Robert Gibbs’ decision to move from White House press secretary to an advisory role on the 2012 campaign gives President Obama a chance to retool communications — but that’s not likely to happen. By all accounts, Obama is happy with the job Gibbs did helming the podium the past two years. And chronically wary of outsiders, the administration is looking mostly within to replace Gibbs, who has been with Obama since his campaign for Senate. “There’s no doubt this is a tough place to work,” Gibbs said Wednesday. “It’s time to take a little break.”
Gibbs is expected to remain on the job until early February when he will step down to serve as an outside adviser to Obama’s 2012 campaign. He also plans to give speeches and act as a surrogate for the president.
The move is part of a larger shake-up at the White House that is expected to bring several new players to the West Wing. On Friday, Obama is expected to announce new members of his economic team.
“This is a pretty major retooling,” Gibbs said, adding that staff turnover is “just the natural cycle of this.”
Names in circulation to replace Gibbs include deputy press secretary Bill Burton and Jay Carney, a veteran Washington journalist who is spokesman for Vice President Biden.
Far from leaving under duress, Gibbs — dubbed the “Barack whisperer” for his close friendship with the president, is leaving in good standing and may return if Obama wins re-election.
“For the last six years, Robert has been a close friend, one of my closest advisers and an effective advocate from the podium,” Obama said. “I think it’s natural for him to want to step back, reflect and retool.”
Even so, Gibbs’ tenure has not been a smooth one. Often sarcastic and punchy, Gibbs sparked the ire of Democratic leaders in Congress and many in his own party with tart remarks about midterm election prospects and the problems of the “professional left.”
Reporters covering the White House give Gibbs mixed marks — saying he favored television and elite media, restricted access to the president and was often inaccessible himself.
“Obama needs somebody who can connect better with the average person,” said Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida. “I hear from people quite often that Gibbs comes across as too evasive, and that reinforces the notion that government is out of touch.”
A departing press secretary with a mixed record has been largely the standard for the second most-recognized face of any presidential administration. The job also has a high burnout rate.
“Once the briefing went on TV [in January 1995], the press secretary became a much more high-profile figure,” said Martha Joynt Kumar, a Towson University political science professor and expert on White House communications.
“The briefing has become something of a combat zone,” Kumar said. “But presidents like when press secretaries become combative, because it shows they are working on the president’s behalf.”
