Robert Gibbs: talk to the hand

Dana Milbank is right.

For Democrats, the only good thing to come from Tuesday's loss of the Senate election in Massachusetts is this: It could wipe the grin off Robert Gibbs's face.

I think the White House spokesman is a small but not negligible part of Obama's problem. Gibbs was never all that appealing, as far as I could see, but he's become a downright drawback lately. To get away with being annoyed by every question you are asked, you have to have viewers on your side. He did to begin with, but no longer.

Gibbs acts as though he's playing himself in the movie version of his job. In this imaginary film, he is the smart-alecky press secretary, offering zippy comebacks and cracking jokes to make his questioners look ridiculous. It's no great feat to make reporters look bad, but this act also sends a televised image of a cocksure White House to ordinary Americans watching at home.