Gibbs Sits Down with CBS Radio's Peter Maer

Mike Allen's Playbook has the highlights of an interview White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave to White House Correspondent Peter Maer for CBS Radio's "Weekend Roundup":

Says the President and his staff have “had a pretty frenetic pace” but downplays any prospect of burnout: “I know he [Obama] will pace himself and we’ll pace ourselves.”  Asked how the presidency has changed Obama, the press secretary said, “Just in the job itself, he has in a very short period of time filled up the seat he sits in every day.”  Gibbs quickly noted that Obama “has not let any of this stuff go to his head,” and noted that Obama “doesn’t get too excited about good news. He doesn’t get too down about bad news.”  But he added, “From where we started to where we are now, it’s been remarkable to watch.”

Gibbs also discussed the somewhat relaxed style at recent official events where piano music and not “Hail to the Chief” could be heard wafting through the White House hallways. Gibbs chuckled about the elevator-style music. He said he didn’t know if the president had asked that musicians not play the presidential march but noted that Obama “is not a pomp-and-circumstance kind of guy.” He said the president “is much more interested in the substance of the job.”

 

Gibbs tells Maer that he believes his boss has finally quit smoking.  He says he has not seen Barack Obama light up “in some time.”  Gibbs added, “He understands the powerful example he has to be for teenagers and adults around the world.” Gibbs also reflected on his own job, saying, “I haven’t felt quite like the human piñata yet. I have a feeling those days are coming.”  When asked if he would ever lie from the podium, the press secretary responded with a flat “no.”  

 

“I think that whenever somebody in my capacity does that, it puts you in a position where reporters are now having to guess whether what you’re saying is true or not. I think at that point, you’re incapable of doing your job.”  He said there would be times when he would not be as open about what he may or not know, especially on national security issues.  But he emphasized, “I’m not going to lie from that podium and I think the president would expect me to tell the truth.”