Obama brought cool campaign persona to healthcare battle

[babylonsister]

Obama brought cool campaign persona to healthcare battle
By Sam Youngman - 03/28/10 08:45 PM ET


President Barack Obama and Democrats missed repeated deadlines, fought back cries of "death panels" and watched healthcare reform nearly die more than dozen times.

Through it all, Obama was the steady captain of the ship, his top aides say, a role the president has played since the early days of the 2008 presidential campaign.

The president, through his long campaign and his first 14 months in office, has shown few glimpses into his inner decision-making process, but the image he presents to the country and to the world is one of a calm and steady leader who refuses to get bogged down in day-to-day skirmishes.

While Obama is famous for his "fired up" campaign-style speeches, his daily frustrations are rarely evident because the president is always thinking about the bigger picture, aides say.

"He's able to swim past that frustration and focus on the larger view," said press secretary Robert Gibbs.

snip//

In a sense, Gibbs said, Obama focuses on the larger view and long-term picture while delegating his anger or outrage over daily partisan and pundit attacks to Gibbs or White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and others.

"I'm not as good at compartmentalizing it as him," Gibbs told The Hill. "None of us are."

What's more, Obama is the calming presence who keeps his staff focused, a noticeably more relaxed Gibbs said in an interview in his West Wing office. With his feet on his desk, Gibbs noted it is helpful during heady times "when you see the leader of the operation is not freaked out."

One senior administration official said Obama's calm during critical and troubled times can be jarring to a West Wing that is living and dying by the minutia of daily Washington warfare. Even to a veteran political soldier like Emanuel.

"I remember early on, one time when it was bad, Rahm said to me, 'Why's {Obama} so calm?'" the official said. "In some ways, it's unnervingly so."

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/89545-obama-brought-cool-campaign-persona-to-healthcare-battle

[Cha]

1. I love hearing this about

Pres Obama's calmness. We knew what we were getting..it's inspiring.

[ClarkUSA]

2. "What Democrats do best is worry."

And there was no shortage of allies coming to Obama as the healthcare debate dragged on, warning him that it was bad for his administration, bad for the party and bad for his poll numbers, Gibbs said.

"Most of it comes from the Hill," Gibbs acknowledged... Ross Baker, an expert on the presidency and a political science professor at Rutgers University, said that what is telling about Obama's style is that despite hours of persuading lawmakers, there were no reports of intimidation or political threats.

"I have not heard of anybody who really felt they were being coerced," Baker said.

Nice to see that President Obama never wavered nor became a bullying jerk, like so many Democratic and Republican presidents before him. He treats those around him with respect and courtesy -- just ask Dennis Kucinich. This steady, mature, "not too high or too low" approach is a big reason why he succeeded at HCR where so many before him failed.

[Cha]

3. Exactly..

"Nice to see that President Obama never wavered nor became a bullying jerk, like so many Democratic and Republican presidents before him. He treats those around him with respect and courtesy -- just ask Dennis Kucinich. This steady, mature, "not too high or too low" approach is a big reason why he succeeded at HCR where so many before him failed."