Obama's Insular White House Worries His Allies

From The Audacity of Hypocrisy:

2:25 PM (10 hours ago)Obama’s insular White House worries his allies (The rookie Hussein doesn’t know what to do)from Audacity Of Hypocrisy by adminObama’s insular White House worries his allies


The president famously relies on a tight circle of advisors. But with Republicans running the House next year, many say Obama will need some new faces to convey a new message.



Reporting from Washington — In the West Wing it had become a pretty common sight: two national security aides with close ties to the president, Thomas Donilon and Denis McDonough, hurrying into the Oval Office to show him the latest piece of hot intelligence.



Some administration officials who watched the scene unfold worried that James L. Jones, the national security advisor at the time, was being left out of the loop and that Obama was being given raw reports before their meaning and import were clear.



A strong national security advisor might weed out what the president doesn’t need to see. Yet Obama never quite clicked with Jones — and the absence of a personal connection with the commander in chief turned out to be a handicap.



**SNIP**



With Republicans in charge in the House next year, the Democrats contend, Obama needs new faces who might be better suited to negotiate with a resurgent GOP and come up with a fresh alternative to the now-dated 2008 campaign message of “hope and change.” Some names being tossed around: former Secretary of State Colin Powell; outgoing Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell; and Erskine Bowles, a former chief of staff to Bill Clinton and co-chairman of Obama’s deficit reduction panel.



“He’s dealing with a new reality,” Douglas Schoen, a pollster who advised Clinton, said in an interview.





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