This blog has routinely mentioned Robert Gibbs. As the White House press secretary, Gibbs regularly speaks on behalf of the president. How much does one get paid to do this? According to an annual report released by the White House July 1, Gibbs makes $172,200 a year.

This report, mandated by Congress, provides a list of salaries for every White House staffer. It’s always an interesting document to look at. Gibbs, along with well known names like Valerie Jarrett (senior advisor to the president) and Rahm Emanuel (chief of staff) are among the highest paid figures.

More often the report mentions people serving in positions like staff assistant, scheduler, operator and correspondence assistant. These staffers, often young people working long hours, earn incomes in the $30,000 to $50,000 a year range.

Interesting note – Jason Green, deputy associate counsel, makes $95,000 a year. Actually, this is probably only of interest to me, because I went to high school with Jason.

Check out the report online (PDF 29 pages) and review the information yourself.

More than seven months after Election Day, a disputed Senate contest in Minnesota has been settled. After months of recounts and legal challenges, the state’s supreme court has ruled that Democrat Al Franken won the election. His opponent, Norm Coleman has conceded.

Franken’s arrival in the Senate will mean Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents will hold 60 of the 100 Senate seats. Sixty votes are needed to break a filibuster, a parliamentary procedure that allows senators to continue a debate indefinitely and block or delay a vote on a measure or nomination. While some presidential supporters may hope that sixty Senate votes will allow Obama to get more of his legislation passed, the reality is that all sixty senators do not often hold the same views nor do they all vote the same way.

In a statement, President Obama said he looks “forward to working with Senator-Elect Franken to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity by lowering health care costs and investing in the kind of clean energy jobs and industries that will help America lead in the 21st century.”

Speaking about the recent forcible removal of Honduras’ president, José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, President Obama called on all of the political and social entities in Honduras to “respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”

Tensions in that country “must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference,” Obama said.

For more on the situation in Honduras, see “Honduran Crisis Must be Resolved Peacefully and Lawfully.”

President Obama’s campaign slogans “change we can believe in” and “yes we can” continue to motivate audiences overseas, months after his election.

That’s one reason why the American Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, paired up with the nation’s musicians to make “Change We Can Believe In,” a music video that aired on local radio and television, which aims to inspire young people to participate in local elections.

“It’s becoming like an anthem,” says Mutamula Mwale, one of the performers in the video. “It’s gathering all youths together and I think we are all realizing that yes, we can — we can make a difference in our country, we can make a difference in our continent, we can make a difference even in the world.”

You can watch it yourself – it’s quite catchy, and if you’re like me, you’ll have this song in your head all afternoon!

Anyone know of any other Obama-inspired songs?

Many have wondered if President Obama would issue an official statement regarding the death of Michael Jackson. He does not intend to, but White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs did provide some information on the president’s thoughts.

“He said to me that obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer, a music icon, and I think everybody remembers hearing his songs, watching him moonwalk on television during Motown’s 25th anniversary,” Gibbs said June 26. “But the President also said he had aspects of his life that were sad and tragic. His condolences went out to the Jackson family and to fans who mourned his loss,” he added.

On NBC’s Meet The Press June 28, host David Gregory asked White House Advisor David Axelrod why Americans haven’t heard more from Obama about this.

“The president has not spoken directly about the death of Michael Jackson, and yet, obviously, people around the world are talking about it,” Gregory said. “Before there was Barack Obama, before Tiger Woods and Oprah Winfrey, there was Michael Jackson crossing over, breaking barriers. Does the president see it that way?”

“The president obviously believes that he was an important and magnificent performer, and, obviously, he led a sad life in many ways, as well. But his impact is undeniable,” Axelrod said. “The president has written the family and has shared his feelings with the family, and he felt that was the appropriate way to go.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid the White House a visit June 26 and discussed a number of issues with President Obama, among them, climate change.

The United States will “stand with Germany and lead in confronting the energy and climate change crisis,” Obama said. “Europe in many ways over the last several years has moved more rapidly than the United States on addressing this issue. And I’ve been very blunt and frank with Chancellor Merkel that we are still working through creating the framework where we can help lead the international effort,” he said.

Merkel described recent U.S. legislation on climate change as “a sea change” and said it shows that the United States is “very serious on climate.” She said the legislation, if passed, could help at the global conference on climate change in Copenhagen, scheduled for December.

This legislation passed through the House of Representatives later that day. President Obama praised the House for its work during his weekly address, June 27. “The energy bill that passed the House will finally create a set of incentives that will spark a clean energy transformation in our economy,” Obama said, adding that it would spur development of alternative energies.