Obama’s Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, does such a good job of laughing like a buffoon at serious questions posed of his administration, that you have to wonder if his days aren’t numbered. (Note to Gibbs: Helen Thomas takes every question she asks seriously, as crazy as some of them might be, so don’t laugh at her questions.) If he ever fires Gibbs, Obama better look to replace him with someone other than his Deputy Press Secretary, Bill Burton. Burton was on The O’Reilly Factor last night and did one of the worst interviews I’ve ever seen. Kudos to Juan Williams who, despite being a Democrat, was probably tougher on Burton than O’Reilly would have been. Despite the absurdity of his responses, it was hard to be mad at Burton because I had so much fun laughing at the inanity of virtually every answer he gave. Video finally available here (until it’s pulled, of course).

Burton actually said the Cap and Trade bill is “first and foremost a jobs bill,” despite estimates that the net effect will be that 3/4 of a million people would lose their jobs in the first decade because of it — either directly in some energy-producing areas, or indirectly as a result of higher prices paid by consumers on everything they buy until firms adapt better to the regulations. I’ve seen other people say the resulting unemployment could be several million people, but I can’t find any studies so I’ll stick with the Brookings Institute numbers. Still, to call it a jobs bill strains credulity. It would be like calling a bill that removes your right to a secret ballot when you vote on whether or not to join a union the “Employee Free Choice Act.” OK, bad analogy.

He said that Obama’s pledge that taxes won’t increase on anybody paying less than $250K/year still stands, despite the fact that Obama won’t rule out taxing health care benefits. Many are calling on Obama to take a firm stand and say he will veto any health care bill that taxes health care benefits for those earning under $250K (which some are saying is necessary to raise the money needed to pay for a more expanded public health plan). After all, Obama lambasted McCain for suggesting the idea during the campaign, making McCain look like Scrooge McDuck for wanting to tax your benefits. And again, Obama also said he wouldn’t raise “any taxes” (not just income taxes) on people who aren’t rich. But he still won’t make the pledge. According to Burton, you don’t bring people to the table by telilng them what you won’t accept. Obama would “prefer” not to tax health insurance, but he won’t rule it out just yet. Obama has promised the American people something and millions voted for him because of those promises. If he signs a bill that taxes health care benefits, it would be the same as George H.W. Bush signing a tax increase after his “Read my lips: no new taxes” pledge. After going back on that pledge, Papa Bush got booted out after one term. Obama might want to think about that. (Note: in my comment on Loonies and Toonies, I make it clear that I’m actually fine with taxing health care benefits as income if it’s part of a larger reform; I just hate the hypocrisy of bashing McCain for it because it’s a tax increase and then not ruling it out yourself when you specifically said you wouldn’t increase taxes.)

Burton also said that the Cap and Trade bill, which everyone says will have costs for consumers of all income ranges (the only difference is in the estimates of the size and distribution of those costs across income levels), does not violate Obama’s no-tax pledge. Burton called it a “bank-shot” to imply that higher taxes on almost every business, which will be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices by every firm it affects (or put them out of business), was in effect a tax increase on consumers. I think most consumers would feel differently.

Considering that Obama gives the best speeches of any president in my lifetime, it’s a shame that the people who speak for him are so incredibly bad at what they do.