Branding the President

In my next life, I want to come back as the White House Press Secretary, the C.J. Craig of a Martin Sheen administration. I want to do daily battle with the insatiable media beast, to stand alone at the podium in the White House press room and live to see another day.

It’s one of the hardest jobs imaginable and I admire anyone who takes it on, the Marlin Fitzwaters of history not withstanding. The incoming press secretary, Robert Gibbs,  went to work for Obama’s Senate campaign in 2004 and was communications director while Obama was in the Senate.

One critic called Gibbs “the bland face of brazenness” when he said Obama’s decision to resign from his church amid the controversy over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was “a deeply personal decision, not a political decision.”

Others were surprised when he called Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly a “bully” and asked Sean Hannity, “Are you anti-Semitic?” in response to the TV commentator’s questions about Obama’s relationship to William Ayers, a 1960s radical.

A former roommate who worked with Gibbs on Capitol Hill said Gibbs has been a successful press secretary because he combines top-notch political skills with a quick wit.

Compare this to outgoing WHPS Dana Perino,the fourth and final Press Secretary for the Bush 43 Administration who appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night to say goodbye to her fans

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