LIVE from Pittsburgh: A conversation with Valerie Jarrett, top adviser to the President
It seems hard to believe it's Saturday already, but we are indeed heading into our final day of Netroots Nation 2009 here in Pittsburgh.
Our first event for this morning is a conversation with Valerie Jarrett, facilitated by Baratunde Thurston of Jack and Jill Politics. Valerie has known the Obama family for many years and is one of the President's most trusted friends and advisers. Her official title is Senior Adviser and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Baratunde's first few questions concerned Jarrett's role in the White House, what she really does there (a lot of different things, more than her title covers, as it turns out) how it feels to work in an office used by Karl Rove (it was also used by Hillary Clinton, Jarrett said) and whether President Obama ever has any private outbursts (he gets angry, but never raises his voice, she said).
What's in like to get to work in the White House?
"There isn't a single day that I don't come to work that I don't pinch myself... about the opportunity we have to change this country," Jarrett said.
How seriously does the President take the "teabaggers"?
"There's a small segment that's trying to scare people, and I'm particularly ticked because they're trying to scare elderly people... I think it's an example of what we're fighting against." She added, "I think they underestimate the American people," noting that there have been many peaceful meetings about topics such as healthcare reform, which the media don't cover because there is no controversy.
Has ethics reform (specifically, the "revolving door" prohibitions) made it difficult to hire good people to work in the Obama administration?
Not really, according to Jarrett. They had so many applicants to choose from that they felt they were able to hire the people that they really wanted. Jarrett also explained that traditionally, lobbyists would bring their clients to the White House to introduce them to the administration; Jarrett has abolished this practice, and lobbyists aren't happy about it, to her satisfaction.
Now we're getting to the tough questions, finally... I won't cover all of them, but here's a running digest of some of them.
Will President Obama tell the Blue Dogs that they can forget about federal stimulus money in their districts if they don't sign onto healthcare reform?
Jarrett smiled as the room applauded for nearly half a minute, and then proceeded to say that that's not how President Obama operates.
The President, Jarrett says, wants the pressure on members of Congress to come from the grassroots and the netroots.
Is the President committed to a public option? Will he a veto a bill that is not built around a public option (which is what the Blue Dogs want)?
Jarrett said that she spoke to the President yesterday about this issue, knowing that she was coming to Netroots Nation, and reiterated that President Obama is firmly committed to a public option. That is what we wants. But she said talk about what the President will or won't veto is premature.
What about civil rights? Repeal of DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
Jarrett said the President is absolutely committed to repeal, and that Department of Justice memos aside, it will take acts of Congress to repeal those policies.
Baratunde moved on to the topic of economic security, wanting to know what policies the administration is seeking to prevent another Great Recession and control dangerous businesses that are irresponsible.
Jarrett said "Regulatory reform is something that we're going to be asking for your support [as it moves through Congress]." She also explicitly mentioned that the President remains committed to creating a new consumer protection agency, an idea that has faced opposition from the chiefs of the FDIC and the SEC.
Jeffrey Feldman wanted to know if the President reads blogs (and if so, which ones). And whether he owns a Mac or a PC.
Jarrett confirmed that yes, Obama, reads blogs, but she refused to identify which ones or what kind of computer he owns (state secrets, she said jokingly).
The final question Baratunde asked was what the President would request of the netroots community. The answer? To keep on doing what we're doing, basically. To soldier on as activists, building infrastructure, lobbying members of Congress, working for change. Turning ideas into policy.
"We want to harness that energy, we sense your sense of urgency. We depend upon you and your energy and your network. Stay engaged, push us, have a constructive conversation. We need you, we need you out there," Jarrett said.
Jarrett didn't say this, but I think she wanted to say that our involvement is all the more important because the grassroots force that galvanized around Obama's campaign seems to be sleeping, and the White House is having difficulty reactivating it, although Jarrett claims the administration is just getting started.
Well, we'll see. The President may need to adjust the grand strategy he's pursuing to tackle challenges like healthcare reform.
This is our biggest opportunity to get things done, but it certainly feels like we are in danger of blowing it. Jarrett may be confident in Obama's plan, but this community - not being in the position she is in - is far more anxious.
Our first event for this morning is a conversation with Valerie Jarrett, facilitated by Baratunde Thurston of Jack and Jill Politics. Valerie has known the Obama family for many years and is one of the President's most trusted friends and advisers. Her official title is Senior Adviser and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Baratunde's first few questions concerned Jarrett's role in the White House, what she really does there (a lot of different things, more than her title covers, as it turns out) how it feels to work in an office used by Karl Rove (it was also used by Hillary Clinton, Jarrett said) and whether President Obama ever has any private outbursts (he gets angry, but never raises his voice, she said).
What's in like to get to work in the White House?
"There isn't a single day that I don't come to work that I don't pinch myself... about the opportunity we have to change this country," Jarrett said.
How seriously does the President take the "teabaggers"?
"There's a small segment that's trying to scare people, and I'm particularly ticked because they're trying to scare elderly people... I think it's an example of what we're fighting against." She added, "I think they underestimate the American people," noting that there have been many peaceful meetings about topics such as healthcare reform, which the media don't cover because there is no controversy.
Has ethics reform (specifically, the "revolving door" prohibitions) made it difficult to hire good people to work in the Obama administration?
Not really, according to Jarrett. They had so many applicants to choose from that they felt they were able to hire the people that they really wanted. Jarrett also explained that traditionally, lobbyists would bring their clients to the White House to introduce them to the administration; Jarrett has abolished this practice, and lobbyists aren't happy about it, to her satisfaction.
Now we're getting to the tough questions, finally... I won't cover all of them, but here's a running digest of some of them.
Will President Obama tell the Blue Dogs that they can forget about federal stimulus money in their districts if they don't sign onto healthcare reform?
Jarrett smiled as the room applauded for nearly half a minute, and then proceeded to say that that's not how President Obama operates.
The President, Jarrett says, wants the pressure on members of Congress to come from the grassroots and the netroots.
Is the President committed to a public option? Will he a veto a bill that is not built around a public option (which is what the Blue Dogs want)?
Jarrett said that she spoke to the President yesterday about this issue, knowing that she was coming to Netroots Nation, and reiterated that President Obama is firmly committed to a public option. That is what we wants. But she said talk about what the President will or won't veto is premature.
What about civil rights? Repeal of DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
Jarrett said the President is absolutely committed to repeal, and that Department of Justice memos aside, it will take acts of Congress to repeal those policies.
Baratunde moved on to the topic of economic security, wanting to know what policies the administration is seeking to prevent another Great Recession and control dangerous businesses that are irresponsible.
Jarrett said "Regulatory reform is something that we're going to be asking for your support [as it moves through Congress]." She also explicitly mentioned that the President remains committed to creating a new consumer protection agency, an idea that has faced opposition from the chiefs of the FDIC and the SEC.
Jeffrey Feldman wanted to know if the President reads blogs (and if so, which ones). And whether he owns a Mac or a PC.
Jarrett confirmed that yes, Obama, reads blogs, but she refused to identify which ones or what kind of computer he owns (state secrets, she said jokingly).
The final question Baratunde asked was what the President would request of the netroots community. The answer? To keep on doing what we're doing, basically. To soldier on as activists, building infrastructure, lobbying members of Congress, working for change. Turning ideas into policy.
"We want to harness that energy, we sense your sense of urgency. We depend upon you and your energy and your network. Stay engaged, push us, have a constructive conversation. We need you, we need you out there," Jarrett said.
Jarrett didn't say this, but I think she wanted to say that our involvement is all the more important because the grassroots force that galvanized around Obama's campaign seems to be sleeping, and the White House is having difficulty reactivating it, although Jarrett claims the administration is just getting started.
Well, we'll see. The President may need to adjust the grand strategy he's pursuing to tackle challenges like healthcare reform.
This is our biggest opportunity to get things done, but it certainly feels like we are in danger of blowing it. Jarrett may be confident in Obama's plan, but this community - not being in the position she is in - is far more anxious.
# Posted by Andrew : 6:15 AM
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