(CNN) – White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Friday mocked the media's coverage of what has been termed the 'Beer Summit' with President Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Sergeant James Crowley.
"I'm going to go off the cuff for a little bit," Gibbs told reporters during the White House daily briefing. "My favorite was - I'm going to have to pick on my good friends at NBC - 'Ale to the Chief' was the icon…complete with a countdown clock to 6:00."
"But here was the topper," Gibbs continued in a disbelieving tone, drawing chuckles from the press corps. "Not only are we calling it the 'Beer Summit.' In stories, [it was] interspersed with other 'summits' of the White House, including footage of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat."
Hours before the so-called 'Beer Summit' took place Thursday, President Obama also made light of the media's treatment of the event.
"I noticed this has been called the 'Beer Summit.' It's a clever term, but this is not a summit, guys," Obama told reporters Thursday. "This is three folks having a drink at the end of the day, and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other. And that's really all it is. This is not a university seminar."
From CNN Politics
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At least he didn't say that the media behaved stupidly. Nyuk nyuk nyuk. Have a nice day!
The rest of us mock the beer summit and the roles of Gates and Obama. The vibe on the street is that everyone was just happy that Obama wasn't enacting more of his disastrous policies.
Gibbs is right – the whole idea that a President would demean himself and his office by participation in this mock group hug and pseudo therapy session is really a new low for this administration.
With matters as sensitive as this, I thinks it's imperative that the media knows where to draw the line with their questioning and coverage of such a topic.
It is ridiculous that the media has covered this incident more than the 8 years of lies and the disaster of the Bush administration. I wish you had covered the WMD debacle like you covered this. Why aren't you'll talking about the lies that Sgt. Crowley was caught in and he wrote in his police report. The witness never ever spoke directly to him and did not describe "the suspects" as black men carrying backpacks.
it is very much nothing
now move on and get some work done
no one should appologise for this, but we should LEAVE THE POLICE ALONE AND LET THEM DO THEIR JOB
we had the police ambushed here in Oakland CA during a domestic call, there was someone waiting for them with a semi automatic rifle
they have no idea what is waiting for them when they pull up
Gates was playing with fire and 4 hours in custody is not good but not terrible – I don't think he was out of line, but the police also have their lives on the line
Well, the administration is right about how laughable this all is. But I'm pretty sure that wasn't Obama's intention when he elevated it to a national headline news item by (unwisely) saying the police acted stupidly... when he didn't even know the facts. Too bad it happened because it makes our whole country look like a bunch of buffoons. I don't know... maybe we are now.
I would not call this a beer summit either. I would call this our dofus clown like commander in training Obama trying to make up for his sticking his huge clown shoe in his mouth when he called this fine police officer stupid. Obama, you need to learn respect for law enforcement and dont spout off when you dont know the facts.
..lol "Ale" to the Chief....lol ...that is a good one....lol
Okay , that was fun...and at least we know Gibbs has a good sense of humor....now on to real things like what is going on in the North Korean trial.what was the sentance? Or how about ..American tourists detained in Iran? Just a beginning of some the stuff to report on....but we all know CNN is up to doing it's job (smile)
I got into an argument last night after my softball game over a game of bags. I called my opponent stupid. I was wondering if we should meet at the White House for some beer and discussion.
What's with all the petty shooting the breeze stuff??? This country is on economic free fall and these clowns at the white house are putting emphasis on this crap! None of this wouldn't have happened if the stupid president hadn't commented at all, especially without any facts. Goes to show you his real colors, he didn't sit in Rev. Wright's church for nothing!
"Ale to the Chief" is my favorite. "The Audacity of Hops" courtesy MSNBC was also good.
gibbs...your such an idiot and a fake...you are a waste of space
Let's see...the White House causes a stir...publicly invites the affected parties to the White House, taking special care to have Obama himself announce it to the WH Press Corp...instead of staging it in a more private setting inside of the White House, they stage it in the Rose Garden and invite the press...and then they mock the press for zealously covering it???
This is almost like the Congressional Dems pushing through a $787 billion "stimulus" bill full of pet projects...amending it at 3 AM...pushing through a vote the very next morning...then mocking their unhappy constituents by publicly having a speed reader read amendments to the cap and tax bill.
Pretty arrogant group we got there!
I think it would be great to have a beer with the president . but not over a petty issue such as that of a officer and a teacher . I would be ashamed to have this issue get as far as it did . both of them need counceling .
and lower their ego to normal
SILLIEST NEWS STORY EVER!!!
Move on... the American people are so far ahead of the media on this one.
Whoever runs against Obama in the next election will have TV commercials featuring pictures of this ridiculous event...
John King and CNN just gave a report on Michelle Obama's involvement when she was employed by a hospital in Chicago and helped start a Clinic Outreach program.
The reason for link to the First Lady was unclear but as it presented both positive and negative aspects of the program which CNN does even if there is a wide difference in the number of proponents on each side, I will expect that CNN will reach out to the First Lady to have her explain the program. If not I will expect an explanation of why they chose this hospital and this coverage of the first lady.
I have NEVER heard CNN use anyone's wife to introduce a story before...I want to know of Cindy McCain's holdings in any topic discussed with McCain, if McConnell's wife or family has any ties to any topic he advocates or votes on as well as anyother politician.
Yeah, I agree with the Whitehouse on this one. The event was overblown by the media and should have been a one day story.
The media must be hard pressed for stories! I've seen prositutes with better class than most of the media this week!
Obama created this media event. Of all the news and conflict he picked this one to have a publisized meeting about. He wanted it to be a be deal. If he didn't, he would have blown it off like so many other situations and crimes and disasters across the country.
So to make it sound like the WH has no idea why there is so much attention to this is an insult to our intelligence and an obvious lie.
The question is why. Obama got something out of this. I will guess a little break from the lower polls and healthcare trouble. He probably hopes that peole will forget (good bet) his changes in policy and goals and broken promises.
It will probably work.
Figures...more coverage of these guys sitting around drinking beer. Meanwhile, not a peep on CNN about the House passing a bill to limit executive bonuses against banks that didn't receive any government help.
Banks are succeeding on their own, despite the government's best efforts. But leave it to the government to interfere anyway. If an individual had exemplary performance, they should receive a bonus, so long as that bank did not receive government aid.
So much for the free market. "Change you can believe in"
This administration is very fond of mocking things, in this case rightly so. However, if it werent for Obama's irresponsible actions the need for a "Beer Summit" would not have existed. As a lifelong democrat I am ashamed and disappointed in this presidency. What a disaster. Once again we Democrats chose to throw away the chance of electing a great leader and instead elected an inexperienced, arrogant windbag who thus far has shown us nothing but incompetence and arrogance.
This whole thing has been blown out of proportion. If it was an Asian professor this thing would barely have scraped local headlines. It's time the media and civil rights movement stop with this over hyper attitude towards these otherwise minor incidents that happen to other ethnic groups every single day.
Hmm.. not a summit. Whatever. I think the Prez and the "offended" professor were just trying to soften up the "good ole boy" with a few beers and "make" him apologize. BIG kudos to the man for not apologizing for doing his job the way he has always done his job.
This is what I love about our President – his feet are firmly on the ground and he's not distracted by the obsession of the media and public to turn every little thing into some kind of crisis, event, latest thing since sliced bread, etc.
That said, I hope the three gentlemen enjoyed each other's company and were able to openly and honestly discuss their perspectives and concerns and come to an understanding. Given what I know about these men, I'm confident they did.
Why is this even in the news? Why did the President of the United States actually feel that he was responsible to intercede in a disorderly conduct charge? There is no reason this should ever have made such headlines like it did. Thank you CNN for trying to tell me what I should care about and thank you for also allowing me to change the channel when items that are not actually news are covered.
You, Mr. President are the one who made this a JOKE.
Oh sure...Gibbs "off the cuff." Not a chance. This Admin is more scripted than any that has preceded it. I'm surprised Obama didn't have his usual teleprompter at the picnic table.
The stern faced Crowley and the relaxed Gates did present a striking contrast. Crowley's press conference was jejune and rapidly vapid. He reminded us of ostrich.
Obama cannot count. There were actually four people there including Biden. Just thought you should know that so take that with you.
It really was stupid coverage by the state run media, covering the results of a stupid remark made by a stupid president.
The media coverage for the 'beer summit' was by far the most ridiculous, most wasteful use of news time of the past decade. The media deserves to be mocked!
Pretty much everything the media puts out is mockable, that's for sure. CNN and FOX are among the worst in pushing its agenda rather than reporting on the news.
Oh I hear Sarah Palin is NOT going to California to speak. But I didn't catch what she had for breakfast this morning. When will CNN report this fascinating and important event?
There wouldn't even have been a 'beer summit' if the media didn't blow one sentence out of Obama's hour-long conference on health care way out of proportion. All the media needs to be fired and made to retake classes in journalism!
I'm glad we can all laugh now.
President Obama and his Administration is a BREATH OF FRESH AIR.
Notice Obama said "three folks" having a drink at the end of the day. Pictures show there were four there. Has Biden been marginalized that much already that he doesn't count? Works for me.
But, these guys are right to mock the media. They are a bunch of court jackals with absolutely no objectivity left.
The media that should be mocked is CNN's telecasts. It's almost as if whomever was in charge of journalistic news reporting was replaced by sensational tabloid stories for the sake of ratings. CNN may temporarily raise some ad revenue, but will ultimately lose the News market, me included.
It could be worse. It could be yet more about Michael Jackson or Sarah Palin. Frankly, I'm relieved to have the media focusing on something else for a change, however inane.
For several weeks CNN has posted similar headlines....
"Obama mocks cop"
Then.....
"Obama mocks Newsweek"
And...... now...... "White House mocks coverage of beer summit"
Need some new adjectives CNN???
The media sucks...shame on them.
Edward R. Murrow must be rolling over in his grave.
Get back to Journalism people.
I wish the media was as interested in how Gates and the police officer got there....Did the taxpayers pick up the tab for the jet to fly them in.
This is rediculous! Get Obama out of there before he totally destroys this country. Of course – you bleeding heart communist won't put this up.
"Mock" was the correct response to what the media did with this.
Ridiculous.
I personally like the idea of a "Beer Summit".
Maybe if we had more of these people wouldn't be so quick to spew nonsence.
Ie: Many of us need to relax a bit.
Yes, I agree with the President and Gibbs regarding the media coverage of this joke/summit. For me though that also goes for the silly joke/scam/summit in the first place. Yes the media is sycophantic and asinine most of the time, but the President and gang uses this media arm to its fullest advantage; it's a creature of his creation as much as it is the medias being snafu.
Can we move on please? 14,000 Americans lose their health care coverage every day. Where is the outrage?
Gibbs shoukl be careful about "mocking" the media, especially since so many of them are hopelessy in love with their Messiah, Obama.
It was the most embarrassing thing to happen since Palin ran for VP. The media tripped over each other to alternately fawn, snark, pick and inflame. It was one big slapfest among media types whose only reason to exist its to hear themselves yammer away about the least thing. This idiotic subject would have died after a day if media types had not decided it was indicative of huge character flaws and personal vendettas.
OH NO! The President had a beer! Hurry, impeach him before the country falls apart!
Yeah.. I think tonight would be a good night to go out and have a few beer summits
The media...what media.....they are all a bunch of news readers. They sit on their butts and read copy their bosses stick in front of them.
As Craig Ferguson asks at the close of his show, "what did we learn tonight", Mr. President? Don't mouth off to The Man? Don't criticize police without having knowledge of the facts? Don't bother reporting apparent incidents of criminal behavior because all you get is scorn and abuse? If this case has raised doubts about the bias of Harvard Law eggheads, maybe we have learned something.
I think that the media spends more time naming events than they do in actually covering them properly. Maybe if they spent a little more time getting the facts on the stories that they cover, they would be viewed more favorably.
Small wonder the media is over-hyping this situation and the senator from Wyomong is hoping to gain some political traction from this meeting. Same ol' same ol' from both groups
Spent a lot more time talking about what beer would be served (and probably researching it) then you did on Obama's eligibility, didn't you media!
He can mock it, but it looks no more than a PR event by the White House itself to smooth over Obama's overstep.
and well you should be mocked. its truly embarrasing what passes for news these days. you had a countdown the the "kegger" on TV.
with the congress looking to slap BILLIONS of dollars of taxes on working americans to pay for a healthcare bill that NOBODY likes, i'm surprised you devote TV, internet coverage to "what kind of beer will be served?", "will there be pretzels?" GET A REAL STORY.
It was clearly an attempt to put a period on the incident. The Obama Administration wanted this to be the "summit" of media attention in hopes that they can get back on the message of Health Care reform. To that end it will be successful, especially with Pelosi and Reid insulting every insurance company in the world. Unfortunately for President Obama, he had a momentary lapse, detoured from the teleprompter and showed the American people how he truly feels.
Do the news channels have nothing more important to report? Has every channel sunk to the low level type of reporting found on Fox News? Let's get back in the real world and cover something news worthy.
Anyone who takes television news seriously, particularly the cable news networks, is greatly limiting their ability to obtain facts and objective analysis. I don't know which is worse....CNN repeating or creating virtually anything that sounds the least bit outrageous, whether it comes from right or left wingers and regardless of credibility, only to fill its 24/7 airtime needs....or Fox News, which will only repeat or create anything that appears negative regarding Obama or Democrats, regardless of credibility. The greatest fear I have is losing today's variety of quality newspapers with varying conservative, moderate or liberal political views, and having to rely on such broadcast news travesties as CNN and Fox News.
Please give this guy a teleprompter!!! he sounds like an idiot eveytime he opens his mouth!
I thought this was going to be a teachable moment????
Obama spoke the truth, had it been a summit the US would have come out the loser. As it was, it was a typical Obama workday: posing for pictures and doing nothing.
This was great for the WH while the media was worried about the choice of beer there were deals being brokered on capitol hill on the so called health care reform. We have yet to hear ANY media outlet talk about specific provisions in the bill. The costs? Savings (haha)? Restrictions of care? Government involvement in care choices? Etc.
I heard other day that Ted Kennedy was blasting HMO's. He introduced the legislation that allowed inusrers to create them 20 some years ago...