As The White House Tries To Spin “Confidence Men,” They Conveniently Forget Their Role In Creating It

OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION COOPERATED WITH SUSKIND “FOR YEARS” ON THE BOOK

The Book Is A “Self-Inflicted” Wound Since “Suskind Received Extensive Cooperation From High Levels Of The Administration,” Including From Obama Himself. “And this wound was self-inflicted. Suskind received extensive cooperation from high levels of the administration — including a 50-minute Oval Office interview with the president — in reporting the book, which will be published Tuesday by Harper Collins but was obtained by POLITICO and several other news organizations.” (Mike Allen, “WH Pushes back Hard At Suskind,” Politico, 9/17/11)

• “Suskind Also Interviewed Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner And A Host Of Current And Former Obama Aides.” (Mike Allen, “WH Pushes Back Hard At Suskind,” Politico, 9/17/11)
  
• “Suskind Writes In A ‘Sources’ Section: ‘746 Hours Of Interviews Were Conducted With More Than 200 Individuals.’” (Mike Allen, “W.H. Pushes Back Hard At Suskind,” Politico 9/17/11)

The White House Cooperated With Ron Suskind “For Years.” “Despite having cooperated with author Ron Suskind for years, White House officials today attacked him and disputed the veracity of his book ‘Confidence Men’, which portrays a meek President Obama being rolled by his economic advisers.” (Jake Tapper, “White House Officials Attack Book, Author, With Whom They Cooperated,” ABC News’ “Political Punch,” 9/19/11)

Many Of The Stories In Suskind’s Book Have Been Verified By Other News Outlets. “That said, many of the other stories in the book have been verified by ABC News.” (Jake Tapper, “White House Officials Attack Book, Author, With Whom They Cooperated,” ABC News’ “Political Punch,” 9/19/11)

IT’S NOT SUSKIND’S FAULT THAT WHAT THE BOOK REVEALED IS NOT THE MOST FLATTERING IMAGE OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

Exposing Obama’s “Dysfunctional” Economic Team

Suskind’s New Book “Paints An Unflattering Portrait Of A Dysfunctional And Acrimonious” Obama White House. “Obama administration officials scrambled Friday to hunt down copies of a new book scheduled to be released next week that paints an unflattering portrait of a dysfunctional and acrimonious White House that sometimes stymied President Obama’s effort to rescue the country’s economy.” (Peter Wallsten and Zachary Goldfard, “Book Portrays Dysfunction In Obama White House,” The Washington Post, 9/16/11) 

Suskind Cites “Plenty Of Infighting Within The Obama Economic Team.” “The book cited plenty of infighting within the Obama economic team as it grappled with the financial meltdown, the recession, the stimulus bill, health care, and new Wall Street regulations — dissension that doubtless contributed to Obama’s frustration about communication.” (David Jackson, “Obama Talks About Communications Problems,” USA Today, 9/17/11)

In Book, Former Economic Advisor Larry Summers Said, “There’s No Adult In Charge. Clinton Would Never Have Made These Mistakes.” (Mike Allen, “WH Pushes Back Hard At Suskind,” Politico, 9/17/11)

And The Lack Of “Inspiration” Obama’s Economic Policies Inspired

Obama Told Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi On A Conference Call That The “Stimulus Needs More Inspiration!” “On a conference call with Nancy Pelosi’s office, he pushed for the very ‘inspiration’ he had deliberately withheld the day before. ‘This stimulus needs more inspiration!’ he shouted into the speakerphone. Pelosi and her staff visibly rolled their eyes.” (Ron Suskind, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, And The Education Of A President, 2011)

“After The Stimulus Bill Was Passed In February 2009, Little Else Happened On The Jobs Front For A Year And A Half.” (Ron Suskind, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, And The Education Of A President, 2011)

Obama White House Internal Projections For Unemployment In 2010 Was An Average Rate Of 9.8 Percent. “The administration undershot the crisis, convincing itself by the summer of 2009 that the economy had turned the corner and, at the same time, recognizing that it would be a jobless recovery of stunning disparities, with restored GDP growth alongside fast-rising unemployment. In fact, internal administration projections in June 2009, when unemployment was at 8 percent, noted that joblessness would average a whopping 9.8 percent in 2010.” (Ron Suskind, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, And The Education Of A President, 2011)

• Obama’s Economic Advisors Crafted A Stimulus Bill They Predicted Would Keep Unemployment Below Eight Percent. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,” 1/9/09)
• Obama Released A Graph So “The American People Can See Exactly What This Plan Will Mean For Their Families, Their Communities, And Our Economy.” “I asked my nominee for Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Christina Romer, and the Vice President-Elect’s Chief Economic Adviser, Dr. Jared Bernstein, to conduct a rigorous analysis of this plan and come up with projections of how many jobs it will create – and what kind of jobs they will be. Today, I am releasing a report of their findings so that the American people can see exactly what this plan will mean for their families, their communities, and our economy.” (President-Elect Barack Obama, The President Elect’s Radio Address, 1/10/09)

And Revealing That Obama’s White House Is A “Hostile” Environment For Female Officials 

According To Book, In Obama White House’s “Rough-And-Tumble Environment … Female Staff Members Often Felt Bruised.”  “In this rough-and-tumble environment, the book reports, female staff members often felt bruised. At a dinner with Mr. Obama in November 2009, several top female aides — including Anita Dunn, who was the communications director, and Christina Romer, the chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers — told the president about being talked over in meetings by male colleagues or cut out altogether.” (Mark Landler, “Book Details Dissension In Obama Economic Team,” The New York Times, 9/15/11)

Former Economic Advisor Christina Romer: “I Felt Like A Piece Of Meat.” “‘I felt like a piece of meat,’ Christina Romer, former head of the Council of Economic Advisers, said of one meeting in which Suskind writes she was ‘boxed out’ by Summers.” (Nia-Malika Henderson, “Book: Women In Obama White House Felt Excluded And Ignored,” The Washington Post, 9/16/11)

“‘The President Has A Real Woman Problem,’ An Unnamed High-Ranking Female Official Told Suskind. ‘The Idea Of The Boys’ Club Being Just Larry And Rahm Isn’t Really Fair. He [Obama] Was Just As Responsible Himself.’” (Nia-Malika Henderson, “Book: Women In Obama White House Felt Excluded And Ignored,” The Washington Post, 9/16/11)

Former Obama Communications Director Anita Dunn Called The Obama White House A “Hostile Workplace.” “‘But looking back,’ recalled Anita Dunn, when asked about it nearly two years later, ‘this place would be in court for a hostile workplace . . . Because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.’” (Ron Suskind, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, And The Education Of A President, 2011)

• Dunn: Obama’s Problems With Women Began During His 2008 Campaign. “Dunn told Suskind that the problems began during the 2008 campaign. At one point she was viewing a television ad with other campaign officials and was shocked to see no women in the spot. ‘There isn’t a single woman in this ad,’ Dunn said. ‘I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t like they were being deliberately sexist. It’s just there was no one offering a female perspective.’” (Nia-Malika Henderson and Peter Wallsten, “Book: Women In Obama White House Felt Excluded And Ignored,” The Washington Post, 9/16/11)

Anita Dunn Claimed Suskind Took Her Comments Women Out Of Context. “One of the most striking quotes in the book came from former White House communications director Anita Dunn , who was quoted as saying that, ‘this place would be in court for a hostile workplace. . . . Because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.’ Dunn says she was quoted out of context and told The Post on Friday that she told Suskind ‘point blank’ that the White House was not a hostile work environment.” (Peter Wallsten and Anne E. Kornblut, “In Early Obama White House, Female Staffers Felt Frozen Out,” The Washington Post, 9/20/11)

• But Dunn’s Comments Were Recorded, And Replayed For The Washington Post. “On Monday, Suskind allowed a Post reporter to review a recorded excerpt of the original interview, which took place over the telephone in April. In that conversation, Dunn is heard telling Suskind about a conversation she had with Jarrett. ‘I remember once I told Valerie that, I said if it weren’t for the president, this place would be in court for a hostile workplace,’ Dunn is heard telling Suskind. ‘Because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.’” (Peter Wallsten and Anne E. Kornblut, “In Early Obama White House, Female Staffers Felt Frozen Out,” The Washington Post, 9/20/11)