Communications

Even after White House memos and statements have been released, we still have questions for Secretary Robert Gibbs regarding the job offers to Joe Sestak and Andrew Romanoff.  What questions do you have?  Tweet your questions to @PressSec and use the hashtag #AskGibbs.

• The White House Still Doesn’t Get it: In his statement, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs concluded by saying, “Messina wanted to determine if it was possible to avoid a costly battle between two supporters.”  Isn’t that exactly the problem that raises concern with the phone call and the email?  Does every applicant to the Administration receive a call from the Deputy Chief of Staff?

• Dancing on a Legal Pin: Are we really to believe that the White House was trying to impact the Pennsylvania Senate race but didn’t offer a job, while in Colorado they offered three jobs but weren’t trying to impact the Senate race? 

• No D-Rahm-a Obama: Who is in charge of this Oval Office, President Obama or Rahm Emanuel?  If it is President Obama, what will the repercussions be for the White House Chief of Staff and his deputy for undermining the President’s “twin pillars of transparency and breaking with business as usual.” 

• The Paper Trail: Andrew Romanoff released Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina’s email, but what about internal White House emails related to both Andrew Romanoff and Joe Sestak?  As a starting point, where is the email from Messina seeking the job descriptions from another White House employee and what reason does he give for seeking that information?  Were Rahm Emanuel and Jim Messina running the DNC out of the West Wing? The American people deserve to know more about the motivations that impelled their actions.  The memo released by the White House on Friday lacks any documentation to back up its claims.

• Still Waiting for Answers on Sestak:  Don’t think we’ve forgotten.  We’re still waiting on answers promised by Robert Gibbs from Tuesday’s White House press briefing, such as: Will the White House be clearing up the discrepancies on how many conversations took place between the White House and Sestak?  Why did the White House offer Joe Sestak a job he was ineligible to accept?

• White House Political Operation Misconception:  Let’s remember we are not talking about Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine or other officials from the DNC or DSCC.  We are not even talking about Patrick Gaspard, the White House Political Director.  We are talking about White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and his deputy, Jim Messina.  They are government employees tasked with directing an administration responsible for running the country.