Video: "Gibbs Rips Fox News Over Michael Brown Interview"

[Clio the Leo]

Gibbs Rips Fox News Over Michael Brown Interview
Ben Frumin | May 4, 2010, 5:32PM

It looks like Fox News v. White House is heating up again...

Ex-FEMA director Michael Brown said on Fox News last night the Obama administration wanted the oil spill to happen -- and let it get really bad before stepping in so they'd have a good reason to scrap offshore drilling.

Today, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs struck back.

Fox News' Wendell Goler asked during the press briefing about whether the oil spill was "President Obama's Katrina."

Gibbs pounced, and seized on the Brown interview.

"Fox had the very special, unique interview with Michael Brown -- you opened it and I had to do it," Gibbs said. "Who for those who weren't let in on the big secret, Mr. Brown, FEMA director Brown under Katrina, intimated on Fox -- and it wasn't, I will editorially say, didn't appear to be pushed back on real hard -- that this spill was leaked on purpose in order for us to walk back our environmental and drilling decisions, and that the leak that we did on purpose got out of control and now is too big to contain."

He continued:

I'm not entirely sure that a factual answer that I might give to any one of your questions is gonna change the notion that your network put out the former FEMA director to make an accusation that the well had been purposefully set off in order to change an offshore drilling decision.

Video here...
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/gibbs-rips-fox-news-over-michael-brown-interview-video.php?ref=fpblg

Robert has been loaded for bear this week. He went to head against Lester Kinsolving Monday over the press corps poutrage that the Predient (you know, that guy who's on TV too much) hadn't held a formal briefing since July of last year. See, it doesn't count as a "formal briefing" unless it's live and in prime time and in the East Room. You all will remember the last one, that's where the President ran head first into Cop-gate.

If you are a fan of his infamous smack down of Sean Hannity during the campaign then you'll enjoy this. It's good stuff.

Robert Gibbs Spars with Les Kinsolving About Obama Press Conferences
by Tommy Christopher | 12:29 pm, May 4th, 2010

Now, there’s something you don’t see every day.

At yesterday’s briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs turned the tables on World Net Daily correspondent Les Kinsolving, grilling Les for nearly five minutes over what constitutes a press conference. Even stranger, about halfway through their exchange, Kinsolving actually drew applause from the press corps. I haven’t seen a reaction like that since Gibbs suggested holding a briefing in the Rose Garden.

Les started out by asking why the President hasn’t held a press conference since last July, at which point Gibbs decided to get into the weeds about whether the 8 questions the President took at April’s Nuclear Security Summit constituted a press conference. Lester then offered suggestions on how to conduct briefings and press conferences, to rousing cheers:

Video Below
http://www.mediaite.com/online/robert-gibbs-spars-with-les-kinsolving-about-obama-press-conferences/

[MadBadger]

1. They deserved the ripping. When Tweety had him on, he responded to Brownie's Bullshit

Fox just let him do his thing.

[Cha]

2. It's as though brownie came up with the

absolute dumbest most idiotic thing he could say about the BP OIL Spill and Gibbs has no choice but to throw it back at him.

[Supersedeas]

10. But FOX accepts that challenge of BALANCING absolute dumbness w/what the Admin offers

Fair and Balanced if disseminating idiocy for the sake of 'balance' is a journalistic objective

[WeDidIt]

3. What I like the most about the Obama administration

They've learned to fight back against the lies and innuendo.

[vixengrl]

4. Brown's comment was sheer nonsense, but a lot of that

has been going around--but really--who has this dork on to talk about disasters and why?

And especially how could that level of bullshit be left unchallenged?


http://vixenstrangelymakesuncommonsense.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-am-so-grumpy-at-stupid-awful-people.html

I think anyone lazy and dumb enough to try the "Obama's Katrina" meme (especially with the 1000-yr flood going on in Tennessee and environs) is especially hacktastic and deserving of skewering. This oil-volcano was corporate oversight and a Bush-era regulatory failure. It's exact timing couldn't have been anticipated (unlike the meteorologist's predictions about the path of Katrina), but a response was prompt. What the hell do they want? (Besides a negative narrative that pushes a false equivalency?)

[Jennicut]

5. I notice how much the press loves to applaud itself.

Also, the comments on mediaite are ridiculous. Why should the President give more press conferences? The press should do some actual work for a change instead of being intellectually lazy and idiotic.

[yellowcanine]

6. I love it how the Fox reporter gets all high and mighty about his "journalistic integrity" but yet

the question he asked was clearly predicated on a Fox/rightwing meme about the oil spill somehow being "Obama's Katrina" so as Gibbs noted - he opened the door and the smackdown was therefore right on.

Gibbs should have said, If you want to be treated as an independent minded reporter, then ask questions that you come up with yourself, not questions that any reasonable person would say is a Fox News plant.

[HughMoran]

7. Faux is a destructive influence in this country

They should be tried and shut down for treason. JMHO :D

[Arkana]

8. How the fuck did WorldNutDaily get press credentials???????

[airforceone88888888]

9. I cant

I cant believe anyone watches faux news