Today’s Q’s for O’s WH — 9/2/2010

From ABC News' Ann Compton:

COMPTON: What does the president expect out of the jobs numbers tomorrow?  And has the economic team come up with some of those new ideas that he talked about?                                        
                                                                                                                                        
GIBBS:  Well, let me take the second question first, and that is those meetings and those discussions continue to take place.  I'm  not going to get ahead of any of those ultimate decisions. I — it's probably — well, it is not helpful for me to speculate  on the jobs numbers.  I say this for the benefit of anybody that is  watching.  I do not know the numbers.  I will not know the numbers,  just — so anything that is said in the next several minutes has nothing to do with my knowledge about the numbers.  I do that because everybody gets nervous that if I make a comment, somehow I knew the number.

COMPTON: There's an oil-production platform in the Gulf that's on fire.  Does it present any of the same problems of the BP rig? It's obviously not under a moratorium.  And do you know anything more about the accident?                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                          
GIBBS:  Well, let me just say — here's what I know before we came out here.  This is a — I'm told this is a production platform about a hundred miles off the coast.  I am told the depth of water is about 340 feet.  So this is not a — this is not a deepwater facility. As I understand it, the well was not in active production.  I will in some ways reiterate what II think the Coast Guard has said in a statement that they've released, and that is that they  responded to the preliminary reports of a fire on board an oil platform in the Gulf.  The initial report that we got were that 13 persons — 13 people were on the platform.  They are accounted for.  One is injured and is on his way out of that area. Two Coast Guard cutters, multiple Coast Guard aircraft were en route.  One Coast Guard helicopter was on the scene.  We will continue to gather information as we respond.  We  obviously have response assets ready for deployment, should we receive  reports of pollution in the water.                                                          
                                                                                                                                             
COMPTON: Is the president convinced that the inspection of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico is moving fast enough?                                                       

GIBBS:  I've not gotten a recent update on that.  I will try to get one.  Obviously we have taken some — we took a series of steps after the BP incident, primarily around deepwater drilling.  Let me not go too much further than what I have, and if the situation warrants, we'll certainly update that. I will say the president was in a meeting in the Situation Room. I don't know if he's been notified. John Brennan, who's in that meeting, does know about the incident.  I just don't — before somebody asks.

-Ann Compton