WASHINGTON - TWO of the top qualities Robert Gibbs brings to the job of White House press secretary aren't found on his resume: He won't flinch at telling it like it is to the next president or telling it like he thinks it ought to be to the media.

Mr Gibbs has been at the side of President-elect Barack Obama since his Senate campaign in 2004. A tough fighter, Mr Gibbs has been a passionate defender of Mr Obama who can virtually channel the Illinois senator's thoughts.

During the presidential campaign, Mr Gibbs, 37, served as communications director and was among the few who could frankly tell Mr Obama what needed to improve.

He didn't hesitate to tell the media when he thought they got it wrong, either. He fiercely guarded Mr Obama's image.

One critic called Mr Gibbs 'the bland face of brazenness' when he said Mr Obama's decision to resign from his church amid the controversy over incendiary remarks by his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, was 'a deeply personal decision, not a political decision.'

Others were surprised when he called Fox News' talk show host Bill O'Reilly a 'bully' and asked Fox host Sean Hannity, 'Are you anti-Semitic?' in response to the TV commentator's questions about Mr Obama's relationship to William Ayers, a 1960s radical.

A former roommate who worked with Mr Gibbs in Washington said Mr Gibbs has been a successful press secretary because he's combines top-notch political skills with a quick wit.

'That's the reason the Washington press corps is going to relate well to him,' that roommate, Mr Shar Hendrick, told wires agencies recently.

Mr Gibbs, who did not return a phone call from the wires, was born in Auburn, Alabama, where his parents worked for Auburn University.

His mother, Mrs Nancy Gibbs, was active in the League of Women Voters and would take her son with her to polling places and the local courthouse. Political discussions around the dinner table were often lively.

Mr Gibbs majored in political science at North Carolina State University, and got his start in politics in 1991 as an intern for former Representative Glen Browder, of Alabama. Mr Gibbs' wife, Mary Catherine Gibbs, is an attorney in Alexandria, Virginia. They have one son.

Mr Browder recently told AP that he quickly realised Gibbs was not just another college student looking to spend a few months in Washington. Mr Gibbs' ability to make a quick study of complicated issues convinced the congressman to give him a permanent job.

'Robert had a special quality even back then,' Mr Browder said.

'In retrospect, it was clear Robert was destined to make his mark.'

After Mr Browder's unsuccessful Senate campaign in 1996, Mr Gibbs worked for several Southern Democrats. In 2004, he headed to Chicago to work in Mr Obama's Senate campaign.

Mr Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention that year sent his fame and popularity skyrocketing.

Afterwards, Mr Gibbs frequently told reporters and political associates that he and others around Mr Obama kept expecting the popularity to ebb, but it never did.

Mr Gibbs was constantly with Mr Obama over the next two years as he began laying the groundwork for a presidential bid. He was among the first to recognise the political phenomenon Mr Obama had become, and the need to adapt and capitalise on the surging crowds he was drawing. -- AP