Reply #22: To send Obama a message that she had strong influence and should be consulted

[lunatica]

That's the way it is when a new President comes in. Everyone jockeys around to let him know who's who in the pecking order. The message is, 'this is the way it happens around her' and 'if you want me to work with you and save you the time of having to talk to everyone under me or of lesser importance than me, then you better show public respect for me'. It's a game that's older than the hills because Congress is one of three equal branches of the government. Something we do well to remember since the last 8 years were full of a concerted effort to make Bush The Unitary Executive and we all but forgot that Congress' power is equal to the Executive power and the Judicial power.