On Tweety - why is Obama's staff so ANGRY about Biden's

[gateley]

MTP comment?

* It's a tight run ship and they look at the long picture. This week wasn't supposed to be about marriage equality.

* One of the reporters said that although they're saying Obama was going to come out in support before the Convention, that was the first he'd heard of it. That his sense was the staff felt that they'd missed the opportunity about six months ago, and now felt they should maybe wait until after the election.

* They've hired a new Biden press guy who is a close friend of Jim Messina.

From Day One, their derision and dismissal of Biden has pissed me off. As Tweety said, 99% of Biden's life is "how can I help my friend Barack Obama?".

I get the sense his staff (Obama's) looks at Joe as a thorn in their side. Throwing a wrench into their schedule.

I think Joe's done an outstanding Job of being a mouth for the Administration, and RARELY has he gone off the rails. In this instance, I think Joe answered Gregory's question honestly and because he felt it is the RIGHT thing to do.

[magical thyme]

1. if they're truly angry, then they're stupid

the timing -- just ahead of the Mitt shit -- couldn't have been better.

[gateley]

3. Yeah, I'm thinking in the long run they'll look back and thank Joe for

his statement. Obama's certainly taking advantage of it.

But it's their attitude toward Joe and their willingness to discuss it with the Press that just fries me.

[PatSeg]

2. I think at this point,

it is more Obama's staff that has a problem with Biden, not so much Obama. I don't think these people know how to handle a politician like Joe Biden who is more honest than most. I wonder what they wanted him to say to David Gregory - lie?

[gateley]

4. I agree -- the staff, not Obama himself.

Did you see it, Pat?

[PatSeg]

5. Not yet

I have MSNBC on delay, so Hardball just started for me.

I also think there is a generational thing going on in the White House and some people might see Biden as too "old school", even though that old school is an asset for anyone who needs to deal with congress and world leaders.

[gateley]

7. I think that's an excellent point! nt

[Pirate Smile]

16. I've heard them say that the Obama & Hillary staffs had problems with each other/hung

onto their perceived grievances from the primary fight long after the principals let it go. It was harder for them for some reason.

[gateley]

20. They each viewed the other as The Enemy for so long -- and both sides were so

passionate. And it got to be pretty harsh.

[Pirate Smile]

23. Yep. Sometimes it is easier to forgive someone for doing something to you individually then it is to

Last edited Fri May 11, 2012, 08:23 PM - Edit history (1)

forgive them for doing something to someone you love. (I think we can safely say the close, long-term staff people for both Barack & Hillary love them).

[gateley]

29. Agree. nt

[unblock]

6. you don't have to lie to avoid answering a question.

[Jennicut]

8. Yeah, you just have to be a coward.

I find Biden's honesty refreshing. And on gay marriage, I don't want hemming and hawing. If Biden being honest forced Obama into having to finally come out for gay marriage then so be it. I like Obama but it was about time he did.

[Pirate Smile]

31. See - that impression is why they got pissed. They say it is inaccurate and it elevates

Biden over Obama.

[unblock]

37. it's not honesty, it's undisciplined headline-stealing.

if biden and obama were just ordinary senators, then yeah, sure, his candor is great and if he forced an issue center stage that needed attention, then great.

but biden is obama's cheerleader-in-chief, and if they had a schedule for obama making an announcement at some other time, then biden was acting unilaterally against the plan.


now, if he was pissed with the obama team for planning on burying this issue until after the election, and knowingly did this to force the issue as a matter of principle, that's one thing.

if he just let it slip because he has no discipline, that's another.

but it's not a matter of courage or candor, it's a matter of pushing your own agenda at your own timing or letting the president push his agenda at his timing.



for the record, if this is what happened, then i'm very glad he did it.

[GoCubsGo]

9. Are they really angry?

Or, is this really just a bit of minor grumbling that is being blown out of proportion? Which reporter is basing this on "his sense"? I smell bullshit.

[gateley]

21. Tweety had a couple of reporters on (One from the NYT, the other from WaPo) and

Tweety said he'd read in their, and other, articles, that "anonymous" people in Obama's staff were ticked off at Biden. Neither would name their sources, of course, but I believed them. And they weren't the only ones reporting the rumblings. It was Tweety who decided to pursue this.

[kysrsoze]

24. Obviously b/c Obama was forced to take one even remotely lib stance.

Good for Biden. I've always liked him, now even more so.

[GoCubsGo]

26. Ah, the "anonymous sources".

They refuse to name names? Perhaps that's because if they did, the "names" would say they were full of shit? Again, I smell bullshit. I think this "anger" is an invention of the media. Conflict makes a great story, and if there is none there, they'll just go and invent it.

[fishwax]

10. were they not expecting the issue to come up in a Meet the Press interview, given the timing?

Romney had caused something of a kerfluffle three or four days before by forcing out his openly-gay foreign policy spokesman, and the interview was set to air three days before the North Carolina vote on Amendment One. It's pretty bizarre if they were shocked that such a question would arise.

And as for the answer--well, it wasn't exactly radical. Biden was asked if he was "comfortable" with marriage equality and he said yes. He made clear that the president sets policy, that he couldn't speak to whether the administration's approach to policy would change, but that he was comfortable with gay people having equal rights. Hardly a gaffe.

[PatSeg]

12. It definitely didn't sound like a gaffe

He spoke carefully and deliberately, and was clear that it was his personal perspective.

I'm beginning to think the Obama staff "outrage" is just for the media, so it doesn't look like Obama waited too long to speak out on gay marriage.

[monmouth]

15. I think you nailed it. This was well orchestrated and a great performance by all..n/t

[PatSeg]

18. Hi!

[monmouth]

22. Hi Pat..

[Exultant Democracy]

11. Unfortunatly I think they have a point, the timing is questionable

I think that we can take it as a given that the Obama team had the Romney story in the tank ready to go and that they pulled it out to act as a counterpoint to Obama's announcement. I also think that many of agree that it turned out to be a real master stroke they may win more then just one news cycle.

If we take the first two as a given then conventional thinking would favor saving this for closer to the election when the resulting bump from the story would make bigger difference.

[Vattel]

34. How is it a given that the Obama team had the Romney story in the tank?

It was a Washington Post story. Are you saying that the Obama team fed the story to the Post?

[Exultant Democracy]

38. Absolutly without question that is exactly what happened.

[Pirate Smile]

13. What I read was that they are pissed that Joe made it look like he pressured Obama into doing

it. Joe's role is being used to diminish the real risk President Obama is taking by doing this right now, during an election year. It is kind of joke now - I saw it on twitter - 'what should Joe say now to pressure Obama - pot legalization, get out of Afghanistan immediately - yuk yuk'.

The one other thing i read was that Joe voted for DOMA and had argued for the President not to come out in support of marriage equality earlier because it could hurt with white Catholics in the Rust Belt. So it pissed them off for him to jump out there and make himself look like the hero and like the President was following when he had argued for caution.

That was the best explanation I saw for it but, clearly, now, they just need to shut up.

At least those reasons make sense to me.

[Egalitarian Thug]

14. Easy. His statement forced the issue and left little wiggle room. n/t

[backscatter712]

17. Sounds like the media's trying to amp up the drama. n/t

[GoCubsGo]

27. Yep.

Nobody seems to want to tell us which staffers are "angry". I'm willing to bet there are some who are mildly annoyed, but I doubt anyone is really pissed off about this. Especially since the President was going to eventually come out and state his opinion anyway. My bet is that they anticipated the outcome of the NC vote, and that Biden's pronouncement was just the set-up.

[Capt. Obvious]

19. Biden was the canary in the coal mine

He survived.

The "so angry" is overblown. It's just a show to tamp down speculation that Biden was the trial balloon.

There's crazy Joe going all loose cannon again.

[panader0]

25. I think the timing was very good.

Plenty of time before the election to let this uproar die, and the understanding that this is a civil rights issue to take hold.

[Whisp]

28. I like Joe, and so does Obama

I think all this internal wot wot against Biden is either made up or just plain stupid.

[Swede]

30. The old "some people are saying" routine.

[gateley]

33. I actually believe it. The publications are legit and these reporters have cultivated

sources who, naturally, only spill the beans if they can remain anonymous.

It really just sounds like bellyaching, and I can understand their frustration if a wrench was thrown into the works of their timetable. It's just that I'm hyper-sensitive when it comes to Biden and my hackles went up at what I see as disrespect.

[Canuckistanian]

32. It was serendipitous timing, though

I don't think WH staffers have anything to worry about. And if they're still bitching, explain to them that politics is sometimes sheer unexpected results.

[boxman15]

35. Obama's political advisors might see Biden that way.

They run a tight ship, and like Obama, they always look at the big picture, not the short-term outlooks.

Biden, for better or worse, is an off-the-cuff kind of person. He'll say what he believes no matter what. That has its advantages and its political disadvantages as well. That probably makes the Obama election people nervous.

However, from what I've seen, Obama sees Biden as a huge asset. He relies on him, according to various accounts, to keep him honest. His advisors always calculate the politics of it all, but Biden tells it like it is. He's a huge help for the president and he puts the pressure on him from the left, as does Michelle Obama. Plus, he's been a huge asset when it comes to the Afghanistan war and touting his successes (think "Bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive&quot .

I'm glad he's Obama's VP, that's for sure.

[Broderick]

36. They should be kissing his feet for the

unexpected fundraising boon. And the publicity which seems so favorable in the media.