La bande des 4 à la Maison Blanche

La bande des 4 à la Maison Blanche

Une note de Steve Clemons sur son blog The Washington Note, reprenant plusieurs articles écrits par des "spécialistes" du monde politique états-unien (dont le chef du bureau washingtonien du Financial Times Edward Luce), apporte d'intéressants éclairages sur l'enfermement de la maison Obama, source de ses déboires.

(Lien: http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2010/02/core_chicago_te/)

Extraits :

«Pundits, Democratic lawmakers and opinion pollsters offer a smorgasbord of reasons - from Mr Obama's decision to devote his first year in office to healthcare reform, to the president's inability to convince voters he can "feel their [economic] pain", to the apparent ungovernability of today's Washington. All may indeed have contributed to the quandary in which Mr Obama finds himself. But those around him have a more specific diagnosis – and one that is striking in its uniformity. The Obama White House is geared for campaigning rather than governing, they say.

»In dozens of interviews with his closest allies and friends in Washington – most of them given unattributably in order to protect their access to the Oval Office – each observes that the président draws on the advice of a very tight circle. The inner core consists of just four people – Rahm Emanuel, the pugnacious chief of staff; David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, his senior advisers; and Robert Gibbs, his communications chief.»

Steve Clemons, grand admirateur d'Obama, voudrait y croire encore, et donne quelques conseils :

«President Obama needs to take stock quickly. Read the Luce piece. Be honest about what is happening. Read Plouffe's smart book again. Send Rahm Emanuel back to the House in a senior role. Make Valerie Jarrett an important Ambassador. Keep Axelrod – but balance him with someone like Plouffe, and get back to putting good policy before short term politics.»

Mais il prévient : «Otherwise, the Obama brand will be totally bust in the very near term.»

Sylvain Michelet