Robert Gibbs Talk

William Vazquez

Professor Craig

World Politics 001H

Date of Submission: 25 September 2011

No matter how avid we are in our pursuit to be as knowledgeable as we can be about the world, it seems there is always something or someone important that just happens to slip one’s mind. The pressing matters of our personal lives often make all else seem insignificant in comparison. So when I passed a poster mentioning how Robert Gibbs would be speaking on campus, my immediate reaction was not as great as that of my more politically focused colleagues. My curiosity was peaked, however, so I ventured over to the Mary Graydon Center only to find that the room was completely packed. Downtrodden but not deterred, I persisted in waiting to see if I could get inside or just catch a glimpse of this man of power I never knew. To my luck, the speakers outside managed to function, and, situated under one of them, I proceeded to grasp at every bit of information I could.

Mr. Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. He has worked as communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and later Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Gibbs, who has worked with Obama since 2004, has been busy for quite some time, having previously worked as press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, and has specialized in Senate campaigns, serving as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns. On November 22, 2008, Gibbs was announced as the press secretary of the Obama administration. He assumed the role of press secretary on January 20, 2009. He retired from this position on February 11, 2011, stating before this that: "The best service I can provide this president is, for the next couple of years, outside this building.”

During his visit here on the American University campus, Mr. Gibbs took the time to review some of the most pressing matters he dealt with during his time working in the Obama administration, his opinion on the complexity of delivering information and the expansion of technological capabilities, the upcoming election in 2012, and some of his own words of advice. He opened with plenty of personal anecdotes pertaining to what he believed were the worst issues: the debt crisis, the Christmas bomber, and above all, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed that of all the briefings he ever sat through, the oil briefings were the toughest, and as a result he quipped that he now has a wealth of knowledge on oil containment similar if not equal to that of an oil C.E.O. He even quoted himself after the top hat that was applied to the oil leak was knocked off by a robotic camera arm as saying, “If what you’re telling me is a joke, someone is getting fired today.” His ease with this information made him seem all the more trustworthy in his words.

For all of his pinpointed facts and figures, Gibbs seemed to make many general statements rather than divulge too much into a divisive issue. He came off as very lighthearted in his responses, which apparently seemed to be his strategy in connecting with the changing scope of the modern world. As times have changed, technology has advanced, and globalization has interconnected most if not all of the world in various ways. The speed and variety of distributed information is now extremely quick. He pointed out how many older forms of news collection have declined even in the last year, and that over sixty-five million Americans today own a Smart phone. While this expansion allows for more information to be distributed at a faster pace, this can have a negative aspect as well. For while the appearance of President Obama on talk shows with Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres may have made him seem more personable, it was also seen as “not presidential” and “not serious.” The media’s focus on the most negative occurrences in the world generally has no benefit besides the profit of that industry. Take the Koran burning earlier this year that, if it had not been caught by the mass media, would have been of barely any significance. Instead it resulted in the storming of a US embassy in Afghanistan with many being killed in the process. On top of that, there was a time when Charlie Sheen and his raucous activities overshadowed all the horrors that had been occurring in Libya and the increasing outcry against Muammar Qaddafi. While it is “enormously important and good that we are all interconnected” as Mr. Gibbs put it, this does not amount to much when the people that keep us connected choose to focus more on a washed-up actor’s drug-induced cries for attention rather than one of the most significant changes in the Arab region the world has ever seen.

Mr. Gibbs claimed he was fascinated by how heated the campaigns for the Republican national ticket position have been even while the election is still in its infancy. He marveled at how Rick Perry’s entrance completely eclipsed Michelle Bachmann’s meteoric rise in popularity and firmly believed either Mr. Perry or Mitt Romney will be facing President Obama at the polls next November. Despite the many pressing matters that have been plaguing our country as of late, he believed that the economy will be the top issue, and that ultimately the central question for the race will be: What will the US look like in about five years and how will it change?

Mr. Gibbs also passed on several words of advice for those seeking to one day be in a position like he holds, pointing out that he started out interning in Congress in his sophomore year. He recommended seeking out as many different places as possible, which with the number of organizations available right here in Washington, D.C, should not be difficult. He stated that “nothing perpetuates democracy like getting involved,” especially with the vote. He also stated that “life and happiness are measured not by material things but by actions.”

During the Question and Answer session, I couldn’t help but expect a response mechanism similar to that of many politicians and characterized by something I once heard in a documentary about former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. One quote that has always stuck in my mind is: “Answer the question you wish you had been asked.” In a good portion of his responses I could not help but feel that he would avoid the question even if ever so slightly. One significant question involved when President Obama would take a stand on the issue of gay marriage, to which he started off with the common “Thank you for your passion on the issue” or “That’s a great question.” He surprised me in the heartfelt account of how he viewed the issue in the terms of how his son would grow up seeing the world. He believes that the next generation will live in a world where things we found so radical will not be nearly as divisive, such as a man of African American descent holding the office of President of the United States of America. He also stated that he was an avid fan of Jon Stewart and that his favorite form of media technology in this current age is Twitter.

Overall Robert Gibbs’s talk was quite interesting because it not only covered many of the pressing matters of our current age in the U.S. but it also put a more human perspective on the inner machinations of our nation’s highest office. It served as a chance for Mr. Gibbs to speak freely with some of the general populous rather than be riddled with questions from media personnel. He made sure to state how important it was to get involved and to promote respect and compromise when dealing with those who you do not agree with. Underneath all of these great statements, I could not help but feel a tendency toward idealistic liberalism. With each great statement of promoting compromise came the undertone of the disastrous results of not doing so. The statements were not made in a general manner so that they could apply to all involved in the audience, but did not explicitly leave out the larger picture that they envelop. I would not go so far as to say that Mr. Gibbs was negatively representing those in positions of power in Washington, D.C. who blocked a good deal of progress that could have been made so far under the Obama administration, although if he was, his tendency to remain ambiguous covered those tracks. Ultimately as someone who has been in contact with the media for quite some time while defending the image of those he represents, Mr. Gibbs did a great job speaking for himself and for Mr. Obama. His recommendations for a greater focus on the depth of developing issues while they are occurring, such as the oil spill and the Arab Spring, serve not only as great words of wisdom for the media organizations themselves but for each of us developing students striving to be as involved as possible. It makes me wonder though: With our declining attention spans due to the seemingly infinite growth of the knowledge available to us, is it possible for the media to effectively release information in a manner that we will be found permissible by government officials (Gibbs himself had to examine many an article for its security effectiveness), interesting enough by the general populace, and comprehensive enough to capture the entire picture?