A big day for the White House press office — an end, and unsure start, to a foreign policy crisis, and the end of Robert Gibbs’s tenure as press secretary. About 15 minutes after he finished his statement on the resignation of Pres. Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Pres. Obama appeared at Gibbs’ final briefing to give his farewell.
“Obviously Gibbs’ departure is not the biggest one today,” joked the president.
“Robert has not only been an extraordinary press secretary,” said Obama, “But he has been a great friend. And you could not ask for somebody better in the foxhole with you during all of the twists and turns of my candidacy and then the incredible challenges that we faced over the last two years.”
The president returned a tie — in a frame, with a personal note — that he’d borrowed from Gibbs seven years ago, ahead of Obama’s speech to the Democratic National Convention in Boston. See the tie, in action, from the 2004 DNC after the jump…