Updated: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said closing the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was a “hasty decision,” in his daily press briefing with reporters. But he later backtracked in the briefing and clarified that he was referring to decisions made under George W. Bush.

The White house spokesman was asked whether it was a "mistake" to request the resources to close Guantanamo Bay without a plan.

"It was a mistake to set up something that became a rallying cry for enemies around the world and to hope for so long that we could simply continue to perpetuate the theory of keeping detainees there while the courts ruled otherwise," Gibbs responded.

"I don't doubt that the President--and I think he'll say this tomorrow--that we've made some hasty decisions that are now going to take some time to unwind. And closing Guantanamo Bay obviously is one of those decisions," he added.

But later in the briefing Gibbs was asked a follow up question on what looked like a startling admission. Gibbs said that he meant that the "hasty decisions" were made by the previous administration.

"And you said hasty," a reporter asked, “you talked about hasty decisions tomorrow, that it's going to take some time to unwind. Are you talking about the President's hasty decisions or the previous administration's hasty decision as it regards Guantanamo?”

"No, no, no, I'm sorry," Gibbs said. "My boss might want to know the answer to that. No, no, I'm discussing decisions that were made in the previous administration."

The reporter asked again, “You were not referring to the executive order?”

“No, no, no,” Gibbs said.

So either the White House spokesman misspoke or said too much. That's for the public to decide. To some critics, Gibbs comment might evoke Michael Kinsley's famous political adage. Kinsley defined a gaffe in Washington as a moment when someone tells the truth.

Guantanamo Bay has become a political minefield for the president. President Obama's decision to close the controversial detention center in the early days of his presidency was met with adulation on the political left and earned headlines in newspapers across the world. It was seen as a clear break from Bush-era national security policy.

But recently Obama has broken with liberals over his decision to continue Bush-era military commissions to try Guantanamo Bay prisoners and his decision not to release photographs allegedly depicting U.S. soldiers abusing detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq. To an extent, this split with the political left is indicative of the difference between campaigning and governing.

Gibbs' gaffe Wednesday may have only further aggravated large portions of Obama's political base. Liberals rallied to Obama during the campaign in part because of his strong criticism of George W. Bush's "war on terror."

White House critics have long argued that closing Guantanamo Bay was one policy shift easier said than done.

Gibbs reversal, on what looked like a mega reversal, comes on the eve of a major national security speech by Obama. Obama is expected to address, in part, Senate Democrats' opposition to funding the closure of Gitmo. Democrats have withheld funding closure until the White House offers a clear plan on how the detention center will be shut down and importantly, where detainees will be sent.

The closure of Guantanamo Bay has quickly turned into a "not in my backyard" issue. No U.S. representative wants to explain why a Gitmo detainee was allowed to live in his or her district. In the same vein, Obama has found U.S. allies no more willing to accept detainees. France and Britain each accepted one former detainee. There are about 240 detainees at Guantánamo Bay and 30 are clear for release.

Elena Bonner, the widow of great scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov and an outstanding human rights activist in her own right, is truly one of the heroes of the modern age.   (It was my privilege to interview Bonner nearly two years ago for this article.)  Yesterday, the 86-year-old grande dame of the Russian human rights movement spoke at the Oslo Freedom Forum.  Her speech, of which Ms. Bonner sent me an English translation, is worth reproducing in full; she speaks on the situation in Russia and Western attitudes, offers a passionate defense of Israel, voices skepticism about the two-state solution, and asks why international human rights organizations have been so silent on the plight of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.  Ms. Bonner is a woman of strong and outspoken opinions; agree or disagree, she is always worth hearing.

Read the speech here.

Josh Marshall takes no offense over Maureen Dowd's plagiarism. Jack Shafer actually lauds her response. Meanwhile, her column today - another fictious Dick-Rummy conversation - is so bad and so juvenile she clearly didn't steal it from anyone.

Monmouth University also has a New Jersey gubernatorial poll out today which reinforces Chris Christie's frontrunner status in the Republican primary.

Primary Election Matchup
Christie 50
Lonegan 32
Merkt 2
Undecided 16

One cautionary note in what could be a low-turnout race, however: Lonegan has a strong edge among voters who describe themselves as "strongly conservative" (51-36) and "conservative" (56-28). And 47 percent of likely primary voters considered Christie a moderate, while 35 percent said conservative and 5 percent said liberal. Lonegan was seen as conservative by 56 percent, compared to 21 percent who said moderate.

The survey also finds that most voters seen Christie as the more electable candidate in the general election, with more than two-thirds saying he can beat Gov. Jon Corzine, Only 39% say Lonegan can win in November.

The telephone survey was conducted May 13-18 of 706 likely primary voters, and had a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percent.

Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie appears to have regained the momentum in the Republican gubernatorial primary in New Jersey, according to a new Quinnipiac Poll.

Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan appeared to have narrowed the gap considerably in recent weeks, but several debates and a more direct campaign by Christie against his Republican rival puts him in more comfortable position with less than two weeks to go before the primary election.

Primary Election Matchup
Christie 56 (+10 from 4/22)
Lonegan 33 (-4)
Merkt 2

Gov. Jon Corzine (D), who faces no serious opposition in the Democratic primary, still trails both Republicans in general election matchups. The incumbent can take heart, at least, that his numbers have remained steady for several months now.

General Election Matchups
Christie 45 (unch from 4/22)
Corzine 38 (unch)
Undecided 13

Lonegan 42 (-1 from 4/22)
Corzine 40 (+1)

Both Republicans remain fairly unknown quantities statewide, while Corzine maintains an upside-down favorability and job approval rating.

Fav/Unfav
Christie 33/11
Lonegan 19/11
Corzine 37/51

Corzine Job Approval
Corzine 38/53 (37/54 on 4/22).

The survey finds that President Obama's approval rating in the state is 67 percent, with 27 percent disapproving. Corzine is likely to tie himself the popular administration whenever possible, and in fact will welcome Vice President Biden to the state when he kicks off his re-election campaign officially on primary election night.

The Obama White House has its own  stream on Flickr, the public photo-sharing Web site. It's a must-visit for administration watchers, since it is regularly updated with some candid, behind the scenes shots of the president in action.

Today, though, is an example of why using such an open-ended platform might not always be in the best interest of the administration. This photo was posted of President Obama chatting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the two walked from the Oval Office to the Rose Garden for this morning's announcement on new emissions standards. Take a look at some of the comments that visitors have since posted, taking aim at the embattled Democratic leader in the House:

• "Nancy, just shut up for God's sake, you're starting to make Joe look like the second dumbest person in DC"
• "Please, President Obama, reel her in and put her on a short leash"
• "Glad to see he's showing her the door. Maybe she'll get the hint."

At his press briefing today, Robert Gibbs denied that Pelosi's inclusion in today's event was meant to be an additional signal of support as she faces continued criticism over her remarks about the CIA.

Just 35% of Nevada voters say they would vote to re-elect Sen. Harry Reid (D), according to a new Las Vegas Review-Journal poll conducted by Mason-Dixon (May 12-14, 625 RV, MoE +/- 4%). Worse yet, 45% said they would vote to replace him, while 17% said they would consider voting for him.

Reid's favorability rating (38%) is 17 points lower than Obama's, while 50% had an unfavorable view of him -- 20 points higher than Obama. Sen. John Ensign (R) has a 53%/18% favorability rating.

The old bait-and-switch headline had you thinking it was Nancy Pelosi? Nope - at least not yet.

Michael Martin, the Speaker of Britain's House of Commons, is resigning after becoming embroiled in the expenses controversy that's been rocking British politics.

More details from Edward Klein's new book: Ted Kennedy met twice with the parents of Mary Jo Kopechne but could never squeeze out an apology for killing her.

Fresh from offering some clarifying testimony on Bush administration interrogation tactics, Philip Zelikow says that anyone urging the GOP to turn to "realism" to revive their political fortunes is selling snake oil:

For at least the last hundred years, most full-throated critiques of how America should approach the world regard their views as realistic, whatever their argument. They all regard their foes as naïve or venal, people who either bury their heads in the sand or exaggerate threats to chase imaginary monsters. Arthur Link wrote quite thoughtfully of the "higher realism" of Woodrow Wilson.So as Republicans wonder where they will find a foreign policy, please don't think the problem will be solved if only Republicans will be "realists" once more. On the other hand, there is a certain nostalgia in recalling a team that took so much pride in professional competence ...

Fair point. I would suggest that the GOP mine this 2008 survey [pdf] from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs for some insights.

Either way, if the take-away from the George W. Bush years is that "incompetence" did them in, then the GOP will be setting themselves up for future problems. To take one example at random: the Iraq war. How would a competent administration have made Iraq's Sunnis and Baathists more receptive to U.S. military occupation? How would they have sealed the enormous borders with Iran and Syria to prevent the flow of arms and fighters? How would they have found enough troops to staff the occupation year-in and year-out? How would they have better understood the tribal and cultural dynamics of Iraq? Was there any government official - prior to 2003 - who had experience as an American viceroy in the Arab world?

I'm all for competence. But ideas matter too.

(Cross-posted at RCW's The Compass.)