White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, under fire for his criticism of the “professional left” and their growing discontent with President Barack Obama, apologized Tuesday, calling his comments “inartful.”
In an interview published Tuesday with The Hill’s Sam Youngman, Gibbs lashed out at liberal pundits who have criticized Obama for what they view as compromises and broken promises, including the lack of a single-payer system in the sweeping health care overhaul, his failure to close Guantanamo Bay within a year and his addition of 30,000 troops to the war in Afghanistan.
Gibbs said Obama’s critics aren’t giving the president credit for his accomplishments, and don’t acknowledge what he has had to overcome Republicans who are determined to block his agenda. “They wouldn’t be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president,” he is quoted as saying.
“I hear these people saying he’s like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested,” Gibbs told him. “I mean, it’s crazy.”