I know a lot of my listeners and readers are fully convinced that the news media is completely in the bag for President Obama.  But it doesn't seem that way in the White House Briefing Room.

Not long after President Obama announced that he had his Cabinet find $100 million in budget savings, that issue surfaced at the briefing, as reporters immediately put White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the defensive.

The first question of the briefing came from Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press.  The transcript was provided by the White House.

Q    Thank you.  The $100 million target figure that the President talked about today with the Cabinet, can you explain why it's so small?  I know he talked about -- you know, you add up a hundred million, a hundred million, a hundred million and eventually you get somewhere, but it would take an awfully long time to add up hundred millions to make a dent in the deficit.  Why not target a bigger number?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, I think only in Washington, D.C. does $100 million --

Q    The deficit is very large.  It's not a joke.  The deficit is giant; $100 million really is only a dent.

MR. GIBBS:  No joke --

Q    You can make a joke about it, but it's not funny.

MR. GIBBS:  I'm not making a joke about it; I'm being completely sincere.  But only in Washington, D.C. is $100 million not a lot of money.  It is where I'm from.  It is where I grew up.  And I think it is for hundreds of millions of Americans.

Q    But the point is it's not a very big portion of the deficit.

Q    You were talking about an appropriations bill a few weeks ago -- that at $8 billion -- being minuscule; a billion in earmarks.  We were talking about that and you said that that --

MR. GIBBS:  Well, in terms of --

Q    A hundred million is a lot, but $8 billion is small?

MR. GIBBS:  What I'm saying is I think it all adds up -- just as the President said, just as Jennifer was good enough to do in her question.  If you think we're going to get rid of a $1.3 trillion deficit by eliminating one thing, I'd be and the administration would be innumerably happy for you to let us know what that is.

Q    Why not try to get a bigger number so you can get a -- at a bigger share --

Later in the briefing, Chip Reid of CBS gave Gibbs some advice and pressed home the same line of inquiry, without much success.

Q    I want to ask about credit cards, but I first want to return to this first topic.  You guys usually seem so in tune with what the American people think and late night comedians and that kind of thing.  It's hard to believe that $100 million won't become the butt of a whole lot of jokes.  I mean, $100 million is four times what A-Rod makes in a single year; it's two-thirds of what --

MR. GIBBS:  He didn't ask about what A-Rod made in a year.  (Laughter.)

Q    -- it's two-thirds of the number earmarked for a single airport.  It is a tiny drop in the bucket.

MR. GIBBS:  Did you guys ask me about earmarks?

Q    It's an absurdly small amount of money.

MR. GIBBS:  You need to talk about baseball here.

Q    Well, it's an amazingly small amount of money, Robert.  You've got to admit.  I mean --

MR. GIBBS:  Chip, I bet -- how many stories --

Q    -- it's just asking to be joked about.

MR. GIBBS:  Hold on.  Well, let's joke a little about it.  How many stories do you think CBS or networks in this room did a few -- maybe a decade or so ago about $600 toilet seats at the Department of Defense?  Now how many people think the Department of Defense might buy enough $600 toilet seats to fix the deficit or the debt?

Q    Well, I think that was a symbolic example of tens of billions of dollars being wasted.  I don't think it's --

MR. GIBBS:  Maybe you said it -- maybe you hit on part of it, but I also believe that cutting out $600 toilet seats is indicative of a culture that believes that's okay.  It's indicative of a culture in this town that believes we can have 26 conferences that the VA should participate in, when in fact you can go into a room and get together on a video conference.

Q    Why not shoot higher?  Aren't you confirming the critics who believe that when it comes to spending, the sky is the limit for this administration, but when it comes to defending cuts --

MR. GIBBS:  I'm happy to speak directly to our critics about how it is we got to where we are with a $1.2 trillion -- $1.3 trillion budget deficit, and where the President wants to go by slashing that in half in four years.

Q    Well, and then up and up and up after those four years.

MR. GIBBS:  Well, we're making progress.  We're cutting the budget deficit.  We've outlined very specific savings.  The Secretary of Defense has outlined very specific savings.  We're happy to have members and anybody else join in.

My sense of this, Chip, is $100 million may not be a lot to people in this town, but I think it's a lot to people who live in this country.

Q    But on -- I don't know, I'm not sure I agree with you.  I think that most people will see it as a drop in the budget.  But we'll see.

MR. GIBBS:  If you put a -- trust me on this.  Do me a favor and put it on the evening news tonight, and we'll judge it with the American people.  How about that?

You can also follow Jamie Dupree on both Twitter and on Facebook.