NY Times Magazine - "Between Obama and the Press"

Politico Playbook has excerpts of Sunday's New York Times Magazine piece by Mark Leibovich on incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and the Obama communications philosophy – “Between Obama and the Press.”

Obama insiders tend to shudder at any parallels to George W. Bush, but many reporters and rivals have noted the "Bush-like" tendencies the Obama campaign demonstrated in its ability to control information. The comparison is generally meant as a compliment (albeit a grudging one) by members of the press and expressed enviously by veterans of other campaigns. [Campaign manager David] Plouffe himself admitted to me that the Obama campaign subscribed to the "Bush model" of communications discipline. Asked if Obama himself spoke of the ‘‘Bush model," Plouffe told me he did. "We talked a lot about the Bush model, which is that there are a few people who really know everything," Plouffe told me in early December. That helps ensure an airtight bubble of knowledge.

 

Like the Bush model, the Obama model also clearly allowed for combat with the press, sometimes extending to punishment, which was usually doled out by Gibbs. In the course of the campaign, especially at the end, a smattering of reporters claimed that they were left off the Obama plane in retribution for negative reports they had filed or for the perceived sins of their news outlets (i.e. endorsing John McCain). Campaign officials denied ever taking such actions -usually citing "space reasons."

 

I asked Gibbs if any journalists had been kept off the Obama plane for reasons other than space. "No," he said at first, but then added, ‘‘on occasion yes.’’ It was rare, he added. "I mean, were there occasions? Sure."

 

In a phone interview, Obama said he was not surprised by the leaky few weeks his administration-in-waiting has endured. "The transition involves an awful lot of people who don’t actually work for me," he said. "You’ve got a slew of volunteers in every agency in the vetting process. You’ve got F.B.I. folks involved when it comes to appointments. So we anticipated that we weren’t going to be able to march in lock step on our communications as effectively."

 

Obama’s advisers today convey some weary acknowledgment, if not shell shock, over how they no longer inhabit the contained decision-making cocoon of a few months ago. "The campaign is over," Plouffe told me. "It’s never going to be the same. I think everyone is wistful."

 

Obama said that it will be easier to replicate the leak-free environment of the campaign "once we get into the building," meaning the White House. But he is also realistic: "This is Washington. Or it will be Washington."
 
Gibbs will report to [incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm] Emanuel but will have walk-in privileges in the Oval Office, about 25 feet from his own. As in the campaign, the Obama White House will be "very collegial" and "not excessively hierarchical," Axelrod said.

 

But the president-elect is unequivocal in saying that he expects the podium to be Gibbs’s "singular" priority. ‘‘He will continue to be in our strategic meetings," Obama said, "but his focus is going to be on making sure that, when speaking for me or the White House, he’s got it all buttoned down."

On a team known for its cerebral, even-tempered approach, Gibbs is something of a scrappy populist.….He counts himself a member of an organization called Rednecks for Obama, started by two old guys from Missouri operating out of a pick-up truck. He is a proud owner of a Rednecks for Obama T-shirt, button, bumper sticker and sign, all of which he says he will take to his office at the White House.

 

Before hanging up I asked Obama about his favorite movie, "The Godfather" -specifically, which character Gibbs most reminded him of. Obama mentioned the Robert Duvall consigliere, Tom Hagen. "And I’ve seen a little bit of Sonny in him once in a while," he added.