ABC News reporter Yunji de Nies got Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the record at this afternoon's press briefing:

de Nies : On sort of a D.C. issue — and that is: What hasn't the president changed his license plate on the presidential limousine? Is he planning to change them for the "taxation without representation" plates?

GIBBS: I think rather than change the logo around the license plate, the president is committed instead to changing the status of the District of Columbia.

de Nies : But that is a symbol, though, that a lot of people look at as...

GIBBS: Right. I guess I would ask you to ask people in Washington whether they'd like to have that status changed, or that symbolism screwed onto the back of a limousine?

Thanks for that triumphal moment of political gutlessness there, Gibbsy—as though license plate vs. actual voting rights happens to be an either/or proposition. You know, ’cause your boss has done so much to "have that status changed." Sheesh—the license plate at least would have been an easy down payment.

Says WTOP's Mark Plotkin, who has long lobbied for the stamped-metal gesture, "I don't know how they could manage to insult us even more, but Gibbs managed to do it."

This morning I did something I rarely do on Twitter. I wrote what was exactly on my mind (which I guess is the point of twitter). I typed out: "Jake Tapper had the best question at the Obama press conference." I sat there last night watching the Obama press conference like it was event television. I'm a sucker. Tapper was one of the few reporters who asked a question aimed at getting Obama off the talking points. He asked Obama what benchmarks or milestones or measurements his administration and the public could use to see if the stimulus plan was working. In other words, how would we know if the trillion bucks were gonna cough up is money well spent.

It was a great question.

I pretty much have forgotten Obama's answer. But I remembered the moment as a typical Tapper moment. He's not your average political correspondent/hack. Since he left CP years ago, I have read and watched Tapper with amazement at his ability to churn out good copy for Salon, and solid pieces for Nightline and his politics blog. So it was just odd to read today the anonymous carping from the press corps about Tapper.

Rachel Sklar writes in the Daily Beast that Tapper is fast becoming "the new star of the Washington press pack." She points to Tapper's now-famous skirmish with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

That may or may not been Tapper's big moment. Surely Tapper will have bigger moments and important scoops in the coming months and years. But it was enough to get the anonymous quote roundup on Tapper:

“I think it’s safe to say that he's calculated, meaning that if he's being tough, it's likely because he sat down one day to say, ‘I want to be this administration's David Gregory,’" said one colleague on the D.C. political circuit. (Note where Gregory ended up.) Others have also compared him to Sam Donaldson, whose scrappy briefing room questioning is still legendary. “[Tapper] works really hard, he's really smart, and he does have good questions that you just can't dismiss as showboating,” said another D.C.-based political reporter who has known Tapper for years. And while more than one other person also used the word “showboating,” a briefing room colleague was a little more zen: “It's too early to judge anyone... And I wouldn't get too worked up over the press briefings. Judge all of us on the reporting, analysis, and packages.”

I think it's a little lame of these correspondents to a) insist on anonymity; b) carp on a colleague as ambitious (this just reeks of sour grapes); c) describe Tapper as showboating. These are the same press corps that gave Bush a free ride. These are the same people that hissed at Colbert. What's so wrong with asking tough questions?

Well, that is a national group of youth who are destined for greatness and influence. Former White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry put it like this, on the occasion of tonight's Junior State of America Inaugural Reception: All the kids who got involved in student government were "weenies," according to McCurry. All the "smart kids" got involved in the Junior State of America–"state" appears to be short for "statesmen." Those smart kids, over the years, have included Edwin Meese, Charles Schwab, and Michael McCurry. Oh sorry, already mentioned McCurry.

Aside from McCurry, the other banner name at tonight's reception was Robert Gibbs, the very-soon-to-be White house press secretary. Our roving correspondent missed Gibbs's doubtless-breathtaking speech before the group of precocious wonks, but a source at the event said that Gibbs spoke of the importance of "relishing these next couple of days." Awfully edgy stuff there.

Other than all the spinmeisters talking turkey with America's future leaders, there were a lot of waiters moving around with spicy fried fare and dips. The event, sponsored by Politico and Facebook, had extraordinary bean dip, too.