Advertisement
1 The Boss
President Obama has woven three different camps
into his inner circle: old hands from his Chicago days, legislative
pros with ties to Tom Daschle, and veterans of Bill Clinton's White
House. His first-floor seating arrangement includes elements of all
three.
2 The Brain
David Axelrod, who ran the president's campaign,
sits even closer to Obama than Rove did to Bush; he is the only
senior adviser with his own door to Obama's office. "It conveys
that Axelrod is involved not only in communicating the president's
positions but in formulating them," says a top veteran of the Obama
campaign.
3 The Invisible Man
Pete Rouse, another senior adviser, never appears
in the media. An ex-chief of staff to Tom Daschle, he maintains
deep, bipartisan connections on Capitol Hill. "Rouse's the one who
brought 'no drama' to Obama," says a top Democratic strategist.
"His enforcement makes it work."
4 The Glue
As chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel unites Obama's
team: He's Axelrod's best friend, a Capitol hill pro and the only
top adviser who served in the Clinton White House. Obama gives him
first and last word at staff meetings and entrusted him to shepherd
the stimulus package.
5 The Ear
Vice President Joe Biden, who occupies Cheney's
old office, has a weekly lunch with Obama. "I want to be the last
guy in the room on every important decision," he says. But insiders
say his clout may be undercut by special envoys abroad and issue
"czars" at home.
Advertisement
6 The General
A low-profile former NATO commander, Gen. James L.
Jones met Obama only twice before being tapped as a
national security adviser. He will be the primary conduit of
security information to Obama and is charged with reinventing hte
National Security Council to encompass issues such as energy,
climate and cybersecurity.
7 The Spokesman
Press secretary Robert Gibbs, who has worked for
Obama since his 2004 Senate run, is "one of four or five guys who
can walk into the president's office and sit in on meetings where
every big decision is being made," says a Democrat in the know. The
downside: Gibbs can't play Scott McLellan-dumb and tell reporters,
"I don't know."
8 The Cabinet
Three members have already emerged as key players. Attorney
General Eric Holder operates with Obama's full
trust and few rivals. Treasury secretary Tim
Geithner holds enormous sway over the bailout. And
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, never one to
be counted out, is fighting a turf war with Geithner, expanding her
portfolio to include China.
9 The Body Man
Other than Obama's secretary, no one sits closer to the president
than Reggie Love, the former Duke basketball
player who serves as his personal assistant and workout buddy. Love
bought Obama an iPod and loaded it with Jay-Z. "There's no doubt
that Reggie is cooler than I am," the president says.
Advertisement
Upstairs
The second floor of the West Wing includes several of Obama's
closest personal confidants, including deputy counsel
Cassandra Butts and senior adviser Valerie
Jarrett, who helped Obama put together his White House
team. "I trust her completely," the president says. The office
above the first-floor room is also home to Larry
Summers (left), director of the National Economic Council,
whose influence on the stimulus package has made him one of the
WEst Wing's most powerful players. He has already openly flouted
the "no drama" rule by feuding with other economic advisers.
Downstairs
The ground floor was supposed to have been headquarters for Tom
Daschle (left), the only Cabinet nominee to be given an office in
the West Wing. "Daschle got that office not just because he's a
wily infighter who knows that physical proximity means influence,"
says a top Democrat. "He was an important sounding board and even
mentor to Obama. His loss is massive. He provided an extraordinary
sense of ballast to the place." Also missing from the West Wing is
Carol Browner, Obama's ultimate czar, who has been
dispatched to a room in the Old Executive Office Building next door
to the White House.
[From Issue 1073 — March 5, 2009]
Related Stories:
- More from Issue 1073
- Barack Obama in Rolling Stone
- National Affairs Blog: All the News that Fits From the Beltway and Beyond