Today’s Qs for O’s WH – 3/25/2009
Emailde Nies: Robert, can you talk a little bit about tomorrow’s online forum, how these questions are going to be chosen? I know that there’s some voting going on online right now, but is there going to be another process to kind of go through all of them, make sure that they’re all read? And also…
GIBBS: Bill’s voting right now for…
de Nies: And what’s the president hoping to get accomplished with this? I mean, is this another way to sort of pitch his budget? Or what’s the intent?
GIBBS: Well, I think the — I mean, obviously — and I’m a little less tech-savvy than the folks that are putting this together, but we — we wanted to — look, I think we’ve — the president wanted to give the opportunity for people that might watch all over the country to — to vote on areas in which we’ve talked about and that are important priorities for the administration, like education, energy — energy independence, and health care reform, to give them a chance to ask the president about some of those issues along with our economic recovery.
The president just thinks it’s another opportunity to talk directly with the American people about the challenges that we have, the choices and the decisions that we’re making, and the — the path that we’re — the path that we’re taking to get us back to prosperous days. So it’s — it’s a — it’s not a whole lot different than were we in California doing the meeting. It’s just we’ll have people hooked up from a lot of different places all over the country, but he’ll be able to do all that from the East Room.
Later when asked again by another reporter about the forum, Gibbs explained "It’s a way for the president to do what he enjoys doing out on the road but saves on gas."
-Yunji de Nies
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After 8 years of Bush who was allergic to taking questions or talking to the public you’d think the media would be less hostile towards a normal President who embraces it as part of the job (like Reagan or Clinton).
Posted by: jhw539 | March 25, 2009, 6:56 pm 6:56 pm
Another great idea from the Obama administration – first let the press ask questions, then let everyone else ask questions.
This is a government of the People, by the People and for the People.
GREAT WORK OBAMA!!!
Posted by: R Mutt | March 25, 2009, 7:00 pm 7:00 pm
I bet the questions will be better than the inane ones posed last night. Then they complain that news conference was boring!
Posted by: linda n carolina | March 25, 2009, 7:23 pm 7:23 pm
“It’s a way for the president to do what he enjoys doing out on the road but saves on gas.”
lol…Too bad he didn’t use the internet to buy a swing set instead of sending a government employee (a White House butler) to South Dakota to pick one out. I wonder what that cost and who paid for the trip?
Posted by: Sigmond | March 25, 2009, 7:30 pm 7:30 pm
Sigmond:”Too bad he didn’t use the internet to buy a swing set instead of sending a government employee (a White House butler) to South Dakota to pick one out. I wonder what that cost and who paid for the trip?”
Glad Republicans are focused on the big issues. We’re counting on you to ferret out the waste when one of the Obama girls has a slumber party and charges the taxpayer for ice cream
Posted by: jhw539 | March 25, 2009, 7:33 pm 7:33 pm
“you’d think the media would be less hostile towards a normal President”
You can’t be serious. Hostile? If Obama can’t handle serious questions from the press, he shouldn’t be President.
Posted by: Sigmond | March 25, 2009, 7:33 pm 7:33 pm
“Glad Republicans are focused on the big issues.”
I have no problem with Obama buying a swing set or anything else for his family or personal use. The idea of sending a White House employee to South Dakota to purchase a swing set does not seem proper to me. You may think it’s appropriate. I think it shows an arrogance and poor judgment.
Posted by: Sigmond | March 25, 2009, 7:42 pm 7:42 pm
This is another way for them to farm email addresses.
Posted by: MayBee | March 25, 2009, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
jhw539..
Would you be so forgiving if your employees were using company time and funds for personal business especially if your company was struggling to meet payroll, expenses etc…Same thing, President Obama is an government employee who is paid by the taxpayer who is struggling to make expenses…monetarily a small thing; however, our President should be leading by example in these troubled times..As ALL should be doing of every political party who makes their salary from taxpayers..
Posted by: Parallax View | March 25, 2009, 7:52 pm 7:52 pm
Sigmond:”"you’d think the media would be less hostile towards a normal President”
You can’t be serious. Hostile? If Obama can’t handle serious questions from the press, he shouldn’t be President.”
Way to take my comment entirely out of context. Thankfully, it is available in it’s entirety below so I’m not too worried about your distortions.
As for the swing set, it was paid for by the Obamas. It’s the butler’s job to do errands that it is not appropriate for the President to do himself. I suppose you’re righteously aghast that Obama doesn’t pick up his own dry cleaning too. Republicans really need to focus more on helping the country and less on bitter nitpicking.
Posted by: jhw539 | March 25, 2009, 7:58 pm 7:58 pm
Obama is overexposed and he says nothing except:
- He inherited a debt from the previous administration (even though Congress controls the budget which was Democrat the last 4 years.
And Obama was part of that Congress that overspent the money.
And Obama signed the last budget, which Bush should have, but it was delayed so Obama signed it).
- There are no silver bullets.
- blah, blah, blah, blah.
Posted by: Sally J | March 25, 2009, 8:01 pm 8:01 pm
Parallax View:”Would you be so forgiving if your employees were using company time and funds for personal business especially if your company was struggling to meet payroll, expenses etc”
He saved ‘the company’ massive expense by not doing it himself. You don’t order something to be installed on the Whitehouse lawn without inspecting it in person, and it would be borderline abusive to ask the company to bring samples of their product to the Whitehouse (although they’d probably load up a truck and hope to make it back on publicity).
Seriously, what would you have prefered? Obama having it ordered site unseen from the internet to be installed on the lawn? The guy is our head of state and you are complaining that he is using his staff EXACTLY as they are intended to be used. Give me a break. Obama’s employers give him a support staff specifically so he doesn’t waste time on stuff like this.
Posted by: jhw539 | March 25, 2009, 8:02 pm 8:02 pm
“Seriously, what would you have prefered?”
There is no preference, their is only complaint.
Obama could cure cancer and right wingers would scream that he has devastated the fundraising ability of cancer charities.
These are the same morons arguing that Obama is unpopular with 60%+ approval ratings.
Posted by: Ryan C | March 25, 2009, 8:11 pm 8:11 pm
Obama as President was a big mistake.
Posted by: Tina | March 25, 2009, 8:15 pm 8:15 pm
I’m going to have a beer everytime I hear “it’s bush’s fault”.
Posted by: mjishernameo | March 25, 2009, 8:21 pm 8:21 pm
Oh, and Obama is the worst president ever. past, present and future. inept.
class warfare.
Posted by: mjishernameo | March 25, 2009, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
“Oh, and Obama is the worst president ever. past, present and future. inept.
class warfare.”
Have right wing spam bot stopped using complete sentences or even sentence fragments?
Posted by: Ryan C | March 25, 2009, 8:26 pm 8:26 pm
hope! change! empty blather!
Posted by: al | March 25, 2009, 8:31 pm 8:31 pm
Hey Tina, before he cures cancer can he learn how to talk without notes?
Or maybe keep just one campaign promise?
Or get someone on his staff who hasn’r been a tax cheat, felon, shop-lifter or a former Clintonite?
Or maybe drop the smug attitude…and while he’s at it, quit trying to be funny and making Special Olympic jokes? Ya think?
Then he can get onto the cancer thing.
Posted by: Jackie | March 25, 2009, 8:37 pm 8:37 pm
What in God’s name is wrong with you people? All he is doing is having an online forum.
You cease to make any sense at all.
Posted by: Thinking | March 25, 2009, 8:41 pm 8:41 pm
Nice way to say “hummida hummida hummmida” by Gibbs. What a tool.
Posted by: snowcloud | March 25, 2009, 9:10 pm 9:10 pm
“Way to take my comment entirely out of context. ”
Your comment: “you’d think the media would be less hostile towards a normal President”
Well, uh, OK. What do you mean by “less hostile”. Looks to me like you think the press was hostile in questioning Obama, no?
Posted by: Sigmond | March 25, 2009, 9:55 pm 9:55 pm
before he cures cancer can he learn how to talk without notes?”
Like Obama did during Debates did/does during Town Halls, Press Conferences, etc?
“Or maybe keep just one campaign promise?”
He has Kept 29 campaign promises with 45 others in the works.
LOL! You call Obama out on his “smug attitude” while posting erroneous information with a “smug attitude”…..
Posted by: Seriously? | March 26, 2009, 1:00 am 1:00 am
When you quote Gibbs, do you have to put all the stumbling in (“is…is a”…) – it’s really hard to read. I think … would do it.
Posted by: Chris | March 26, 2009, 8:16 am 8:16 am
I like him less than in November, less then than during the primary. Why doesn’t he just go about his business without all of this ego massaging..it’s way to obvious. Be a President, let someone else dominate the entertainment industry.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | March 26, 2009, 9:03 am 9:03 am
“It’s a way for the president to do what he enjoys doing out on the road but saves on gas.”
=======================================
I’m more interested in the president doing what needs to be done rather than what he enjoys doing.
Posted by: mad | March 26, 2009, 9:10 am 9:10 am
Moss is associated with the President’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives, which has a budget this year of $3.7 BILLION dollars, a 26-year old executive director from Chicago (a pentecostal minister) and 25 advisors.
I’m trying to find details, but they’re hard to come by — good lord journalism SUCKS today — my guess however is that with a budget of $3.7 BILLION DOLLARS this office is gong to have MORE than enough money to spread around to homophobic, misogynistic “men of god” who have jesus on their lips and greed in their hearts.
What does obama get for paying these “men of god” off?
VOTES.
sickening. all truly religious people should be appalled and all secular, non-religious people should be terrified.
Posted by: How much do they get of tax payers money | March 26, 2009, 9:51 am 9:51 am
“is there going to be another process to kind of go through all of them, make sure that they’re all read?”
There’ll be a process to harvest user info, and add to Der Leader’s lists of the naughty and nice.
Anybody who isn’t already IN the sights of the surveillance machine — nobody on this “chatter” site, I guess — should stay AWAY from any electronic invitation from the “Obama” machine.
What the mass of the people want is no mystery. In fact, before showing his corporate-fascist colors, Obama campaigned on most of it …
Posted by: Pants on Fire | March 26, 2009, 10:30 am 10:30 am
Whatta notta surprise: Der CHANGEling’s online event has morphed into another endless television harangue in which He talks baby-talk on a variety of subjects.
What a fraud.
Posted by: Pants on Fire | March 26, 2009, 12:10 pm 12:10 pm