[A-List] White House Spokesman Apologizes

[c b]

White House Spokesman Apologizes After Saying 'Professional Left'
Should Be Drug Tested
Obama's aide Robert Gibbs backtracked after claiming the left
"wouldn't be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president."
August 10, 2010  |
 http://www.alternet.org/story/147807/white_house_spokesman_apologizes_after_saying_%27professional_left%27_should_be_drug_tested/



White House spokesman and President Barack Obama's close aide, Robert
Gibbs, apologized after a newspaper published an interview in which he
took some tough jabs at the left wing of Obama's own Democratic Party.

In an interview with the political newspaper "The Hill", Gibbs took
some swipes at people he described as the "professional left" for what
he saw as unfair criticism of Obama's allegedly not doing enough in
terms of reforms.

"They wouldn't be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president," the
spokesman quipped, referring to the Ohio congressman known for his
leftist positions.

"I hear these people saying he's like George Bush. Those people ought
to be drug tested," Gibbs said. "I mean, it's crazy."

Gibbs later said he had spoken "inartfully."

"I watch too much cable, I admit. Day after day, it gets frustrating."

"So we should all, me included, stop fighting each other and arguing
about our differences on certain policies, and instead work together
to make sure everyone knows what is at stake because we've come too
far to turn back now," he said.

Gibbs added that "since coming to office in January 2009, this White
House and Congress have worked tirelessly to put our country back on
the right path. Most importantly, to dig our way out of a huge
recession and build an economy that makes America more competitive and
our middle class more secure. Some are frustrated that the change we
want hasn't come fast enough for many Americans. That we all
understand."