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Never been prouder to know your dad. This story should be getting MUCH more play. He literally saved the country when no one else in town could find a way.

Hope you and the girls are well.

Want to grab lunch sometime this month to catch up?

Mike


Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Manatos, Tom" <ManatosT@dnc.org>
> Date: August 2, 2011 10:24:14 AM EDT
> To: "Andy Manatos (amanatos@manatos.com)" <amanatos@manatos.com>, "Mike Manatos (Mike.Manatos@manatos.com)" <Mike.Manatos@manatos.com>
> Subject: Biden was the key
>
> No surprise here…
>
> TICK-TOCK -- “Biden, McConnell and the making of a deal,” by Glenn Thrush, Carrie Budoff Brown, Manu Raju and John Bresnahan: “With the talks going nowhere Saturday morning, the White House made ‘our last play,’ according to a senior administration official, calling on Biden’s long-time connection to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. ‘We had tried everything — Boehner talking to Obama, small groups, large groups — and everything fell apart’ … The president called Boehner [Sunday] at 8:15 p.m. to see if that was enough to win over House Republicans. ‘Do we have a deal?’ he asked. Boehner interrupted him, and Obama went silent. For a few seconds, the aides assembled around the president waited … Then the president spoke up. ‘Congratulations to you, too, John.’ … [I]t was Biden’s close working relationship with McConnell that broke the months-long logjam. … Shortly after lunch on Saturday, McConnell picked up the phone and called Biden to announce he was ready to deal. … McConnell wanted to negotiate primarily with Biden, concerned that other Democrats, especially Obama, would prove to be less trustworthy bargaining partners. …
>
> “By Saturday night, discussions over the trigger had bogged down, and a call between McConnell’s staff and senior White House aides turned heated when GOP negotiators demanded that Medicaid be added to the mix of programs that could face cuts. Gene Sperling … was in mid-sentence, trying to calmly explain why the White House wouldn’t allow that, when Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew interrupted. ‘No!’ the typically mild-mannered Lew yelled. ‘The answer is simply no! No, no!’ The trigger fight dragged on as Obama and aides milled in and out of the spacious West Wing corner office of Bill Daley, Obama’s chief of staff. Daley … sparred with Boehner’s chief of staff Barry Jackson over the speaker’s refusal to return Obama’s calls for five hours a week earlier. ‘Daley was pissed at Boehner, and they returned the favor,’ a congressional Democrat said.
>
> “McConnell … was … intent on protecting Boehner, who has been weakened by tea party revolts within in his own ranks — and sought to minimize any daylight between more moderate GOP senators and firebrand House conservatives. Throughout the day Saturday, the GOP’s odd couple — the fastidious and tight-lipped minority leader and the gregarious, chain-smoking Boehner — held a negotiation-within-a-negotiation as Biden pressed for concessions. Biden would make a proposal, and McConnell would pad the narrow, red-carpeted hallway behind the rotunda that links his office to Boehner’s, staffers said. The speaker made the return trip several times himself, standing in shirtsleeves and puffing smoke as McConnell, a non-smoker, listened intently in [his] impeccable suit.” http://bit.ly/qr6aeX
>
> Tom Manatos
> Senior Advisor to the Chair
> Democratic National Committee
> P: 202-479-5102
> C: 202-525-8440
> E-mail: manatost@dnc.org
>