By Phillip Rawls, Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – President-elect Barack Obama's longtime spokesman Robert Gibbs, viewed as the likely pick for press secretary, is an Alabama native who graduated from Auburn High School and cut his teeth in politics as an aide to an Alabama congressman.
Former U.S. Rep. Glen Browder of Jacksonville said he hired Gibbs for an internship in 1991 and quickly realized he was not just another college student looking to spend a few months in Washington. His ability to make a quick study of complicated issues convinced Browder to give him a permanent job.
"Robert had a special quality even back then. In retrospect, it was clear Robert was destined to make his mark," Browder said.
Gibbs continues a long string of Alabamians who have served prominent roles in presidential administrations, including Birmingham native Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state for President Bush and Mobile native Alexis Herman as secretary of labor for President Clinton.
Gibbs, 37, was born in Auburn, where his parents, Robert and Nancy, worked for Auburn University. In 1989, he graduated from Auburn High School, where he was known as "Bobby," and headed to North Carolina State University to major in political science.