Staff members like Emanuel hated hearing the President railing against the “silliness” of Washington. “The rules apply to everybody,” as one former adviser told Kantor, and complaining about how Washington works “is like crying over the rain.”
Obama was elected to lead “a rational, postracial, moderate country that is looking for sensible progress,” a White House official tells Kantor. “Except, oops, it’s an enraged, moralistic, harsh, desperate country. It’s a disconnect he can’t bridge.”
