Gibbs Recounts Hard Times in White House, Emphasizes Youth Vote in 2012

Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
Photo: James Reed

Robert Gibbs, former White House Press Secretary and outside adviser to President Obama’s reelection campaign, energized a room full of College Democrats for the upcoming 2012 elections Tuesday evening. Gibbs briefly reminisced on his tenure as press secretary, during which he held more than 250 press briefings, before talking about the state of the economy.

“Our fiscal house is a mess... This is not your normal recession,” Gibbs told students at Dorothy Betts Theatre. Gibbs pointed to the falling strength of the dollar, noting that the income average in 2011 is about the same as 1996. “Your parents are paying your 2010-2011 GW tuition on a 1996 income,” said Gibbs.

Shiah Shahmohammadi, the GW College Democrats Communications Director, decided to host Gibbs as a speaker in order to rally their members toward the reelection of President Obama.

“Mr. Gibbs is an important figure in politics today. Not only was he the spokesperson for the nation's highest office for two years, but he is also an integral part of the reelection campaign of Barack Obama,” Shahmohammadi said. “The GW College Democrats chose Mr. Gibbs to be our kick-off speaker because he has the ability to excite our membership and encourage them to get involved with our organization as well as the 2012 campaign.”

During his speech, Gibbs pointed to the events of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 as a challenge for himself and the press, calling it “three of the most hardest months in the White House.” During the spill, Gibbs said he learned much about the oil industry and claimed to know more that than anyone who works for such a company.

Looking to 2012, Gibbs asked students a series of questions pertaining to their voting and social habits.

“This election is as much important as the last election,” Gibbs said emphatically. Gibbs, devoted some time to voting trends over the last decade, and particularly noted the shortfall in youth voting in 2010. In 2008, the youth votes comprised eighteen percent of the electorate, while in 2010 it was only eleven percent.

During the question and answer period, Gibbs noted a briefing featuring both President Obama and former President Clinton regarding the tax deal. Gibbs said his first thought when he first saw the two presidents walking past his office was “Holy Christ.” The presidents wanted access to the briefing room on a Friday evening.

“It was really cool getting the insight of someone who not only was a top White House insider for two years but the President’s main gatekeeper to the press,” said sophomore College Democrat member Scott Challeen. “My favorite part about hearing from former White House insiders like that is not so much the descriptions and specifics of their jobs, but the funny personal stories from the job.”