This will not sit well. White House Press Spokesman Robert Gibbs was a bit too condescending toward April Ryan of American Urban Radio: Gibbs Compares Black Female WH Reporter To His Child.
RYAN: Did she invite herself to the state dinner or was she a guest — did the President invite her, or did she put her — no, that’s a real — do not fan it off. I’m serious — no, seriously.
GIBBS: Jonathan.
RYAN: No, no, no, did she invite herself, or did the President ask her — her name was on that list, and social secretaries are the ones who put the names on the list. Did she invite herself or did the President –
GIBBS: Was she at the dinner? April, April, calm down. Just take a deep breath for one second. See? This happens with my son, he does the same thing.
RYAN: Oooh [the "oooh" here was from the press] — Don’t play with me, I’m being serious. Do not blow it off.
GIBBS: And I’m giving you a serious answer. Was she at the dinner? Yes.
Here's the full video. Skip to the one minute mark.
I don't think Gibbs can rest very securely in his job after this exchange. In one moment he accomplished the feat of sounding simultaneously defensive, condescending, sexist and racist. This is not what you hire a press secretary for -- quite the opposite.
Of course, it was just a momentary slip, and if it was a matter of principle (and if Obama was principled in his approach) Gibb's career wouldn't turn on a slip of one moment. But this is Obama and his White House we are talking about, and race and gender politics are a big deal to this administration. Besides, press secretaries are largely interchangeable.
I think Gibbs is toast, either now or a few weeks or months down the road.
Update: Ed Morrissey has a poll. What do you think? Was Gibbs' comment sexist? Condescending? No problem at all?
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