission that did not involve the use of a government aircraft, and that President Clinton was not carrying a message from President Obama.  

Obama’s Lunch with Senate Democrats:
The economy and healthcare will be on the agenda. All 60 Democrats were invited. Sens. Kennedy and Byrd will not be there. Sen. Mikulski will not be there as she has broken her ankle. Sens. Lieberman and Sanders will be there.  The President will reiterate his support for and his desire to extend the cash for clunkers program by taking previously approved money from energy efficiency programs.  

Cash For Clunkers:
Gibbs was asked, why not subsidize refrigerators or living room furniture? He said the program would have an impact on energy, security and the environment by taking older, more polluting, inefficient automobiles off the road.  They thought the program would be popular; it has proven to be an enormously popular and successful program.  

Health Care Town Hall Protests:
Gibbs was asked if what appears to be well orchestrated protests at town halls are derailing the President’s message.  He said no, and added that the Brooks Brothers Brigade from 2000 in Florida appeared to have rented a similar bus and are appearing together at town hall meetings  throughout the country. He saw commonality.  He didn’t have names, but saw similarity in who showed up where.  He hoped people would take a jaundiced eye to what is clearly the astroturf nature of so called grassroots lobbying, manufactured anger.

Response to the Drudge Report:
Asked why the White House responded to an item on the Drudge Report, Gibbs said that there is a tremendous amount of misinformation floating around on health care. They thought it was important to answer it.  

White House Counsel Greg Craig:
Asked about a report that Craig is leaving, Gibbs referred to what Jim Messina said in the article, that it is summer in Washington and people like to play parlor games.  They have addressed the rumors and they are not true.

Senator McCain Voting No on Sotomayor:
Gibbs said her record as a judge for 17 years and her depth of experience throughout  her career make her qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, adding that she will make a good judge.  It was disappointing that Senator McCain came to a different conclusion the day after talking about bipartisanship.  The swearing in ceremony could happen by the end of this week or the beginning of next week.  He will check.

President’s Birthday Celebrations:
Gibbs will seek guidance. Obama had a lot of fun over the weekend. He bowled a 144. There were friends from Chicago, Hawaii, along with his family. They played basketball, pool, had dinner together, had a lot of fun.

Notes from the Morning Gaggle with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

GDP Numbers
GDP down 1%.  Gibbs said their first mission was to rescue the economy, to stop the slippage.  They have a sense now that the recession has been deeper than previously thought.  The data shows progress is being made.  There is a lot of work to do, particularly on putting people back to work. Gibbs expects hundreds of thousands of more jobs lost when employment figures come out next week.

Cash for Clunkers
Administration and bipartisan leaders in Congress are working this morning to develop ways to continue to fund the program. The program is up and continuing to run. The program appears to be a success for car buyers, car dealers, car companies and tax payers who are seeing people choose more fuel efficient cars.  The program will run this weekend. Confident they will have a solution and the program will continue. Can, should and will be extended. Looking at different avenues for the money, Gibbs declined to be specific. 

Afghanistan
Asked whether there will be an increase in troops as has been reported in the press, Gibbs said this is not something that has got to Gen McChrystal’s desk or to the Pentagon. McChrystal is the new commander and they are working through a policy review.

Muhamad Jawad
Asked if the US will bring Guantanamo detainee Muhamad Jawad to the US for trial, Gibbs said that is something DoJ is working on.

Withdrawal from Iraq Memo
Secretary Gates said earlier this week that if the security situation continues to improve, it’s possible to see troops coming home from Iraq earlier.

Report that CEOs Paid for Their Meals at the White House
Gibbs said that he paid for his own meals with the President when he has had lunch with him. In Washington there really is no such thing as a free lunch, he said.

At Wednesday’s White House Briefing, White House Correspondent Victoria Jones asked why the White House has not implemented its secrecy policy, or whether the policy is the same as that of the prior administration. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs responded that the White House is working on implementation of that policy. (0:27)

 

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Sherri Brown, Senior Vice President for Service to the Armed forces for the American Red Cross, speaks with Victoria Jones about the services the Red Cross provides to the Armed Forces. The Red Cross strives to keep families connected, delivering messages to the members of the armed forces about crises back home. The Red Cross also helps in distributing financial aid to families for things like food and rent in times of crisis. (4:37)

 

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By Victoria Jones
President’s Schedule

The President had his usual briefings. He taped the radio address on the subject of Iraq. He will have a video teleconference on Iraq this morning. At 13.35 he has an interview with columnists.
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By Victoria Jones
Briefings next week will take place at 450 Old Executive Office Building..

President’s Schedule

The President had his usual briefings. At 10.55 the President will make remarks at the rededication of the Islamic Center of Washington. At 1.45 there will be a meeting on health care in the Oval Office. At 3.15 there will be an interview with Hannah Storm of the CBS Early Show. The President will attend a Tee ball game on the south lawn at 3.45. It is the 7th year of the President’s Tee ball initiative.
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By Victoria Jones
The President had his usual briefings. At 10.00 he will tape the radio address on immigration. He will meet with the President of Vietnam in the Oval Office and will then have lunch with him. He will make remarks at Black Music Month in the East Room this afternoon.
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By Victoria Jones
White House Gaggle
May 15, 2007
By Victoria Jones

Supplemental

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said the President has made it clear what the baselines are. It was pointed out that the Senate Majority leader has two proposals and the President does not like them. Snow said they are talking about other alternatives with him.
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