Press briefings

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 5, 2009 -- MR. GIBBS: All right, now that the warmup band has finished playing. (Laughter.) Probably only get to say that once or twice in my life. I might as well try today, right?

Yes, sir.

Q What prompted the President to come out today and make that statement, which sounded pretty tough?    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- Aboard Air Force One, En Route Madison, Wisconsin -- MR. EARNEST: Secretary Duncan is just going to provide an overview about the announcements today and answer a couple of questions that you guys have. A lot of the other stuff Gibbs covered in the gaggle today, so we're just going to stick to the policy stuff on Race to the Top.

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Any questions?

Q Do you want to just start with questions?

Q Can you give us an overview of --    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 3, 2009 -- Q Do you know who the President is rooting for in the World Series yet?

MR. GIBBS: I emailed this to Basinet, who asked at the conclusion of last Friday's briefing --

Q I was the one who asked this question -- for the record.

MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry. He emailed me, because I guess --

Q Because you evaded the question.

MR. GIBBS: Well, I didn’t know the answer. It drew some apparent attention in New York. I asked the President. He said he hoped for a good series, but didn’t have a strong pull for either team.

Q There goes Pennsylvania. (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS: We'll see. What's that?

Q Does that means seven games? A good series?    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 2, 2009 -- MR. GIBBS: Take us away, Ben.

Q Thanks, Robert. A few questions about Afghanistan. Can you tell us, first generally speaking, what's the President's reaction to the end of this election? And is he in any way relieved that this sort of messy process is over?

MR. GIBBS: Well, look, I think by all accounts, this has been a difficult process. This is the first election run by the Afghans. But I think the President, the embassy there, and everyone can take heart in the notion that the laws of Afghanistan and the institutions of Afghanistan prevailed in both instances.    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

October 30, 2009 -- MR. GIBBS: Good afternoon. We'll try to do this quickly so we can get to afternoon meetings with the Joint Chiefs. But let me start out with giving you guys a quick rundown of the week ahead.

On Saturday, tomorrow, the First Family will welcome more than 2,000 local area children from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia schools, and their families for trick-or-treating at the North Portico for Halloween. In addition, the President and First Lady and the Vice President and Dr. Biden will host a Halloween reception for military families and children of White House and White House residence staff.

Q What are they coming as?

MR. GIBBS: All sorts of things.    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

October 28, 2009 -- Q Payments to President Karzai's brother by the CIA -- what can you tell us about how that -- or if that has caused any consternation here at the White House?

MR. GIBBS: I would refer questions about that story to the CIA.

Q So it's not true?

MR. GIBBS: The best person to ask that to is somebody at the CIA.

Q And what's the reaction here to the attack in Kabul today?    » read more »

October 27, 2009 -- Aboard Air Force One, En Route Norfolk, Virginia -- Q Hey, Robert, some of the moderates in the Senate -- moderate Democrats -- are really balking at the health care plan that Senator Reid announced. What's the President going to do to try to help him line up the support he'll need to get that through the Senate?

MR. GIBBS: Well, obviously right now, I mean, the President is working to ensure we get this through. I don't -- I have not heard of any specific calls that the President has made, and obviously Senator Reid is working this through the caucus. But I'm sure we'll get involved in due time.

But look, I think we've been -- we've been working through these issues for many months, and we'll continue to do so to make progress.    » read more »

Also Deputy Assistant To The President On Economic Policy Dr. Jared Bernstein; And Director Of The Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes

October 19, 2009 -- James S. Brady Press Briefing Room -- MR. GIBBS: Good after -- or good morning, I should say. Sorry, I'm used to doing this in the afternoon. Before we get started with our regularly scheduled programming, Jared Bernstein and Melody Barnes are here to discuss the report that released this morning on the jobs saved in the recovery plan by teachers. So I'm going to turn it over to Jared and Melody.    » read more »

October 16, 2009 -- Aboard Air Force One, En route Houston, Texas -- MR. BURTON: Hi, guys. All right, well, let's start this thing. Good morning -- or afternoon, depending on where you are.

Q Can we start with Afghanistan -- before we go on to the "balloon boy," I'm sure? The Washington Post have sources saying that the U.N. election monitors investigating the election fraud had cut Karzai's vote tally to 47 percent, and that would trigger a runoff with his closest competitor. Is there any concern on the part of -- what was the U.S. response to that and is there any concern that this will further delay the President's decision on the Afghanistan war strategy?    » read more »

October 14, 2009 -- James S. Brady Press Briefing Room -- MR. GIBBS: Good afternoon. Let me give you guys a quick readout on the President's morning meeting. As you know, the President met for three hours with his national security team in the Situation Room. This was the fifth in a series of meetings assessing our strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- MR. GIBBS: One quick series of announcements before we get going. I want to walk you through just a scheduling thing for the middle of November.

The President, as you know, will be traveling to Asia next month to strengthen our cooperation with this vital part of the world on a range of issues of mutual interest. The President will begin his trip in Tokyo, Japan, on November 12th and 13th. We leave here on the 11th.

The President's visit will provide an opportunity to deepen coordination with this key ally on a range of economic, security and other issues. The President will meet for a second time with the Japanese Prime Minister.    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- James S. Brady Press Briefing Room -- MR. GIBBS: Good morning. Oh, Mr. McCormick, a special appearance. Wow.

We're doing this a little early today so you all can watch the President's events or travel, as you maybe needed to do.

Before we take our regularly scheduled questions, we'll hear from Secretary Sebelius, who will talk to you all about some demonstration projects and grants and a program that the President, as you know, during the recent joint session of Congress, asked her to look into regarding medical malpractice.

So I will turn it over to the Secretary.    » read more »

August 31, 2009 -- James S. Brady Press Briefing Room -- MR. GIBBS: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome back. Just one quick scheduling announcement. On Tuesday, September 15th, the President will address the National AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh. And with that -- hold on. Divert the cameras over here.

Q When did you say?

MR. GIBBS: Tuesday, September 15th. Big month for Pittsburgh.

Fire away.

Q Is the President still asking Israelis to stop all settlement building in the territories, the Palestinian territories?    » read more »

June 23, 2009 -- James S. Brady Press Briefing Room -- THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Good afternoon, everybody. Today, I want to start by addressing three issues, and then I'll take your questions.

First, I'd like to say a few words about the situation in Iran. The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- James S. Brady Press Briefing Room -- MR. GIBBS: Let me just make a quick statement on something that the First Lady is going to speak about later this afternoon.

Today the administration is kicking off President Obama's summer service initiative, United We Serve. United We Serve is a call to all Americans to join a volunteer effort this summer and be part of building a new foundation for America one community at a time. United We Serve officially starts today and runs through the National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11th.    » read more »