White House Spokesman Gibbs Takes on Cable News

By Ira Teinowitz

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs may have raised tensions with cable news outlets, suggesting today that they have a view of the world that doesn’t necessarily reflect real life.

On board a plane to Elkhart, Ind., where President Obama is delivering a speech on behalf of his economic stimulus plan, Mr. Gibbs said questions being asked about the stimulus on cable news aren’t the same as those that the public is asking.

After reporters were briefed by senior advisor David Axelrod on public reaction to the Obama stimulus plan, Mr. Gibbs also briefed reporters.

“I think David talked to you about where the public is on this and I think it’s illuminating because it may not necessarily be where cable television is on all of this,” he said. “But, you know, we’re sort of used to that. We lost on cable television virtually every day last year [during the campaign]. So, you know, there’s a conventional wisdom to what’s going on in America via Washington, and there’s the reality of what’s happening in America.”

Mr. Gibbs went on to characterize the gulf between perceptions in Washington versus the rest of the country.

“I just spoke about bringing to Washington the viewpoint of what’s happening in America. I think it’s—I think there’s a myopic viewpoint in Washington. And I think Washington needs to understand what happens in Florida, and Indiana, and Michigan, and Ohio, and Pennsylvania.”

(Editor: Baumann)