Robert Gibbs

Robert Gibbs is the first Press Secretary for President Barack Obama.

Prior to this he was communications director for U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill).) and currently serves as communications director for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

Gibbs, a "longtime communications operative with a special focus on the Senate, has been with Obama since shortly after his 2004 primary victory. Prior to that Gibbs served as a spokesman for Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) presidential bid."

Gibbs, like Obama's national campaign manager David Plouffe, "has experience in the nitty-gritty of Democratic politics, having served as the communications director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and as campaign spokesman for Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) in 1998."

U.S. presidential election, 2008
"As the Obama campaign enters a crucial phase, beset by tightened polling numbers and the prospect of a tough race for the next two months, Mr. Gibbs has emerged as Sen. Obama's advocate-in-chief with the media, and therefore the voters," reported the Wall Street Journal. "The 37-year-old is in charge of shaping his message, responding to the 24/7 news cycle, schmoozing with the press and fighting back when he disagrees with its reporting -- which has won him the label of 'the enforcer.'"

U.S. presidential election, 2004
On November 11, 2003, it was announced that Gibbs, chief spokesman for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, had resigned "in reaction to the firing of Jim Jordan, abruptly let go by Kerry Sunday night. ... Gibbs is a North Carolina State University graduate." Gibbs was "replaced by Stephanie Cutter, a former spokeswoman for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and then spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention."

After leaving the Kerry campaign, in December 2003 Gibbs became spokesman for Americans for Jobs, Health Care and Progressive Values, a Democratic group formed to stop the 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean.

Background
A biographical note states that he was born in Auburn, Alabama and was "a graduate of North Carolina State University, began working with President-Elect Obama in April 2004 serving as Communications Director for his United States Senate race and later as his Senate Communications Director. Gibbs held the position of Communications Director for Obama’s presidential campaign until becoming Senior Strategist for Communications and Message during the general election. Earlier in his career, Gibbs served as Communications Director for Senator Fritz Hollings and worked on Senator Debbie Stabenow's 2000 Senate campaign. He also served as press secretary for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and worked for Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign."

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Barack Obama
 * Barack Obama/White House Staff

External articles

 * Beth Lester and Dotty Lynch, "Dean Tarred In 'Osama' Ad. Secretive '527' Group Uses Bin Laden Image To Attack Howard Dean," CBS News, December 16, 2003.
 * Mark A. Kilmer, "Gephardt, Thugs Helping to Trash Dean," Rightsided.org, December 16, 2003.
 * Ciro Scotti, "How the Dems Did In Howard Dean. The party bosses slipped the stiletto into his back, just in case his own gaffes and free-spending campaign guru weren't enough," Businessweek, February 25, 2004.
 * Charles Lewis, "Kerry, Torricelli and a Mysterious Frontgroup. Who Mugged Howard Dean in Iowa?" CounterPunch, March 6/7, 2004.
 * Jeff Berkowitz, "Team Obama fires back at Berkowitz," JeffBerkowitz Blogspot, August 1, 2005.
 * kos, "Obama Spokesman Robert Gibbs," The Daily Kos, February 22, 2007.
 * Jerome Armstrong, "Robert Gibbs, the drag on Obama," MyDD, February 22, 2007.
 * PsiFighter37, "Much ado about Robert Gibbs and Obama," The Daily Kos, February 22, 2007.
 * Mary Ann Akers, "Bloggers Blast Obama Spokesman," The Sleuth Blog/Washington Post, February 23, 2007.
 * Jerome Armstrong, "a attacking Paul Krugman's credibility," MyDD, December 7, 2007.
 * Monica Langley, "Meet Obama's Media 'Enforcer'", Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2008.