Obama selects Summers to lead National Economic Council, Gibbs as press secretary
By on Nov 22nd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Obama selects Summers to lead National Economic Council, Gibbs as press secretary
ABC News reports that President-elect Obama “has decided to name former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers the director of the National Economic Council, essentially the president’s senior economic adviser.” Also today, Obama named his campaign spokesperson Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary and Ellen Moran of Emily’s List as communications director.
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Bush
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Global Warming
Hannity
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Iraq
Justice
Kristol
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Maddow
McCain
Media
Military
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Public Plan
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Sports
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Technology
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
The WH press corps will have to re-format themselves to work with Gibbs, after 8 years of bubbleheads.
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:18 pmIs it January 20th yet? I’m more anxious than a child waiting for Santa!
PEACE
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 pmObama named his campaign spokesperson Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary
– - Has there ever been a more vapid person in this position than Dana Palin? I bet Gibbs knows what the Cuban missile crisis was too.
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:50 pmHe’s doing just fine. Thanks, Obama, for showing us all how to include others.
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 pmOops – I guess others should be “others” .
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:52 pmDana will have to apply for a job now. Frodo will just have to get a tin can and walk the streets. At lease Scotty gave it his best shot.
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:31 pmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summers
I should acquaint myself with Mr Summers before posting…
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:39 pmSomething of an unsavory character, he is….
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 pmFrom Xisithrus’s wiki link under the discussion tab:
also this:
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:06 pm
At least he will not have to worry at night about his soul being sucked out of him from his party, unlike the ghoulish Perino voodoo doll Bushco uses.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:28 pmIm still readING FRED!!
Sheesh
=)
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 pmDuring Summers’s tenure as secretary of the Treasury, the United States used budget surpluses to repurchase Treasury debt for the first time since the 1920’s, and extended the life of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.
Mr Summers, you seem okay,,for now.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:40 pmThanks for doing all of our homework for us, Xisithrus and Fred:)
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 pmRe: USA Customer Service Problems
Dear Customer:
The United States of America, your quality supplier of ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for its 2001-2008 outage.
The technical fault that led to this eight-year service interruption has been located, and the parts responsible for it were replaced Tuesday night, November 4. Early tests of the newly-installed equipment indicate that it is functioning correctly, and we expect it to be fully functional by late January 2009.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage, and we look forward to resuming full service — and improving it in years to come.
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:49 pmXisithrus, are you our Noah?
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 pmthe Lone Voice of Reason Says:
Xisithrus, are you our Noah?
Are you that voice in my head?
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:55 pmI am.
cue the scary music
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:56 pmI am.
(cue the scary music)
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 pmOops!! Sorry, double post boo boo–too much blood selling, must find that damn cookie and orange juice..
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 pmDana Perino will be very much welcomed by Fox network.
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 pmAlthough she does not know anything about Cuban crisis, she will be given the title of ‘world affairs expert’ upon her hire by the network.
Fox network nowadays is loaded with experts…!!
Xisithrus Says:
I know man, but I just was thinking the same thing….it seemed slanted, when I ran across the disscussion…
wiki is good for some things but I don’t really trust it for politics…..pretty loose standards for who posts the info..
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 pmKENYA AMBASSADOR CONFIRMS OBAMA BORN IN KENYA
Detroit Radio Station Telephone Call
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:23 pmListen to MP3 here.
CB Brooklyn–and McCain was born in Panama
STOOPID
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 pmReminds me of the movie “It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world’ at the end when they find the money….just shoot me now.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 amLone Voice of Reason / Dr. Hussein Matt-
It must be real difficult admitting the Truth to yourselves.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:04 amI hope you gain some strength.
Dr. Hussein Matt -
Namecalling only reveals your own ignorance and weakness. Don’t be gutless. Admitting the truth to yourself will help you in the long run.
btw, I am not in any way defending “dictator wanna be” McCain.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:21 am“Friday, October 31, 2008
Obama’s Hawaii birth certificate confirmed
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
The director of Hawaii’s Department of Health confirmed on Friday what Barack Obama has been saying all along: the presidential candidate was born in Honolulu.
“There have been numerous requests for Sen. Barack Hussein Obama’s official birth certificate,” said Chiyome Fukino. “State law prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record.”
Citing her statutory authority to oversee and maintain Hawaii’s vital records, Fukino said she has “personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:24 amObama was unable to provide an official Certificate of Birth, with the Raised Seal.
This situation is so serious that a lawsuit has been filed.
Besides, Obama’s sister and Grandmother state he was born in Kenya.
And now we have on tape the Kenyan Ambassador admitting so.
Who in their right mind is going to believe a mainstream media report from the government’s “Hawaii’s Department of Health”?
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 amObama was unable to provide an official Certificate of Birth, with the Raised Seal.
Just how full of shit does you meter run? This was debunted ages ago…oh, I forgot your full of shit meter has no limit.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 am“CBB This situation is so serious that a lawsuit has been filed.”
Friday, November 21, 2008 – 10:57 AM HAST | Modified: Friday, November 21, 2008 – 4:27 PM
Judge tosses Obama birth certificate suit
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
A lawsuit that tried to force the State of Hawaii to release a copy of President-Elect Barack Obama’s birth certificate has been dismissed.
Honolulu Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe on Wednesday ruled that author Andy Martin had no standing under state law to obtain a copy of the birth certificate.
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/11/17/daily71.html
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 amHow do you explain the Kenyan Ambassador’s comment about placing a monument at Obama’s birth place… in Kenya?
I know it’s difficult being in denial. I’m sure some day those ones will wake up.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 amOh yeah, that’s a lot more credible than the government’s “Hawaii’s Department of Health”?
proof or your just another liar.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:23 amgutless is posting drivel like this as if it were fact…….
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 amPerhaps if you chant “I think I can, I think I can” for a while, you’ll understand the reality of the situation.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 amCB_Brooklyn, insulting peoples intelligence is a much more serious offense than namecalling……sometimes people actually earn the names they get called…….
How do you get so high and mighty from so far down the rabbit hole?
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 amThe evidence proving Obama born in Kenya has been shown. No one has debunked it. Instead, childish insults are spewed.
It’s not my job to wake you up; that’s your job and your decision.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 amcomon cb, where’s the proof to back up your stupenous lie?
I know you can come up with it if you chant…seems to be your best quality.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 amYes it is, you made the statement. People here debunked it in minutes. You have nothing, why not admit it like an adult.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:35 amCB B, I really do not want to feed your paranoia but let’s just supposeObama was born abroad…since his Mother was born in and thus a US citizens Barack H. Obama, jr. would be a US citizen. Given that B.O. would be eligible to run for and HAS been elected President of the US.
“Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) INA…”
http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 amUmmm… People… Here’s a small piece of advice I learned years ago when I began blogging:
“Don’t feed the Trolls!” ;)
It’s also a futile effort to argue with narcissists. They believe morons and criminals should rule, and the intelligent and honest should be ruled. It’s the way of their imaginary World, the proof is the past eight years. :) They fear Obama even more than they fear that some imaginary *terrorist* will nuke their bedroom, because he is intelligent.
I don’t think Obama is perfect for several reasons (and who is anyway), but he can’t be any worse than the past eight years!
IMNSHO of course. ;) LOL
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:50 amCB_Brooklyn Says:
You are a brainwashed dittobot who ought to be ashamed of yourself for being so gullible. Obama DID show his birth certificate it DID have the raised seal and you need to stop regurgitating the stupidity of rightwing websites and AM hateradio morons
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 amCB_Brooklyn Says:
How do you explain the Kenyan Ambassador’s comment about placing a monument at Obama’s birth place… in Kenya?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
He is lying or having fun with your brainwashed hiveminders. We arent in denail. YOU are an idiot
I have seen the reproduction of his birth certificate, A newspaper saying they examined it and it was genuine and a copy of his BIRTH ANOUNCEMENT IN HAWAII IN 1961.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:55 amCB_Brooklyn Says:
Perhaps if you chant “I think I can, I think I can” for a while, you’ll understand the reality of the situation.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Why? Is that how YOU arrived at your delusional fantasy that you THINK is reality? You are a moron. Obama was born in Hawii. Get over it.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:56 amCB got spanked and ran away. If he is true to the Limborg hivemind tradition he will be back in a few days saying it all again as if it hadnt been show to be delusional nonsense
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:59 amWhen did “birth certificate” become synonymous with “sore loser”?
Basking in the Bama:
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:21 amhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w12edTq2v7A
Mr. Summers appears to be the right guy in the right position.
I like that he strokes his own horse and kicks up a little dust.
Controversial is toe-tapping in the men’s room
pauly can’t even give good explanation of “why $849B” and why was chimpy cut an extra billion to do what he wants.
Giving more money to the same greedy people is not going to fix anything. Money only works if it’s earned.
President Obama means business.
BTW — Why are gas prices low?
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:25 amBecause it all artificial. Thank you.
Perry, let cb cry herself to sleep. Do you know idiots sleep more soundly than babies?
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:34 amHere is a picture of Barack’s birth certificate for all of the knuckle-draggers who listen to Rush and still think he was born in Kenya (his father was, not Barack).
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/obama-birth.html
I apologize to the knuckle-draggers for the big words in the birth certificate. Maybe if you read really slowly they won’t be so difficult for you. But if you try hard even you can figure them out. K?
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:34 amLosers like cb have nothing and they know it.
Next these idiots will say the economy is sound and nobody is suffering.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:38 amSummers spoke during a working lunch. He declined to provide a tape or transcript of his remarks, but the description he gave in an interview was generally in keeping with what 10 participants recalled. He said he was synthesizing the scholarship that the organizers had asked him to discuss, and that in his talk he repeated several times: ”I’m going to provoke you.”
He offered three possible explanations, in declining order of importance, for the small number of women in high-level positions in science and engineering. The first was the reluctance or inability of women who have children to work 80-hour weeks.
The second point was that fewer girls than boys have top scores on science and math tests in late high school years. ”I said no one really understands why this is, and it’s an area of ferment in social science,” Summers said in an interview Saturday. ”Research in behavioral genetics is showing that things people previously attributed to socialization weren’t” due to socialization after all.
This was the point that most angered some of the listeners, several of whom said Summers said that women do not have the same ”innate ability” or ”natural ability” as men in some fields.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 amThis is why he should NOT be in Obama’s cabinet.
Some change to believe in.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:35 amObama just had to stick Clintonite and Big Business BFF Summers somewhere in his White House…
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 amOn this day 45 year’s ago JFK was killed…..A very sad day indeed….Sorry to be off topic…Peace, Blessings and Justice.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:26 amI’m a little wary of Larry Summers’ selection, but it’s not the thing about women in science. Wasn’t he former World Bank chief economist? Isn’t he a free market/neoliberal advocate? I’m getting really nervous….
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:41 amThe Summers Conundrum
By Mark Ames
The Nation
November 10, 2008
We all know in the backs of our minds that Barack Obama’s incredible victory will eventually be followed by disappointment. But does it have to come so soon, and hit so hard? The answer will be yes, if Lawrence Summers is named treasury secretary in the president-elect’s cabinet, as many observers believe will be the case. Summers was one of the key architects of our financial crisis–hiring him to fix the economy makes as much sense as appointing Paul Wolfowitz to oversee the Iraq withdrawal. And when you look at the trail of economic destruction Summers left behind in other crisis-stricken countries who sought his advice in the past, then “terror” might be a more appropriate word than “disappointment.”
It’s ironic if you expected Summers to be a liberal Democrat–but par for the course in the context of Summers’s real record. Some fifteen years after Summers’s stint in the Reaganomics war room, he reappears as one of the key villains fighting to suppress the regulatory efforts of a top official, Brooksley Born, who was trying to call attention to the dangers of the unregulated derivatives, such as credit swap defaults, which today are considered the key to the current economic crisis.
In light of all of the corruption, cronyism and devastation that have marked his career, Summers’ statements about an under-polluted Africa or intellectually-inferior women no longer seem like provocative eccentricities but part and parcel of the Summers shtick. And now there’s talk that President-elect Obama may hand the keys to national treasury to Summers–meaning that he’ll be in charge of overseeing a trillion-dollar taxpayer bailout of the entire financial industry, a process already rife with conflicts of interest, cronyism and corruption–as detailed by Naomi Klein.
The bailout, as currently implemented, threatens to devastate America’s economy much as Russia’s and Lithuania’s were devastated before. The idea that this is exactly the right time and place to put Larry Summers in charge of our economy’s future is so frightening that it makes the Sarah Palin vice presidential choice seem almost quaint by comparison. Let’s hope the rumors are wrong.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 amYep! As the world watches Somali Pirates capturing booty and being captured dead or alive, the American Economic System is being robbed by more Pirates, this time under “Change”and wearing suits. Along with Pro-war advocates as Secretary of State, Chief of Staff, Defense Secretary, and a pro-insurance/pharmaceutical advocate as Health and Human Services secretary.
What an F**king joke!
But I’m not laughing.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/How-To-Deal-With-Pirates–by-Rob-Kall-081123-323.html
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 ammdeemer Says:
I’m a little wary of Larry Summers’ selection, but it’s not the thing about women in science. Wasn’t he former World Bank chief economist? Isn’t he a free market/neoliberal advocate? I’m getting really nervous….
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:41 am
Yup, and yup…
a front-line, Chicago-school economist, just liek the fellas who got us into this mess to begin with…Geithner, too, ass-hole buddy of Heinrich Kissinger, Bobby Rubin (of Citi fame), and Summers’ former intern…
We need a keynsian, Obama gives us Hayek in drag…
if you ain’t askeered, you jis ain’ right…
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 amWill there be oversight and structure to Summers use of the bailout funds and access to the treasury? I think that Obama will not give him the free rein that the current administration has allowed in the past. See, that’s the difference between a Harvard Law grad and Chimpy. Smart enough to do the job right the first time or at least recognize failure before it bites him.
I don’t like Summers one bit but there must be a reason for the appointment.
Hellooo Troll Brainiac
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:51 amObama haters unite………kay, brain, tokin, etc.
ya know…….you might have more credibility if Obama was actually the president.
As it is you just look like sore losers.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:51 amThe one thing all these “Obama birth” conspiracy theorists are missing is that even if Obama was born in Kenya (which he wasn’t), he would still be a US citizen because his mother was a US citizen.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:12 amKay Says: It’s usual crap
Kay, why don’t you just go away. No one here respects you or gives a flying fig what you have to say. Why don’t you toddle over to redstate.com. They will love you over there. Wouldn’t you rather be someplace where people love you than where people despise you?
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:17 amThe birth certificate things is so so funny to me. I can’t believe how kooky people are. If there was anything to this wouldn’t the Clinton people already have had the “noncitizen’s” campaign squashed or does the BC certificate conspirancy go all the way to “StoneCutter’s status? Stupid gits…
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 amBarack Obama and his father (now deceased) share the same name, so is it possible when relatives were asked, “Was Barack Hussein Obama born in Kenya?”, and they said, “Yes”, that they were referring to the elder Obama? Yep! You betcha!
Nice try, neocons. Your patheticness is still alive and well and we will continue to point this out.
The Neocon War Party is dead, but it’s the neocons who don’t realize this yet. Sad.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 amWhy can’t people just admit that some are (i.e. Summers) bad choices whereas Daschle is a very good choice.
jeesh.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:53 amYou sayin it don’t make it so…….why can’t you just admit that……..jeesh
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:11 pmkay:
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:07 pmThat sounds very much like an opinion based question which of course have no right nor wrong answer. Is it just that you are seeking the agreement of others ?
I really hope CB Brooklyn doesn’t actually live in Brooklyn. As a Brooklynite, that would be an embarrassment. But we do have our idiots here like anywhere.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pmLawrence Summers is NOT the change I voted for.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 pmthe Lone Voice of Reason Says: “Will there be oversight and structure to Summers use of the bailout funds and access to the treasury? I think that Obama will not give him the free rein that the current administration has allowed in the past. See, that’s the difference between a Harvard Law grad and Chimpy. Smart enough to do the job right the first time or at least recognize failure before it bites him.
I don’t like Summers one bit but there must be a reason for the appointment.”
I’m trying hard to keep exactly that thought in mind.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:58 pm