White House Press Secretary Needs to Get a Grip

Word out of Washington is that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs became testy with a reporter from American Urban Radio during an exchange over the role of the White House social secretary at a recent state dinner.

Message to Mr. Gibbs: You’re the one that needs to “take a deep breath” and chill out, not April Ryan from Urban Radio.

The fact is, a serious breach of security occurred at the state dinner in question. This is particularly troubling in view of the fact that President Obama has received far more threats in a shorter period of time than his predecessor George W. Bush. So ask yourself a question Mr. Gibbs: what’s wrong with this picture? The picture, that is, of White House social secretary Desiree Rogers dressed to the nines and looking very much the belle of the ball at the state dinner, as Ms. Ryan had the gall to point out.

We now know that state dinners are events at which Ms. Rogers’ predecessors were typically stationed in the reception area with the Secret Service as an additional screen against uninvited guests. Instead of enjoying the heady atmosphere at the dinner, she should have been checking out the incoming guests along with the Secret Service. But enough about Rogers. From a communicator’s perspective it is Gibbs that provides counterpoint to the President’s calm, cool approach to dealing with hot topics.

As best I can figure, there’s one of three possibilities. The White House press secretary hasn’t had much crisis experience, he’s more arrogant than I originally thought, or he’s just not very good at his job. Truth is, Robert Gibbs has spent his professional life in the role of political flak. No disrespect intended here. I was once one myself.

Second message to Mr. Gibbs: If you think you've had some contentious interactions with the White House press corps to date, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

For the record, I don’t say these things lightly. In fact, I expressed a similar opinion after the way Gibbs handled the Cambridge incident involving a white police officer and a black Harvard professor. Interestingly, that was right around the time the association that represents my profession – Public Relations Society of America –selected Gibbs as communicator of the year or something to that effect. I’m still not sure I understand PRSA’s line of thinking on that one.

Over the years I’ve been involved in more than a few crisis situations from a nuclear emergency and a patient fatality to a major environmental accident. If I've learned anything, it's that you don't wait until a crisis hits to establish a good rapport with the news media. The fact that Gibbs seems to have something of a short fuse doesn't help matters.

Third and final message to Mr. Gibbs: Alientating reporters isn't the way to go. If you treat them like professionals, they usually respond accordingly. Bottom line...they're there to get the story, whether you want them to or not.

America faces more difficult days in the months ahead between our decimated economy, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and everything in between. We need a captain at the wheel with a steady hand. I still believe that in President Obama, we have that captain. But the President needs a communicator who can keep his cool and convey the President's positions objectively and unemotionally to Americans and the world through the news media.

In a different setting I might recommend that Mr. Gibbs receive coaching and counseling. Unfortunately, the role of White House press secretary isn’t one in which you have time to learn on the job. Just ask Ari Fleischer, Dee Dee Myers, Marlin Fitzwater, Ron Nessen or Bill Moyers. Who knows, when all is said and done maybe Robert Gibbs is the best person for the job. But right now, based on his performance to date, it sure doesn't look that way.