Trash-talking, back-biting, and turmoil: 4 revelations about the Obama campaign
Politico's Glenn Thrush is out with a juicy e-book about the discord on a political team once celebrated for its lack of drama

Barack Obama's well-oiled 2008 presidential campaign was widely celebrated "for its exceptional cohesion and eyes-on-the-prize strategic focus," says Glenn Thrush at Politico. This year, not so much. Excerpting his new e-book on the Obama 2012 re-election effort, Thrush says interviews with two dozen current and former members of Obama's team reveal a campaign in Chicago and the White House marked by infighting, trash-talking, and second-guessing. Here, four takeaways from Thrush's Obama's Last Stand:
1. Team Obama is rife with clashing egos
The famously no-drama Obama campaign from 2008 is history, says Thrush. One of the juiciest messes this year was a big spat that left senior political operatives David Axelrod and Stephanie Cutter barely on speaking terms for weeks, apparently because Axelrod was miffed that Cutter took a network TV appearance he'd been requested for. From what Thrush describes, says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, "this does not look like a campaign — or an administration — running smoothly and on track for success." Actually, the flare-ups are "fairly small potatoes," says Ian Leslie at Marbury. In fact, "Obama and his team might conclude that if this is the best Politico has got, then they must be doing a pretty good job."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Obama likes trash-talking...
"Obama is sometimes portrayed as a reluctant warrior," says Thrush, but all signs point to him embracing the negative campaigning as "a natural — if unpleasant" — part of politics. The president's "trash-talking competitiveness," honed on the basketball court, was on full display in February, when he asked a confidante of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) if Rubio was vying to be Mitt Romney's running mate. When she replied that he might be, Obama chuckled back: "Well, tell your boy to watch it. He might get his ass kicked."
3. ...And despises Mitt Romney
Instead of "hope and change," Team Obama 2012 is driven by one unifying goal: Beating Romney, says Thrush. "Obama really doesn't like, admire, or even grudgingly respect Romney" — a "level of contempt" he doesn't even hold for his worst congressional foe, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) Unlike 2008 opponent Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Obama believes Romney is "weak" and stands for "nothing," according to aides. He's also genuinely worried that if Romney wins, he'll get to pick two conservative Supreme Court justices. And the president is infuriated over the idea that "Romney [might] get to take a victory lap on an economic rebound Obama sees as just around the corner."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
4. Obama and Co. aren't hot on the DNC boss
Team Obama is unhappy with the president's handpicked head of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Thrush says, because they think she's "struck too harsh a partisan tone" on Sunday shows and, according to focus groups that Obama's brain trust commissioned, she ranked last in viewer popularity. Wait, "they're shocked their partisan chair is.... partisan?" asks Marc Caputo at The Miami Herald. Well, the more disturbing part of the campaign is the "Nielsen-like rating scheme in place to measure their own senior staff," says Richard Fernandez at PJ Media, "exactly as if they were in show business." That raises the question: Is there anything real about the campaign?
Read the entire article at Politico.
Other sources: Althouse, Hot Air, Marbury, The Miami Herald, PJ Media, The Washington Examiner, The Washington Post
Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published