In an exchange between Candy Crowley and Robert Gibbs on CNN's State of the Union, Gibbs talked about President Obama's performance and previewed what to expect in tomorrow's upcoming Town Hall (which as it happens will be moderated by Crowley).
Robert Gibbs told Crowley that Americans can expect President Obama to be more energetic in his performance, and promised that he would be more 'aggressive', and explain how Mitt Romney's plans will be bad for the country.
“I think the president will make sure people understand the choice, and certainly if Mitt Romney puts up his hands and says ‘I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut plan. I don’t want to cut taxes on the very wealthy,' absolutely I think the president will walk through for voters in that room that are going to be undecided exactly what the Romney campaign wants to do and why it’s bad for this country,” Gibbs said on CNN's State of the Union.
Link to
video.
Transcript from further in the interview:
CROWLEY: Oh, I'm so sorry. I was asking how, not what.
GIBBS: No, no, but I think -- look, again I think - and you saw this in the vice presidential debate. There's a very clear choice in this election. There's a big difference in the way in which each of these candidates sees this economy going forward, whether, again, we're going to invest in the middle class or cut taxes on the wealthy and hope it all trickles down. We've seen that movie before, and it didn't work out so well. But I think, look, in terms of polling, sure, a couple of states in some places have gotten tighter, naturally I think so.
But I mean, look at places like poll in Ohio last night that had the president up five, which was better than he was two weeks ago in that state.
But, look, I think it's because people in Ohio and people in these battleground states understand that Mitt Romney can walk away from his positions in a 90-minute debate, but they can't walk away from the campaign and the record that he has established over the past many years.
CROWLEY: So essentially, you think the president will call him out as lying?
GIBBS: Again, I think the president will make sure people understand the choice. And certainly if Mitt Romney puts up his hands and says I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut plan, I don't have -- I don't want to can cut taxes on the very wealthy, absolutely, I think the president will walk through for voters in that room that are going to be undecided exactly what the Romney campaign wants to do and why it's bad for this country.
First of all Crowley falsely claimed that President Obama never pushed back on Romney's claims that he never proposed a $5 trillion dollar tax cut. President Obama pushed back on this numerous times, resulting in Romney reciting his little story about his sons lying to his face. She tries to insinuate that Obama's game planning should have anticipated Romney walking away from something he's been saying for the last six years. (And perhaps they should have, since Eric Ferhnstrom said as much in the Etch a Sketch interview).
But clearly Crowley is using this interview as personal research in preparation for her role as tomorrow's moderator, trying to get Gibbs to tip his hand about what President Obama will do or say so she can be prepared with her reactions and followup questions.
So, good question Candy. What I want to know is, will YOU call out Romney for 'lying'? Ever? Especially since you are going above and beyond what the Commission on Presidential Debates said your job was supposed to be and are planning to usurp the intended role of the likely voters as questioners . Will you call out Romney for lying?