The O’Biden Camelot

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Sep 09, 2022 View in browser   By Alex Thompson and Max Tani Presented by Walmart Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice.   Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max JOE BIDEN was pissed. DONALD TRUMP had just won the 2016 election. That was part of it. But Biden now felt even more resentful of how President BARACK OBAMA and members of his inner circle had discouraged him from running that year. Within days, Biden began whispering to senior Democrats that he would have beaten Trump and that HILLARY CLINTON was the wrong candidate for the moment. At one point, Biden ran into DAVID SIMAS, Obama's director of political affairs, who had insisted to him that Clinton's low polling numbers on "trust" wouldn't matter because voters didn't trust Trump either. He snapped to Simas, "Oh, trust doesn't matter, huh?" and kept walking. That anecdote is one of many from the new book, "The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama," by New York Magazine's GABRIEL DEBENETTI. Rather than the sappy bromance routine on display between the two at the presidential portrait unveiling at the White House this week, the book captures the nuanced friendship, and tensions, between the hyper-ambitious and competitive presidents. It also details how events in 2015 and 2016 forever altered the Obama-Biden relationship. "This was the first time that you saw Obama, more or less explicitly – or at least implicitly – rejecting [Biden's] politics by backing Hillary Clinton at the time, and [Biden] did take it very personally," Debenitti told West Wing Playbook in an interview ahead of the book's release next week.  In the fall of 2015, Obama asked his leading senior advisers DAVID PLOUFFE and DAVID AXELROD to meet separately with Biden and tell him he was polling far behind both Clinton and Sen. BERNIE SANDERS in a primary contest and would likely embarrass himself and the president if he ran, Debenetti reports. Biden hemmed and hawed around a decision. But when he ultimately chose not to run, he separated himself from Obama by offering praise and private counsel to Clinton's opponent, Sanders. After Biden met with the Vermont senator during the primary, he told an aide: "At least he gets it." Biden "saw [the Sanders campaign] as an opportunity to really test Hillary and to really make sure that her campaign was being pressured, but also a way to make clear that he was independent from Obama," Debenetti told us. "Obama, at that point, didn't really get the Bernie phenomenon and didn't for quite some time." It ended up being the low point of the Biden-Obama relationship and a topic that the two still avoid. Even so, Obama's skepticism of Biden's presidential aspirations carried through into the 2020 cycle, when many of his aides went to work for other candidates. "Obama had whispered to friends that he strongly doubted Biden could create the kind of inspiring connection with the first-to-vote Iowans and New Hampshirites that Obama once had, and which he would need to seriously compete," Debenetti writes. Biden, in the end, badly lost both those states only to turn around his candidacy in South Carolina, in part due to Biden's relationship with Obama. In the book, Debenetti recalls how Biden made a show to whomever was around during the 2020 campaign of reading the latest article about Obama world being interested in other candidates like PETE BUTTIGIEG or BETO O'ROURKE. (According to Debenetti, Obama himself was also skeptical of Buttigieg's prospects because of both his youth and that he was too short.) Tensions have continued into the Biden presidency, often playing out in the background. Biden and his inner circle have been prickly about the idea that his administration is an Obama restoration or serves as an Obama third term, even though Biden has fed this narrative by hiring many of his former boss's senior aides. "The idea that he's simply there to clean up the Trump mess, restore the Obama years and move things a little bit forward, goes against the way he thinks about change-making and the way that he thinks about the presidency and his presidency, in the arc of history," Debenetti told West Wing Playbook. "It's not a lie that he reads Irish poetry and thinks in these grand historic terms." MESSAGE US — Are you DAVID SIMAS? We want to hear from you and we may publish your response tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.   A message from Walmart: At Walmart, we're supporting associates' careers in every stage of life. We believe that hiring and promotions should be based on a collection of skills, experiences and attributes, whether acquired on the job, through military and volunteer service, or degrees and certificates. 75% of store, club and distribution center management started as hourly associates and over 135,000 associates were promoted last year. See how we're creating a path for everyone.   POTUS PUZZLER With the White House Historical Association  During which presidency was the North Portico added to the White House? (Answer at the bottom.) Cartoon of the Week Cartoon by John Darkow | Courtesy TGIF. It's cartoon feature time! This one's by JOHN DARKOW. Our very own MATT WUERKER also publishes a selection of cartoons from all over the country. View the cartoon carousel here. The Oval RYAN WATCH: Rep. TIM RYAN joined Biden on Friday when the president visited Ohio to tout his legislative victories, including the CHIPS act and the infrastructure package. But Ryan, a Democrat who's running for the state's open Senate seat, hasn't exactly cozied up to the president. He dodged a question a day earlier from a local NBC affiliate asking whether Biden should run again. "Democrats, Republicans — we need new leadership on both sides," he said. And in another chat with reporters on Friday, Ryan dodged again, pointing out Biden promised in his 2020 run that he would "be a bridge to the next generation." Running for reelection in 2024, he said, was Biden's choice. This isn't the first time in recent weeks that Ryan has distanced himself from the president. Following Biden's student loan forgiveness announcement last month, Ryan said that "waiving debt for those already on a trajectory to financial security sends the wrong message to the millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet." BIDEN TO BRITAIN: Biden said today that he will head to the U.K. for Queen Elizabeth's funeral, a date which has yet to be released. Speaking to reporters at his event in Ohio, the president said he didn't know the details, but planned to attend. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ : Power semiconductor maker Wolfspeed announced on Friday that it plans to build a chip manufacturing plant in North Carolina. This comes just weeks after the company's CEO attended the White House signing of the CHIPS act and said Wolfspeed would apply for a federal grant linked to the law. White House chief of staff RON KLAIN was very happy about the announcement: He re-tweeted multiple posts about the plant's construction. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ: The White House has proudly touted the federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans in the Inflation Reduction Act. But while consumers who begin signing up in November may get federal government assistance to keep premium costs low, the Wall Street Journal is out with a story today that notes that "small employers are likely to face the brunt of higher rates because they don't get similar government help, according to health-insurance specialists." MEA CULPA, WEDDING BELLS EDITION: In yesterday's West Wing Playbook about NAOMI BIDEN's wedding, we wrote that the upcoming ceremony would be the first on the White House grounds since 1971 when RICHARD NIXON's daughter TRICIA was married. That was incorrect: According to the White House Historical Association , there have been at least two such weddings since then: Former White House photographer PETE SOUZA and ANTHONY RODHAM, Hillary Clinton's brother, both got married on the White House grounds.   HAPPENING 9/29 - POLITICO'S AI & TECH SUMMIT : Technology is constantly evolving and so are the politics and policies shaping and regulating it. Join POLITICO for the 2022 AI & Tech summit to get an insider look at the pressing policy and political issues shaping tech, and how Washington interacts with the tech sector. The summit will bring together lawmakers, federal regulators, tech executives, tech policy experts and consumer advocates to dig into the intersection of tech, politics, regulation and innovation, and identify opportunities, risks and challenges ahead. REGISTER FOR THE SUMMIT HERE.     Filling the Ranks FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: LINDA SHIM, special assistant to the president for economic agency personnel in the Presidential Personnel Office, is leaving the White House later this month, two people familiar with the matter told DANIEL LIPPMAN. She's been with the Biden White House since nearly the beginning and is the former chief of staff for Rep. JUDY CHU (D-Calif.). She is being replaced by NAMRATA MUJUMDAR, currently lead for policy outreach for the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund at the Treasury Department. She is an alum of former Ohio Gov. TED STRICKLAND and worked at the Treasury in the Obama administration. More White House personnel scooplets from Lippman: REBECCA KASPER has started as special assistant to the president for climate and science agency personnel. She most recently worked in congressional affairs at the Interior Department and is a Biden campaign alum. CHRISTIANA HO has been detailed to the White House to be adviser to deputy chief of staff JEN O'MALLEY DILLON. She most recently served as the special assistant to Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM.  SYDNEY HARVEY is now special assistant to the Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator MITCH LANDRIEU. She most recently was executive assistant/legislative aide for Rep. TOM SUOZZI (D-N.Y.).   A message from Walmart:   Agenda Setting TRADE OBJECTIVES JUST DROPPED: On Friday, the Biden administration unveiled its negotiating objectives for the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework agreement with 13 other countries. Each objective is focused on four separate "pillars" of the negotiation — trade, supply chain, clean energy and the economy. Our DOUG PALMER has more for Pro. What We're Reading Biden says queen 'defined an era.' For a proud Irishman, it's complicated. (WaPo's Matt Viser) US Speeds Plan for New Armored Vehicle and Sends Older Models to Ukraine (Bloomberg's Anthony Capaccio and Roxana Tiron) White House making preparations for Biden to attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral (CNN's Kevin Liptak) What We're Watching Vice President KAMALA HARRIS on Meet The Press with CHUCK TODD on Sunday at 9 a.m. U.S. Ambassador to the UK JANE HARTLEY on Fox News Sunday at 9 a.m.   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     The Oppo Book Back when climate envoy JOHN KERRY served as a U.S. senator for Massachusetts, he was single briefly before marrying his wife TERESA HEINZ. Those days as a single man in the spotlight, he conceded, were tough. "Those were not good days, is all I can say," he told GQ in an interview back in 2004. "I think if you ask anyone, [former Nebraska Senator] BOB KERREY, or anyone who's been single on Capitol Hill, you'll find it's no fun." Kerry didn't clarify why it's no fun, but added "everyone wants a piece of you, and all I can say is, thank God I found Teresa." POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER The North Portico was built during President ANDREW JACKSON's administration from 1829-1830, after architect JAMES HOBAN finished rebuilding the White House in 1817. The White House was burned during the British invasion in 1814 and required major repairs. A CALL OUT — Do you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents with a citation and we may feature it. Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.   A message from Walmart: At Walmart, we believe in creating career growth & opportunity for associates at all levels. Working at Walmart provides a path for everyone to unlock their potential, drive their purpose-driven career and enjoy the great benefits and wages that come with the job: ● Approximately 75% of store, club and supply chain management started as hourly associates ● We pay 100% of college tuition and offer skills and leadership training ● Through our College2Career program, recent grads and students close to graduating can learn in store operations ● The Home Office Immersion program leads to new careers for frontline associates ● Find-A-Future helps veterans and military spouses achieve their goals Whether it's a first job, next step or second career, there is a path of opportunity here. Learn more about Walmart's commitment to career-driven training.     Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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