Reid Cherlin has written an article for The New Republic criticizing the overly structured way that Michelle Obama's team handles her schedule and even the way the First Lady herself deals with her staff.
He said that in addition to the internal politics that comes with a group of eager staffers trying to curry favor with Mrs Obama, a good deal of the drama comes as a result of 'the exacting but often ambivalent leadership style of the first lady herself'.
Speaking out: A former White House staffer has
written an article slamming the inefficiencies in Michelle Obama's
office, citing her need for plans for events months in advance which is
described as an 'unheard of' rigidity
Staffers complained about mixed signals, and how the lack of a clear chain of command leads to empty voids resulting in a mess of too many people focusing on the
minute details of projects while other larger-picture goals get left by the wayside.
'There’s no barometer: The first lady having the wrong pencil skirt on Monday is just as big of a f***-up as someone speaking on the record when they didn’t mean to or a policy initiative that completely failed,' one anonymous former aide said.
Cherlin first started his career with the Obamas during the President's first campaign in 2008 and then once he was elected, Cherlin went on to work as an assistant press secretary.
He came into the spotlight with the launch of the Affordable Care Act but told Politico that he felt 'pretty burnt out' and has now left to work as a reporter.
In his latest piece for The New Republic, the 32-year-old zones in on the East Wing, where Michelle Obama's initiatives are so intricately planned and plotted- in his view, to their own detriment.
'Unlike her husband, who derives visible satisfaction from his ability to improvise, Mrs. Obama depends on structure to support her public warmth—the ease with which she’ll pick up a hula-hoop, say, or do the Dougie with school kids,' he writes.
'(The) first lady’s office can be a confining, frustrating, even miserable place to work. Jealousy and discontentment have festered, as courtiers squabble over the allocation of responsibility and access to Mrs. Obama, both of which can be aggravatingly scarce.'
As examples of the inefficiency, he cites Let's Move launch campaigns that were met with less than overwhelming receptions and successful initiatives like Mrs Obama's partnerships with celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and NBA star LeBron James that were almost waved off before they even started.
Close: Reid Cherlin, seen here with the
President and his former advisors Stephanie Cutter and another advisor,
left the White House in 2011 and has launched a career in journalism
Former East Wing employees explained that the First Lady's nationwide popularity extends into the guarded compound at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as well.
'They don’t want to work for her; they want to be friends with her,' the unidentified individual said.
Another explained how 'every meeting was like an identity crisis' as they stressed about whether they were being invited to the daily meetings in Mrs Obama's private office.
Cherlin gives examples of how Mrs Obama is seemingly aware but unmotivated by the attention from underlings, opting to place most of her trust in just a few people who have been working with she and her husband for years.
'Chief among the decision-makers are (White House chef Sam) Kass and (advisor Valerie) Jarrett—old family friends who enjoy rare access to the president and first lady’s ultra-secluded living quarters, and to Mrs. Obama’s private thinking,' Cherlin writes.
That dependence on longer-term staffers to stick around because of their connection with Mrs Obama has led to some territorial infighting issues as well.
He cites the June departure of Kristina Schake, the First Lady's former communications director who thought up the celebrity partnerships that proved so successful.
When the West Wing got word of the positive effect of Ms Schake's initiative, President Obama's staffers began to approach her about possibly transferring to their side of the building.
Careful planning: Mrs Obama's team has had some
less-than-stellar public launches for some of her Let's Move
initiatives, and some criticize her for being overly cautious (seen on
Tuesday during her trip to China)
When rumors about her possible 'promotion' hit the East Wing water coolers, people were reportedly not supportive of the step up but immediately skeptical, questioning whether or not Ms Schake had asked the First Lady's permission to be perusing other options.
In the end, she left politics altogether and now works as the head of communications at L'Oreal.
The article describes how parts of Mrs Obama's personality conflict with the way that the office is run: while she is known to be very detail-oriented and demanding when it comes to having every aspect of her public appearances planned, the same level of scrutiny does not extend to the way that the East Wing is run.
One former aide described the mentality in the office as being one of 'how can we be the caliber that we’re expected to be with no attention and no resources and being an afterthought?'
For their part, the East Wing issued a statement saying that the First Lady has been pleased with her successes in the areas of military family support and improved nutrition, even though they used a now-discredited statistic about a drop in obesity rates to justify her work.
'The First Lady is laser-focused on moving the needle wherever and whenever possible,' the statement reads.
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