Photo: Chris Battle
This is a fascinating and entertaining story by Chris Battle in U.S. News, Politics and Policy, published August 10, 2010. In this article, Battle imagines what a strategy meeting might be like with these Democrat leaders assembled in one room: Obama,Emanuel, Axelrod, Gibbs, Pelosi, Reid, and GM CEO Edward Whitacre.
For the full story, click here.
Here's an exerpt:
"...One can only imagine the political theater occurring in the White House as Democratic leaders try to map a winning political formula for the midterm elections:
President Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Senior Adviser David Axelrod, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid, and GM CEO Edward Whitacre gather in the Oval Office. Obama in shirtsleeves with his feet up, tie loose. The rest sit stiffly in chairs.
Obama (sighing): “Tell me again why Ed Whitacre is here?”
Emanuel: “He reports to you as much as any of the rest of us, sir. We own the [expletive].”
Axelrod: “We’ve got to pull a Clinton, show the American people that we feel their pain. GM’s our ticket.”
Emanuel: “What the [expletive] does that [expletive] mean?”
Reid: “It means, have you seen the unemployment rate in Nevada? It means, have you noticed that I’m about to lose my job to a right-wing crackpot?”
Axelrod: “We’ve got to show that the billions and billions--”
Pelosi (clapping her hands): “And billions and billions!”
Axelrod: “--we’re spending is actually doing something to turn the economy around.”
There's much, much more. Enjoy this great read by Chris Battle.
Editor's Note:
Chris Battle is a partner at Adfero Group, a public relations firm in Washington, DC. He is also the editor of Security Debrief, a blog focused on homeland and national security issues. Previously, Battle served as chief of staff at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and director of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Prior to that, he was a staffer on Capitol Hill, managed political campaigns, and worked as a political and editorial writer at daily newspapers.
