At Wednesday's press briefing, Robert Gibbs tried to laugh off the fact that the press is calling out the Obama White House for exerting a disturbing control over the questions being asked by the public at town hall meetings and scheduled events.
Gibbs giggled about the planted question from the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney at Obama's June 23 news conference.
Chip Reid and Helen Thomas didn't let up on Gibbs. He just kept giggling, but Reid and Thomas were serious.
Gibbs' laughter wasn't a sign that he was relaxed and confident. He was squirming.
The Obama and his administration is exposed once again as being other than what it claims to be.
Open? Honest? Transparent?
Yeah, right.
Transcript
CHIP REID: At today's town hall meeting, questions coming in on YouTube and Twitter and such -- who decides what questions will be asked?
ROBERT GIBBS: I think a group over at New Media is shuffling through questions. I think if you go on -- I did not do this today, but I think if you go on our Web site you'll see some of those questions. And I think, Chip, at the end of the day, when you -- I think the questions that will be read to the President -- obviously he'll take some questions from the audience there -- I think will be a representative sample of the issues in this debate that we're dealing with.
REID: And the audience is all preselected, right?
GIBBS: No, we usually just generally hand out tickets on a first come, first serve basis.
REID: Well, I think in this case, the people were invited either by the White House or by the university -- I mean, invited by this community college, as it was explained to us.
GIBBS: Well, if the university is --
REID: It just feels very tightly controlled. It feels -- I mean, the concept of a town hall I think is to have a open public forum, and this sounds like a very tightly controlled audience and a list of questions. Why do it that why? Why not open it up to the public?
GIBBS: How about we do this -- how about you can ask me that question tomorrow based on what questions were asked rather than preselecting your question based on something that may or may not come through.
REID: But why pre-select? Why not just open it up for people and allow any question to come in?
GIBBS: Well, Chip, I think if you get on your computer from your e-mail address --
REID: I have. I have.
GIBBS: Have you sent in your question?
REID: I think that would be inappropriate. This is for the public.
GIBBS: I'm sorry, I'm confused -- are you not a member of the public?
REID: Well, I think if you were going to allow questions from the press you'd have us in a prominent position over there and allow us to ask questions -- you haven't done that.
GIBBS: Let's not get into the notion of where you'd be sitting -- (laughter) -- if I let you ask a question, but --
REID: Well out of shouting range.
GIBBS: Well, but you could e-mail.
REID: Would you put my question in there? I don't think so.
GIBBS: Maybe. Have you e-mailed?
REID: I mean, this is a town hall.
GIBBS: It's a little -- if you haven't e-mailed.
REID: This is an open forum for the public to ask questions, but it's not really open.
GIBBS: I couldn't agree more.
REID: But it's not open.
GIBBS: Based on what?
REID: Based on the information that your staff gave us on how the audience and the questions are being selected.
GIBBS: The questions are being selected by people that e-mail on Facebook and Twitter.
REID: Well, they're not deciding what questions actually get in.
GIBBS: Well, Chip, I appreciate, again --
REID: It just feels completely controlled --
GIBBS: I appreciate, again --
REID: -- in a way unlike his town meetings all the campaign and --
GIBBS: I appreciate the pre-selected question on your part.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Will there be dissenting views --
REID: Yes, how about that?
GIBBS: I think that's a very safe bet. But, again, let's -- how about we do this? I promise we will interrupt the AP's tradition of asking the first question. I will let you ask me a question tomorrow as to whether you thought the questions at the town hall meeting that the President conducted at Annandale --
REID: I'm perfectly happy to --
HELEN THOMAS: That's not his point. The point is the control --
REID: Exactly.
THOMAS: -- we have never had that in the White House. And we have had some, but not --
REID: This White House.
GIBBS: Yes, I was going to say, I'll let you amend her question.
THOMAS: I'm amazed -- I'm amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and --
GIBBS: Helen, you haven't even heard the questions.
REID: It doesn't matter. It's the process.
THOMAS: You have left open --
REID: Even if there's a tough question, it's a question coming from somebody who was invited or was screened, or the question was screened.
THOMAS: It's shocking. It's really shocking.
GIBBS: Chip, let's have this discussion at the conclusion of the town hall meeting. How about that?
REID: Okay.
GIBBS: I think --
THOMAS: No, no, no, we're having it now --
GIBBS: Well, I'd be happy to have it now.
THOMAS: It's a pattern.
GIBBS: Which question did you object to at the town hall meeting, Helen?
THOMAS: It's a pattern. It isn't the question --
GIBBS: What's a pattern?
THOMAS: It's a pattern of controlling the press.
GIBBS: How so? Is there any evidence currently going on that I'm controlling the press -- poorly, I might add. (Laughter.)
THOMAS: Your formal engagements are pre-packaged.
GIBBS: How so?
REID: Well, and controlling the public --
THOMAS: How so? By calling reporters the night before to tell them they're going to be called on. That is shocking.
GIBBS: We had this discussion ad nauseam and --
THOMAS: Of course you would because you don't have any answers.
GIBBS: Well, because I didn't know you were going to ask a question, Helen. Go ahead.
THOMAS: Well, you should have.
REID: Thank you for your support.
GIBBS: That's good. Have you e-mailed your question today?
THOMAS: I don't have to e-mail it. I can tell you right now what I want to ask. (Laughter.)
GIBBS: I don't doubt that at all, Helen. I don't doubt that at all.
Of course, the White House is controlling its town hall meeting participants and their questions.
Obama can't handle it any other way.
It's staged crap.
It makes sense why Obama refused to accept John McCain's invitation to appear together at a series of town hall meetings during the 2008 campaign.
I hope the next time Obama meets the press, reporters are as tough on him as they sometimes are on Gibbs.
It's time for Major Garrett to get some help from his colleagues.
3 comments:
Obama thinks you're stupid-
he thinks everyone is as stupid as the people that voted for him.
He makes the loosest, most general statements possible, to attempt to imply that Bush is responsible for all the rampant spending because it started under him.
He lies and changes his story at-will on everything from his cabinet's ethics to whether or not he ever met with Blago to discuss his senate seat, meanwhile the press is occupied with stories on his puppy vetting process and how Barack likes to play basketball.
And Obama could care less if you catch him lying or flip-flopping too, he just changes the subject and moves right-on-along.
Obama wants the state to be your mother and father- and it's his right to lie to you if he wishes... just like your parents when you were five.
Government will be one you come to for money, ask permission when you want to think or speak, and who handles all your finances for you since of course you can't be trusted.
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
What's interesting here is that Helen Thomas and Chip Reid voted for Obama, I presume.
At least some people that voted for him are waking up to the fact that Obama is a fraud.
This was one of the best press briefings ever. Gibbs cannot possibly stay in that job for very much longer.
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