White House spokesman Robert Gibbs succumbed to spring fever and held his daily news briefing out in the sun-splashed Rose Garden today.

OBAMA/A few dozen reporters and maybe a squirrel or two squinted their way through about an hour of Q and A with Gibbs, who advised that he had put on three layers of sunblock before exposing his pale skin to the sun.

“This will not be a regular thing. I just thought it’s been a long winter and why not get outside and have a little fun for once in a while,” he said.

The assorted scribes were hopeful that President Obama himself might make an appearance, what with him apparently just a few steps away in the Oval Office. But no surprises were to be.

Gibbs’ big news was that Obama was forced to reschedule a trip this weekend to Indonesia and Australia due to last-minute efforts to gain passage of healthcare legislation.

Other than the splendid setting, the briefing was pretty much the same as always…

Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (Gibbs holds his daily press briefing outside)

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