Robert Gibbs Considers Different White House Role

Robert Gibbs is tired of being White House press secretary and has his eye on the job held by senior White House strategist David Axelrod if and when Axelrod leaves that job to focus on President Obama's reelection campaign.

At least that's the portrait painted by a Gibbs profile in the Washington Post, which suggests the press secretary is far more invested in his private role as an adviser to the president than his public one dealing with the media.

"Gibbs is too discreet to say which job he prefers, but it's not hard to figure out," writes the Post's Jason Horowitz. "Listen to the press secretary talk about the media as a predictable, hyperventilating rabble obsessed with access and covering 'everything as make or break,' or observe his frustration percolating in the briefing room."

He perks up, by contrast, when discussing his talents as a strategist. He attends a wide range of policy meetings and counts himself as one of two people (along with Axelrod) who can deliver news the president doesn't want to hear.

And while Gibbs often stays quiet during policy meetings, absorbing information so that he is informed for his daily briefings, he had this to say to the Post: "I am of strong will and opinion, and as an adviser to the president, and someone who has been an adviser to him for several years now, dating back to his Senate campaign, I am certainly happy to weigh in on certain directions."

Gibbs' primary competition for Axelrod's job is believed to be Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, though it is not a sure thing that Axelrod will shift focus to the president's reelection campaign following the November midterm elections.

"I've not said that I am going to do that at all," he told the Post. "I expect to be helpful to [Obama] in the future, and certainly 2012 is out there and it's something to think about, but I think if you were to look forward a year, I expect I will be where I am."