Sam Stein has the statement here.
Rather than hectoring and insulting the left, it's more constructive for the White House to be ballyhooing its accomplishments. Make the case. This, from Gibbs' statement, is more like it:
But in 17 months, we have seen Wall Street reform, historic health care reform, fair pay for women, a recovery act that pulled us back from a depression and got our economy moving again, record investments in clean energy that are creating jobs, student loan reforms so families can afford college, a weapons system canceled that the Pentagon didn't want, reset our relationship with the world and negotiated a nuclear weapons treaty that gets us closer to a world without fear of these weapons, just to name a few. And at the end of this month, 90,000 troops will have left Iraq and our combat mission will come to an end.
Please keep bragging! Seriously! The word clearly isn't getting out. And not just to "the left," but to the entire country save for a few.
I've been critical of bloggers and others on the left who can't make a policy remark without rhetorically kicking the president in the nuts. Likewise, the White House would be better served by making its case rather than whining about how hard it is to make everyone happy.
"I watch too much cable, I admit," Gibbs told the Huffington Post. "Day after day it gets frustrating. Yesterday I watched as someone called legislation to prevent teacher layoffs a bailout - but I know that's not a view held by many, nor were the views I was frustrated about."
I get it. Of course it was a Republican who said that about the legislation. And, accordingly, I would have preferred that Gibbs take out his frustrations on the far-right. Sheesh. I can assure you, Mr. Gibbs, you have enemies on the left and the right. But way, way, way, waaaay more friends on the left. None on the right.
Adding... Yglesias and I appear to share the exact same reaction:
Longtime readers and followers of various squabbles with FDL bloggers will know that I have some sympathy with the substance of what Gibbs has to say here. But you don’t improve your relationship with same-team ideological activists by attacking them in red-baiting terms.
CORRECTION... Bill Burton clarified that it was Dylan Ratigan who Gibbs was talking about with regards to the "bailout." I have no idea what Ratigan's political affiliation is, but he's definitely not a member of the "professional left."