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Obama mouthpiece Robert Gibbs was forced out by new henchman William Daley

By Toby Harnden <http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/author/tobyharnden/>
World <http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/category/world/> Last updated:
January 7th, 2011

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[image: President Obama is pictured in July 2010 walking into the Oval
Office with senior advisor Valerie Jarrett (Photo: AFP/GETTY)]

Chicago buddy: President Obama walking into the Oval Office with Valerie
Jarrett in July 2010 (Photo: AFP/GETTY)

I wondered yesterday<http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100070610/robert-gibbs-out-a-kinder-gentler-white-house/>
whether
Robert Gibbs jumped or was pushed and noted that President Barack Obama’s
words indicated that it was “not an entirely voluntary departure”.

It’s being reported by John King on CNN right now that Gibbs wanted to be a
presidential counsellor – something he’s been putting about for quite a
while<http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/mary-kate-cary/2010/8/16/What-Should-Obama-Do-About-Robert-Gibbs.html>
–
but William Daley, the new chief of staff, nixed this because he believed
that too many cooks would spoil the presidential broth. So that’s why Gibbs
is out.

Additionally, King reports that Valerie
Jarrett<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obamas-keeper-valerie-jarrett-1769821.html>,
whose sole qualification to being a senior counsellor seems to be that she’s
a long-time Chicago buddy of Barack and Michelle Obama, will have her wings
clipped. Daley, not Jarrett, will be the person speaking to the business
community.

It’s no secret that Rahm Emanuel, a Daley protege, clashed with Jarrett. Or
that David Plouffe, about to join the White House, was often at odds with
her when he was the 2008 Obama campaign manager. Obama is nothing if not
ruthless. He dropped <http://www.theobamafile.com/obamathebook.htm> Jane
Dystel, the agent who approached him to write “Dreams from my Father”, and
has previously cut loose long-time advisers. One aide described him as “the
most unsentimental man I’ve ever
met”<http://books.google.com/books?id=g_1wN2RzTlcC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152&dq=%22the+most+unsentimental+man+I've+ever%22&source=bl&ots=jNg0ktixea&sig=3twKh3vXQA4r62tiq-MY6bN0FIw&hl=en&ei=YV8mTZr-K8L-8AaNuNWFAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22the%20most%20unsentimental%20man%20I've%20ever%22&f=false>
.

So the next question is: with Gibbs and David Axelrod gone, how much longer
will Valerie Jarrett last?
--
Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.co