In which an obviously-in-over-his-head Robert Gibbs has a bit of a melt-down. Jake Tapper of ABC News, one of the more objective reporters in existence today, asks a question about transparency and cabinet appointees paying taxes. Gibbs tries to pass off these questions as impertinent, which Tapper doesn’t let go of. Gibbs takes one more question, gives a quick answer, and then moves on. Here’s the text from Tapper:

TAPPER:  Robert, two questions.  One’s a housekeeping one.  In the name of the transparency that you and the president herald so much, is there any way we could get the copies of the waivers that the OMB issues to allow certain cabinet posts or deputy posts…

GIBBS:  I’ll check.

TAPPER:  … free of the ethics constraints that you put up? And, also, the disclosure forms that your nominees put out that go to the Office of Government Ethics, that somehow they’re not able to e- mail or, you know, put on the Web, is there any way we can get copies of those?

GIBBS:  Yes, I will check.  I don’t — I don’t know how those forms are distributed.

TAPPER:  Just based on listening to the president’s rhetoric, I’m sure it’s something he’d want to do.

GIBBS:  Well…

TAPPER: The other question is…

GIBBS:  Knowing of your crystal clarity on his opinion, I’ll certainly check.

TAPPER:  He doesn’t believe in transparency?

GIBBS:  Did you have another more pertinent question?

TAPPER:  I think that’s pretty — I think it’s fairly pertinent, your cabinet nominees and whether or not they pay their taxes and whether or not they have speaking fees with all sorts of industries they’re suppose to regulate.  I think that’s fairly pertinent.  You don’t?

GIBBS:  Obviously I do.  And obviously the — the president does.

TAPPER:  A majority of the American people apparently support blocking or making major changes to the stimulus bill, according to a Gallup poll.  Are you worried at all that you’ve lost control of the process on how these bills are received?

GIBBS:  No, I’m not.

Quite an interesting exchange. Gibbs is in over his head for a press corps that’s becoming increasing less honeymoon-ish. He quickly spurts off that transparency isn’t pertinent, only to admit it is once Tapper points out how blunt and ridiculous that claim is. They were rather simple questions that were answered horribly.

Here’s the video: