Media commentors seem to be cherrypicking Richard Wolffe’s new book The Message: the Reselling of President Obama as fuel for their trope that the President is, heaven forfend, a master manipulator who takes delight in refusing to share, even with those closest to him. The Daily Beast (of course) gets the official excerpt:
… “The president broke Axe and Robert’s hearts,” said one member of Obama’s inner circle. For those who remained, the departure of Axelrod and Gibbs sent a clear message: they were all dispensable. “He doesn’t need anyone,” said another member of the inner circle. “Axe and Gibbs were effectively fired. He owes everything to Axe. Everything. He’d never have gotten anywhere without him. I’d like to think he knows that and sees him differently. But I’m not sure.” Obama kept a close team of younger male staffers to manage his immediate needs, and that was all he needed. “He needs the guys to play cards and golf, and tell him where he’s going next and why,” said a former aide. “But beyond that, it’s what function you have. And if you can’t fulfill that function anymore, or someone can do it better, you’re gone. That’s hard for those of us who really believe in him. He expects full loyalty. But you need to have your eyes open.”…
The Week helpfully adds The Shorter:
… No Drama Obama kept his hands clean
While Obama’s campaign staff fell out with each other, the president himself stayed above the fray. “His political team was his blind spot,” said Wolffe, and Obama didn’t even acknowledge there were issues. Advisers suspected he probably knew what was going on, but ignored the problems in the hope they would either resolve themselves or go away. So long as communications and strategy weren’t affected, he was fine. “The principal’s position is ‘You guys figure it out. Come to me with your recommendation,'” said one communications source. “Obama generally doesn’t like to be in this position when it comes to political stuff.”
MSNBC, for some reason, prefers to highlight a new Lady MacBeth:
… [Stehanie]Cutter was deputy campaign manager. But she had long fretted about her status within Obama’s tight circle, not least after failing to get the job and power she wanted in the West Wing. Her comfort lay in maintaining the tightest grip on the campaign’s communications, including the kind of TV punditry she also found flattering…
The White House, however, felt less than proud. There was such a thing as an Obama brand and Cutter was threatening to weaken it…
Cutter micromanaged too much, had delusions of power, they thought, and strayed out of her lane…
Cutter was not shy about responding to his suggestions in similarly frank ways. She had no respect for Messina, for what she saw as his spinelessness and indecision. She had been on the losing side of an election in 2004, and the losing side of the internal debate inside the campaign. She was determined not to lose either contest this time around.
Frustrated, some inside Obama’s inner circle hatched a plan to push Cutter out of the picture… When they consulted the president, he made it clear that he wanted Cutter to stay in some role. “Do what you want,” he said, “but she better not quit.”
Cutter’s guarantor was, in fact, the most high-profile woman of all in Obama’s inner circle: his wife. “Given Michelle Obama, she’s not going anywhere,” said one of the plotters. “The First Family feels very strongly that Stephanie is an asset. When things have gotten bad especially for Michelle, people go to who they trust. When anything goes bad in the East Wing world, she looks at all of her staff and says, “Go get me Cutter.”…
Media Chewtoy of the Moment: The Machiavell Behind the CurtainPost + Comments (122)