Claire Shipman

Robert Gibbs Leaves, Jay Carney Becomes Obama’s Press Spokesman

Today marks the end of the tenure of Robert Gibbs as President Barack Obama’s press spokesman, and the succession of former Time Magazine journalist Jay Carney to that challenging position.

Gibbs worked with Obama since he announced for the Senate seat in Illinois in 2004, and will continue to work behind the scenes for the reelection campaign of the President. He was well liked by most journalists on the White House beat, but the position was starting to become a stressful one for him, as it is one of the more difficult jobs, to be the public spokesman for the President on a daily basis.

Carney, who was most recently the press spokesman for Vice President Joe Biden, with a strong journalistic background, and also married to ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman, should be able to stay on good relations with the press, at a time when the public image of the President should be even more significant, as he heads into the re-election campaign.

It was amazing to realize that Gibbs left his position on the single most historic day of the Obama Presidency, with the stunning success of the Egyptian Revolution!