"ON THE OFFENSIVE -- AND IN CAMPAIGN MODE"

[Cha]

<snip>

Shortly after Rep. Joe Barton's (R-Texas) half-hearted walk-back -- he wished to "apologize for that misconstruction" -- White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs turned to Twitter to say, "MICONSTRUCTED?!" Less than a half-hour later, Gibbs tweeted again: "Who would the GOP put in charge of overseeing the energy industry & Big Oil if they won control of Congress? Yup, u guessed it - JOE BARTON."

Very healthy reminder.

<snip>

"The Obama team seems to see this week as a chance to change the larger political argument about the Gulf crisis, and Barton and his GOP cohorts are making that easier."

"It's hard to tell what planet these people live on," Gibbs said, when asked about the litany of attacks on the White House's treatment of BP coming from multiple Republicans.

"It's hard to understand their viewpoint but it may explain their votes on financial regulation," he continued. "It explains how they view whether or not the banks ought to be able to write their own rules and play the game the way they played it several years ago that caused our economy to crash."

Gibbs ripped BP for doing untold damage to our economy, environment, and "way of life," and added that if you listen to Barton, Michele Bachmann and other Republicans, "you'd think somehow BP was a handkerchief, a crying shoulder."

Notice, it's not just Barton's apology that's drawing the focus; it's building on that to make the case that Republicans are the Party of BP.

<more>
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_06/024313.php#1787019

[quiet.american]

1. Go, Gibbs! (I'm often complaining about him, but NO complaints today!) nt

[Cha]

2. I like Gibbs but I don't watch

him much at the pressers..I just read things he says and today(and yesterday) it was extra good to be a Dem because Obama was able to secure $20 Billion and countring for the people who were affected by the BP disaster.

The slobbering all over Tony Hayward by joe barton didn't hurt bc it outted them on national tv as slaves to oil.

"How Joe Barton Managed To Have A Worse Day Than Tony Hayward"

<snip>

"The oil spill in the Gulf is this nation's largest natural disaster and stopping the leak and cleaning up the region is our top priority. Congressman Barton's statements this morning were wrong," House GOP leaders John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mike Pence said in a statement."

<more>
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/how-joe-barton-managed-to-have-a-worse-day-than-tony-hayward.php?ref=fpi

Notice how they're using the wording "natural disaster"..as if the negligence of BP didn't cause it.

[quiet.american]

3. Love that TPM headline... and it's always something w/GOP - "natural" ! nt