Robert Gibbs is leaving the White House

Interesting smoke coming from the White House. CBS reports that Press Sec. Robert Gibbs is leaving his post.

Robert Gibbs is leaving the White House after serving as press secretary for two years.
"It's true," the Obama adviser confirmed to CBS News.

Gibbs will depart in February, and he plans to become an outside political adviser to President Obama. He will also give private sector speeches, according to the Associated Press.
No replacement has been named.

"He's had a six-year stretch now where basically he's been going 24/7 with relatively modest pay. I think it's natural for someone like Robert to want to step back for a second to reflect, retool and that, as a consequence, brings about both challenges and opportunities for the White House," President Obama told the New York Times.

On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that Gibbs was contemplating leaving the administration to create a private consulting business as part of Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

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Robert Gibbs said Obama will meet with the Joint Chiefs Today about DADT

via JMG

Gibbs: Obama will end DADT

Regardless of the confusing tone and messages, this mess will end. Hopefully soon

Robert Gibbs responds to DOJ/DADT issue

Today, the Department of Justice made a filing in a legal challenge to the Don’t Ask, Don’t tell (DADT) policy, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This filing in no way diminishes the President’s firm commitment to achieve a legislative repeal of DADT – indeed, it clearly shows why Congress must act to end this misguided policy. The President was disappointed earlier this week when a majority of the Senate was willing to proceed with National Defense Authorization Act, but political posturing created a 60 vote threshold. The President spoke out against DADT in his first State of the Union Address, and the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs have both testified in support of repeal. And the Department of Defense continues to work on a plan on how to implement repeal. The President, along with his Administration, will continue to work with the Senate Leadership to achieve a legislative repeal of DADT as outlined in the NDAA this fall.

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Gibbs: Waiting on the completion of the DADT repeal implementation study before moving on

WATCH:

Gibbs: President Obama would agree the DOJ brief used to defend DADT was ODD

Long title for a short moment, but check it out

via Joe My God

When is it a Crime to have a Different Opinion?

I wonder if Robert needs a hug after these press conferences.

Yesterday, Jake Tapper from ABC, asked Robert Gibbs about Bill Clinton's support of gay marriage and why Obama doesn't.

Tapper: Former President Bill Clinton recently said that he's basically in support of same-sex marriage. "I think it's wrong," he said, "for someone to stop someone else from getting involved in same-sex marriage." Has President Obama heard these comments? Does he have a reaction? And why is Bill Clinton wrong about this issue?

Gibbs: Well, I'm not going to get into anybody's opinion -- I'm not going to criticize anybody's opinion, least of all a former President of the United States, on something like this. I am not clear whether the President has seen that. I don't know where that was from, so I don't know if the President has seen it.

But President Obama holds a different opinion?

Gibbs: President Obama holds the same opinion he has earlier today.

Which is that same-sex marriage is wrong.

Gibbs: He does not support it. He supports civil unions.

Why does he feel differently than President Bill Clinton?

Gibbs: Because they don't agree on the issue. (Laughter.) I've not obviously spent a lot of --

That's not really an explanation of why he feels differently. That's another word for it.

Gibbs: Well, I mean, I'm happy to -- I mean, I think the President has answered this question a number of times. I can't form a basis for why former President Clinton -- I've obviously not had a conversation with him on this issue, so I don't know what -- it's hard for me to compare some of this because I don't have the basis by which he's making that decision.

I don't know about those questions. It felt like Jack was saying Obama should think like Clinton and if Clinton supports it, then he should too.

Why do they hold different opinions? I'll give you 2

1. Bill's not in office anymore, so he can say whatever he wants to.
2. Bill is Bill and Barack is Barack?
   

I guess I didn't get the point. Of course they will have different views. WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS! Hell, Cylons had different views.

Obama has always said he does not support gay marriage, but supports civil unions. We know that. It's nothing new; that what he believes.

But if Jake wants to know the deep, dark reason...he should just ask Obama himself.