More Glib Gibb

The following is an exchange between AP reporter, Jennifer Loven, and Press Secretary Gibbs.

This is in regards to the trivial $100 million Obama is asking his cabinet mebers to trim out of the budget. Probably with a scalpel.....if I had a penny for each time I heard the "scalpel" line during the campaign, I could probably help pay off a chunk of that 100 mil!

To put this into relative terms; cutting 100 million from next year's budget of 3.6 trillion will effectively save us 1/36,000 in budget expenses!

ABC News, Jake Tapper, jumps in at the end to drive home the point.

JENNIFER LOVEN, AP: The $100 million target figure that the president talked about today with the Cabinet, can you explain why so small? I know he talked about -- you know, you add up 100 million and 100 million, and eventually, you get somewhere, but it would take an awfully long time to add up hundred million (inaudible) in the deficit. Why not target a bigger number?

GIBBS: (Smiling) Well, I think only in Washington, D.C. is a hundred million dollars...

LOVEN: The deficit's very large. It's not a joke.

GIBBS: No, I'm...

LOVEN: The deficit's giant. $100 million really is only a step.

GIBBS: But no joke.

LOVEN: You sound like you're joking about it, but it's not funny.

GIBBS: I'm not making jokes about it. I'm being completely sincere that only in Washington, D.C. is $100 million not a lot of money. It is where I'm from. It is where I grew up. And I think it is for hundreds of millions of Americans.

LOVEN: The point is it's not a very big portion of the deficit.

TAPPER: You were talking about an appropriations bill a few weeks ago about $8 billion being minuscule -- $8 billion in earmarks. We were talking about that and you said that that...

GIBBS: Well, in terms of -- in...(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: ...$100 million is a lot but $8 billion is small?

GIBBS: Well, what I'm saying is I think it all adds up just as the president said, just as Jennifer was good enough to do in her question. If you think we're going to get rid of $1.3 trillion deficit by eliminating one thing, I'd be -- and the administration would be innumerably happy for you to let us know what that is.

LOVEN: Why not try to get a bigger number so you can get a...

GIBBS: durka durka durka durka!!!!


Here's the video of some of his interactions with reporters today.