“It is an honor and a privilege to stand here, to work inside this building,to serve your country, to work for a president that I admire as much as President Barack Obama,” he told reporters in the White House briefing room on Wednesday.

No report yet who the replacement will be.

White House advisers have downplayed the changes as the kind of routine shuffling that all administrations experience at the halfway point. Yet as Obama begins making decisions on who will staff the White House heading into his own reelection cycle, roughly a dozen senior officials are jockeying for positions in an internal game of musical chairs – one that would grow even more complicated with the introduction of a new chief of staff from outside the president’s tight inner circle.

Isn’t it great to know we have true leadership in this country?

The logic for a Chairman Gibbs, according to one official: It would “put the Obama imprimatur on the DNC, once and for all,” and install a “great partisan fighter” as the face of the national party for the reelection campaign. “It’s a brilliant idea if he ends up deciding he wants to do it,” said one official who has been consulted.

Don’t forget this handy clip & save graphic of “K Street Cabinet” (black & white photo doesn’t do that tan justice!)

Then Gibbs links to some New York Times propaganda ad against Boehner. Boehner has obviously become the Obama regime’s new Bush.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD_XaSapqBA

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEMA_mZ8hFM

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5x1idvm84s

Chen said he feels “very good about the collegial give and take.”

“We had a very good exchange with Robert,” Chen said. “He stayed overtime, and thus was late for his next meeting.”

Gibbs said the meeting in his West Wing office was “comprehensive and productive.”

“I started by thanking the WHCA on behalf of the president and first lady for protecting the privacy of the Obama children,” Gibbs said. “We discussed and made progress n a number of issues important to both.”

Chen recalled that the two sides agreed on “no immediate global solutions,” but said he came away expecting an “improvement in press access.”

Among the issues discussed:

—More behind-the-scenes access for news photographers. Obama aides often post photos by White House staff photographers of scenes that in the past might have been recorded by a selected news photographer, or by the rotating “tight pool” of photographers that has more access than the general press.

—CNN’s Ed Henry, who represented the networks at the meeting, pushed for more bill signings and world leader meetings to be opened to cameras.

—Journalists have complained of instances in which the White House declared a “full lid,” meaning no more scheduled releases or travel for the day, then later puts out a newsworthy release such as a readout of a presidential call with a world leader. A White House official told POLITICO: “We vowed to ensure that full lid violations were rare.”

—Internet access on Air Force One is being explored. Currently, the White House staff has access to communications equipment. But except in extraordinary circumstances, such as a presidential trip to Iraq or Afghanistan, the press is not able to file while airborne.

—On presidential trips, a rotating selection of about a dozen journalists (the pool) travels on Air Force One, while other news organizations (for instance, the other three networks) travel on a separate press charter arranged by the White House. Because of budget cutbacks, fewer news organizations are going on presidential trips, and many of those that do are sending fewer people. So more and more often, there has been too little to demand to make a press charter feasible. Reporters who are not in the pool, and want to cover the event, fly on their own. The White House warned the press delegation that this could mean a reduction in travel by aides relied on by reporters, including press officials and stenographers.

“We’ll have the votes when the House votes, I think, within the next week,” Gibbs said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Gibbs added that those on next week’s Sunday talk shows “will be talking about healthcare not as a presidential proposal but I think as the law of the land.”

President Barack Obama will look to campaign on the new healthcare law in midterm elections, Gibbs said.

“We believe healthcare reform is going to pass, and once it passes we’re happy to have the 2010 elections be about the achievement of healthcare reform,” Gibbs said.

But Republicans on Fox said there’s no guarantee the bill passes and that Democrats will benefit from it.

“If they pass this thing, I think they lose the House of Representatives this fall,” said former Bush White House adviser Karl Rove.

If Democrats do pass it, “then the American people will be the losers,” said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

“This is a trillion-dollar-bill attempting to overhaul healthcare for every single American,” Cantor added.

“Even the toughest rules require reasonable exceptions.”

Aside from the promises of no lobbyists in his administration, to failing to televise the health care negations on C-SPAN, to taxes, or the various other broken promises here is a little summary of those failed promises from of all things an AP writer!

THE ECONOMY, TAXES AND DEFICITS

Obama inherited an economy in severe distress that has since shown marked improvement. With the crisis developing so close to last year’s election, it wasn’t the focus of his earlier campaign promises. But Obama managed to craft his main anti-recession measure to address one of the top political commitments.

He campaigned on a pledge to provide a $1,000 tax credit to 95 percent of all working families, and almost delivered.

The $787 billion stimulus bill included an $800 tax credit for couples making up to $150,000, and a declining credit for those making up to $190,000. The Tax Policy Center estimates that 90 percent of taxpayers qualified for a tax cut under the stimulus package.

In a Dover, N.H., campaign stop, Obama pledged that “no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase – not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”

True, unless you’re a smoker.

Obama, himself an occasional smoker, signed into law a 159 percent increase in the tax on a pack of cigarettes. Other tobacco products were hit with similar or much steeper increases to help pay for a children’s health initiative, enabling him to keep another promise to make sure all kids have health insurance.

Obama also promised to cut the federal budget deficit by more than half in his first term. That now appears unlikely, given the spending on the stimulus and the billions of dollars spent on bank and auto company bailouts. The 2009 federal budget deficit hit a record $1.42 trillion, and the red ink in the first two months of fiscal 2010 was nearly 6 percent higher than the same period in 2009.

FOREIGN POLICY

As a candidate, Obama touted his early opposition to the Iraq war and pledged to pull all U.S. combat troops out within 16 months. As president, he pushed that deadline back two months, to August 2010.

Even then, he will leave 35,000 to 50,000 military personnel in Iraq through 2011 to train, equip and advise Iraqi security forces, and to help in counterterrorism missions.

As a candidate, he vowed to prosecute the war against al-Qaida in Afghanistan, arguing that Iraq had distracted the U.S. from its anti-terror priorities. By the end of his first year, he had retooled the Afghan war strategy, replaced the U.S. commander there, doubled the number of U.S. troops in the country and ordered another 30,000 there by the middle of this year.

He also promised to “end the use of torture without exception” in U.S. anti-terror campaigns and to close Guantanamo Bay, which he called “a recruiting tool for our enemies.” He signed an executive order outlawing torture, cruelty and degrading treatment of prisoners. A companion order closing the Guantanamo prison has proven more challenging.

Congress refused to fund the transfer of any Guantanamo detainees to U.S. prisons, and foreign countries are reluctant to accept them. Obama did order the purchase of an Illinois prison to house up to 100 Guantanamo detainees. Still, Guantanamo cannot be closed until the disposition of more than 200 remaining detainees is resolved. A failed attempt at bombing a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas has made that more difficult.

Obama also campaigned to restore U.S. prestige abroad by engaging allies and adversaries alike, a direct swipe at George W. Bush, his predecessor. Now, he’s finding that rhetoric tough to live up to.

He vowed to use “tough, direct diplomacy” to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Once in office, he offered dialogue to Tehran, made direct appeals to the Iranian people and included Iran in multinational discussions, while insisting that Iran not be permitted to develop nuclear weapons.

The power centers in Tehran have largely shrugged, and Obama so far has been unable to unite a coalition of countries behind new economic sanctions intended to block Iran’s development of nuclear weapons.

A solution for North Korea’s nuclear program also remains elusive. Its envoy to the United Nations said his nation is willing to conduct talks, but only if all sanctions against it are lifted.

TERRORISM

On his 2008 campaign Web site, Obama declared that “we must redouble our efforts to determine if the measures implemented since 9/11 are adequately addressing the threats our nation continues to face from airplane-based terrorism,” including screening all passengers against “a comprehensive terrorist watch list.”

The verdict on that promise came last month, when an alleged terrorist known to authorities boarded an airliner bound for Detroit from overseas carrying explosives in his clothes. Disaster was averted when he botched an attempt to ignite the bomb.

—

HEALTH CARE

During his political run, Obama said he would increase the number of people covered by health insurance and pay for it by raising taxes on families making more than $250,000 a year and by taxing companies that do not offer coverage to employees.

Although lawmakers have taken steps toward the broad outline Obama promised, it remains unfinished. The House and Senate have passed versions of the plan, but major differences remain. And Obama’s left flank is none too pleased with the compromises to this point, which have all but eliminated a government-run insurance option, something he called for in the campaign.

Even the process has violated one campaign pledge.

“We’ll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies,” Obama said.

That hasn’t happened. Instead, Democrats in Congress and the White House have made multibillion-dollar deals with hospitals and pharmaceutical companies in private. C-SPAN asked to televise the negotiations between the House and Senate versions; the White House insists it hasn’t seen the request.

—

OTHER ISSUES

On other domestic promises, from energy to education, Obama has been faced with a tight budget, a struggling economy and a deficit-conscious public that he will need to court if he seeks another term in 2012.

Early on, he had to recant his pledge not to sign legislation that includes lawmakers’ pet projects. “When I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely,” Obama had said in September.

But Congress controls spending, and Obama hasn’t been willing to veto bills approved by his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill. For example, he signed what he called an “imperfect” $410 billion spending bill that included 7,991 so-called “earmarks” totaling $5.5 billion. He had little choice. The measure, a holdover from the Bush presidency, was needed to keep government from shutting down.

Obama also promised to require lawmakers seeking money for earmarks to justify their requests in writing 72 hours before they’re voted on in Congress.

That hasn’t happened yet. Nor has his pledge to post legislation online for five days before acting; he broke that pledge with his first bill, a non-emergency measure giving workers more time to bring pay discrimination lawsuits. A promised ban on lobbyists serving in his administration hasn’t been absolute; a few former lobbyists were granted exemptions.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsliZ5RW2IY

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDAMo5wZmEI

April Ryan had a tough day. Earlier, she was talked down to by Robert Gibbs after asking about Desiree Rogers, Obama’s social secretary. The arrogance of Gibbs displayed towards April Ryan is flat out disgusting. Robert Gibbs has the nerve to compare April Ryan to a child for asking this question. Tell me, from this video, who comes off as the “child”?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFW3o4iTWXc

APRIL RYAN: Did she invite herself to the state dinner or was she a guest of, did the president invite her, or did she put her name on, no, that’s a real question, do not fan [sic] at all.

ROBERT GIBBS: I, I, Jonathan?

RYAN: I’m serious. No, seriously? Did she invite herself or did the president ask her. Her name was on that list and social secretaries are the ones who put the names on the list.

GIBBS: Right.

RYAN: Did she invite herself, or did the president–

GIBBS: Right, was she at the dinner? April, April, calm down. Just take a deep breath for one second. See, this happens with my son. He does the same thing.

[reporters in the briefing room: Oooooh!]

RYAN: Don’t play with me!

GIBBS: I’m not.

RYAN: I’m being serious. Do not blow at all.

GIBBS: And I’m giving you a serious answer. Was she at the dinner? Yes.

RYAN: Was she an invited guest?

GIBBS: She’s the social secretary. She had the primary responsibility–

RYAN: No, social secretaries are not guests of the dinner.

GIBBS: She had the primary responsibility for running the dinner. I’m going to get back to weightier topics like 98,000 men and women in Afghanistan.

And

Tapper: It’s escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations “not a news organization” and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one –

(Crosstalk)

Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness that, the fairness of that coverage.

Tapper: But that’s a pretty sweeping declaration that they are “not a news organization.” How are they any different from, say –

Gibbs: ABC -

Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?

Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 o’clock tonight. Or 5 o’clock this afternoon.

Tapper: I’m not talking about their opinion programming or issues you have with certain reports. I’m talking about saying thousands of individuals who work for a media organization, do not work for a “news organization” — why is that appropriate for the White House to say?

Gibbs: That’s our opinion.

Poor Gibbs. As if you don’t know 5pm is Glenn Beck’s show and 9pm is Hannitys. Two OPINION shows. You know, like Maddow, Olbermann, Big fat eD, Tingle Leg Matthews, etc.

Gibbs: I do hope the viewers of FOX will find a way to watch this speech tonight. I know the network, instead of dealing with the reality of millions of people on health insurance reform have decided to show a reality show called “So You Think You Can Dance?”

Alisyn Camerota: But you can watch it right here on the Fox News Channel. We’ll be covering it in its entirety.

Gibbs: I do hope people will check in to the reality of what’s going on in America rather than the distraction of a reality TV show.

Steve Doocy: FOX of course, owns a broadcast network and a news channel and it will of course, Robert, be right here on the Fox News Channel.

Later, Gibbs used the launch of Fox News Channel as an analogy for health insurance reform.

“Guys, you started a cable news network because you thought there wasn’t enough choice for viewers out there. That’s the same type of choice and competition that the president wants to put in the health insurance market.”

And heres the video

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noMLEt9xPtk

“I want to speak generally about some reports I’ve witnessed over the past few years in the British media,” Gibbs said. “In some ways, I’m surprised it filtered down.”

“Let’s just say if I wanted to look up, if I wanted to read a write-up of how Manchester United fared last night in the Champions League Cup, I’d might open up a British newspaper,” he continued. “If I was looking for something that bordered on truthful news, I’m not entirely sure it’d be the first pack of clips I’d pick up.”

Gibbs’ juvenile comments followed an article in The Daily Telegraph relating to the President’s decision not to release new photos reportedly showing appalling prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib by a tiny minority of military personnel.

Roberts Gibbs? Juvenile comments? Ummm… Uhhh.. Ummm.. Impossible!