Obama’s favorite city, forgotten

The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing.

Sep 12, 2023 View in browser   By Adam Wren, Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Lawrence Ukenye Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren The last time PETE BUTTIGIEG made the trek to Elkhart, Ind., on behalf of a White House was in 2016, when he was the mayor of South Bend, a city 15 miles west. On that day, Buttigieg greeted BARACK OBAMA on an airport tarmac in South Bend before the then-president visited the city for something of a victory lap. Obama had made Elkhart, the RV capital of the world, an emblem of his economic agenda. The city was the site of his first official domestic travel in 2009 just weeks into his first administration, as well as an August 2008 town hall. At the time, the then-ailing manufacturing hub had seen its unemployment rate spike to 20 percent. No one was buying an RV during the Great Recession. By Obama's second visit, the rate had declined to 4 percent. Elkhart, however, never rewarded Obama with actual votes. The city, like the state, moved progressively more Republican during his time in office. And nearly three years into his presidency, JOE BIDEN has not visited the place even though, by last February, Elkhart had the nation's lowest employment rate: below 1 percent (as of July, unemployment had ticked up to 5.2 percent). Biden’s Cabinet has largely ignored it, too. Until late last month. That’s when Buttigieg, now Transportation secretary, stepped into a black government-issued SUV after landing in Chicago, made a stop in nearby Gary to talk about its airport upgrades, and hurtled back to Elkhart to tout a "manufacturing renaissance in the industrial Midwest." "I think it's really important to demonstrate what this historically low unemployment means, especially in manufacturing centers," Buttigieg told West Wing Playbook in an exclusive interview as he rode to the city. "So everybody gets that when there's a good economy, the finance centers in the country tend to do well. But the real mark of a good economy is whether it's working in places that have been through big ups and downs. And that's certainly true for Elkhart." Standing at a train depot, Buttigieg rattled off a litany of multimillion- and billion-dollar projects coming to the region. It’s part of a larger case the administration is making that its investments into chips, batteries, clean energy and infrastructure are responsible for a manufacturing boom benefitting red states like Indiana. Even Republican Sen. TODD YOUNG said the Biden administration deserves some “credit” for the trend. "They also, of course, should receive some measure of credit for the electric vehicle infrastructure that we're seeing built around the state of Indiana," he told West Wing Playbook this week. Elkhart has been a prop for Democratic and Republican administrations alike. Following Obama's stops, DONALD TRUMP visited in May 2018 to argue that "jobs are booming." That's because RV sales have become a sensitive indicator for the economy's health: Good times mean luxury good purchases. And workers in Elkhart and the surrounding region produce more than 87 percent of RVs in the U.S. and Canada, according to the RV Industry Association. In his remarks at the depot, Buttigieg nodded to "the RV economy now that creates so many jobs." Why Biden hasn’t taken the pilgrimage that Buttigieg did and that Obama made several times is a topic of some speculation in the area. MICHAEL HICKS, an economist and the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, predicted that it was something he would do. "This industry tends to be the real canary in the coalmine for a recession,” Hicks said, adding: "The reluctance of the industry to lay off its workers, I think, is a pretty good sign that they expect a recovery in the next couple of years." Hicks said Elkhart is a picture in miniature of the paradox of the Biden economy, one in which a lot of discussion and concern centers around inflation, though the long-term, historical trends are far better. He said Biden could do well to visit Elkhart next spring when RV shipments are expected to again increase — a sign, Hicks said, that the president and his policies helped forestall a long-forecasted recession. Buttigieg, for his part, said he thought Biden would be "well-received" in Elkhart and added that Biden would continue to visit manufacturing-rich locations. "We've gone from a manufacturing recession under the previous administration to a manufacturing boom in this one," Buttigieg said. "And we're just getting warmed up." MESSAGE US — Are you ROD ROBERSON, mayor of Elkhart? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!    GO INSIDE THE WORLD’S BIGGEST DIPLOMATIC PLATFORM WITH UNGA PLAYBOOK: The 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly will jam some of the world's most influential leaders into four city blocks in Manhattan. POLITICO's special edition UNGA Playbook will take you inside this important gathering starting Sept. 17 — revealing newsy nuggets throughout the week and insights into the most pressing issues facing global decision-makers today. Sign up for UNGA Playbook.     POTUS PUZZLER What was RONALD REAGAN’s nickname as a child? (Answer at bottom.) The Oval HERE. WE. GO: House Speaker KEVIN MCCARTHY on Tuesday called on his conference’s committees to launch an impeachment inquiry against Biden, our SARAH FERRIS and JORDAIN CARNEY report. The probe, which has long been floated by McCarthy and some of the House’s most conservative members, could draw pushback from centrist Republicans who represent districts Biden won in 2020. The White House press shop wasted no time in slamming McCarthy’s move. Communications director BEN LABOLT called out the speaker for unilaterally launching an inquiry despite telling Breitbart earlier this month that a probe would involve taking a floor vote. Oversight and investigations spokesperson IAN SAMS also criticized McCarthy for reversing course on comments he made in 2019 during former President Donald Trump’s impeachment probe about the need for a full vote. Read more here on how the White House is not sweating it from our own JONATHAN LEMIRE and SAM STEIN. SHOW. ME. THE. MONEY: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS will travel Wednesday to Chicago to motivate donors amid the latest polling that suggests Americans that don’t hold favorable views of Biden's performance, Axios’ HANS NICHOLS reports. Although the president’s campaign believes it can raise more than $1 billion, getting donations early could allow for extensive ground operations, while contributions that come later in the race would be allocated towards TV ads, Nichols reports. The campaign believes they’ll also haul in healthy third-quarter donation figures, which ends on Sept. 30. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by the Washington Post’s JOSH ROGIN which touts Harris’ continued trips to southeast Asia and her overall contributions to advancing the administration’s foreign policy. Rogin writes that while news coverage has been primarily focused on visits by Cabinet officials to China, Harris’ engagements have been more productive despite the lack of attention. “We cannot have any credibility if we don’t have some level of profound and sincere interest and therefore knowledge about what is happening in other countries,” Harris told Rogin in an interview in Jakarta. Harris’ press secretary KIRSTEN ALLEN posted this piece. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by our ADAM CANCRYN about how Biden’s pandemic-era policies aimed at curbing poverty are set to expire, representing a crippling blow for his “Bidenomics” message. The provisions, which totaled $2 trillion, helped cut the country’s poverty rate by 5 percent and led to a historic reduction in the number of children experiencing poverty. Despite the success of the programs, fears of rising inflation led the administration to concentrate on reining in high prices and reducing government debt. “The gloomier situation for those at the lowest rungs offers a fresh window into the quandary facing Biden as he ramps up a reelection campaign centered on a story of economic revival,” Adam writes. THE BUREAUCRATS END OF THE LINE: BHARAT RAMAMURTI plans to leave the White House at the end of the month after serving longer than any member of Biden’s National Economic Council, the New York Times' JIM TANKERSLEY reports. Ramamurti, who served as deputy director, was a key architectect of many of the president’s economic priorities including legislation on manufacturing, infrastructure and clean energy. He also helped craft many of the administration's student debt relief proposals, including the president’s plan to forgive $10,000 for lower-income and middle-class borrowers. TWO L’s FOR DENIS: Veterans Affairs Secretary DENIS MCDONOUGH tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday night, our MARCIA BROWN reports. He told attendees at the Veteran Food Security Summit in Crystal City, Va., that he was experiencing mild symptoms during a cooking competition with Agriculture Secretary TOM VILSACK. McDonough beamed into the contest virtually while his press secretary carried the VA team. Vilsack prevailed in that duel, which featured ingredients for corn and bean salad, though he alleged the judges were conspiring to ensure his defeat. Frankly, everyone loses when the goal is corn and bean salad. IT WAS A GOOD RUN: Our own bureaucrat, ELI STOKOLS, has informed us that he is tendering his resignation as his dream job — TAYLOR SWIFT correspondent — has officially opened. A deep knowledge of Swift’s oeuvre was not listed as a requirement, so he might have an outside shot. Agenda Setting THE NEXT HIGHER ED BATTLEGROUND: Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA is gearing up to take on elite universities' use of legacy admissions to select applicants as higher education continues to reel from the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action. Now that the decades-old requirement is gone, the administration plans to be even more adamant that colleges scrap legacy preferences that favor children of alumni or relatives of wealthy donors. Our BIANCA QUILANTAN has the details. AI GUARDRAILS: IBM, Adobe and Salesforce are among the notable tech firms now joining the White House’s agreement with companies like Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI to prioritize security and transparency in their use of artificial intelligence, Axios’ INA FRIED reports. The non-binding commitments — which were agreed upon in July — push companies to test products before they’re released and advocate for firms to watermark AI-generated content. What We're Reading Is Biden Too Old to Run Again? We Asked People Born on His Exact Birthday (WSJ's Andrew Restuccia) Why Biden isn’t getting a credible primary challenger (Vox's Andrew Prokop) Tim Scott’s girlfriend (WaPo’s Ben Terris) The Oppo Book AMBER MACDONALD, former speechwriter for first lady JILL BIDEN, previously worked as a clown and birthday party princess while pursuing her dream of becoming an actor in Los Angeles. "There’s nothing like walking into a room dressed as Cinderella and having 20 5-year-olds rush you and tell you that they love you," she told Shondaland's VALENTINA VALENTINI. "It’s a great ego boost." After Macdonald realized she wasn't going to be famous (her words, not ours) she began working for then-California Assemblymember BOB BLUMENFIELD, which allowed her to combine her passion for playwriting with her eventual career in speechwriting. "I finally began to realize how many speeches he had to be giving, and that really, speeches are just playwriting for one person," she said. POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER His first nickname was “Dutch,” given to him by his father because when he was a young boy, his father remarked that his haircut made him look like a “fat little Dutchman.” Thanks to the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute for this question! A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it! Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.   JOIN 9/19 FOR A TALK ON BUILDING THE NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY: The United States is undergoing a generational economic transformation, with a renewed bipartisan emphasis on manufacturing. Join POLITICO on Sept. 19th for high-level conversations that examine the progress and chart the next steps in preserving America’s economic preeminence, driving innovation and protecting jobs. REGISTER HERE.       Follow us on Twitter Eli Stokols @EliStokols Lauren Egan @Lauren_V_Egan Lawrence Ukenye @Lawrence_Ukenye   Follow us

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