It was not explicitly a call for his resignation, but perhaps just short of one. At his briefing today, Robert Gibbs suggested that Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) should "take some time this weekend" to correct testimony he gave before the Blagojevich impeachment committee, and also "think of what lays in his future."

"The appointment of Senator Burris was -- and his taking the Senate seat -- was based largely on the representations that he made, factual representations that he made to the people of Illinois through interviews and through his testimony to the impeachment committee," Gibbs said. "We know that, and it has been reported extensively that ... some of those stories seem to be at variance with what's happened."

Gibbs shrugged when reporters suggested that his comments sounded like a call for resignation, and only repeated that various outlets have documented the discrepancies between Burris' testimony before the impeachment committee and subsequent affidavits and public comments.

Today, Gov. Pat Quinn said that Burris should resign, and that his seat should be filled through a special election. Gibbs has denied speaking with President Obama about the issue. But given the close relationship between the two, one wonders whether Gibbs intentionally does not discuss it with the president to allow for plausible deniability, or whether they have their own "off the record" sessions.