Valerie Jarrett is the single most powerful person in the Obama White House. A lot of his decisions were run through her before they became a reality. She even has her own Secret Service detachment at taxpayer expense of course even though she doesn't rate it.
Stories keep floating out of Washington of her abusive attitude. Like the time she thought a 4-star General was a waiter and she told him to go get her a drink. Another time when a reporter asked her at the DNC what she was going to do about the lack of popularity of the leaked "Kill List". Within seconds the reporter had an official checking his credentials and regardless of the fact they were valid he was escorted out of the convention site by two armed men. American Conservative Journalist Michael Tracey Says Valerie Jarrett Had Him Thrown Out of the DNC for Asking About Drone Strikes | TheBlaze.com
Jarrett never goes anywhere without her security detail, her entourage so to speak.
So lets get this straight: Jarrett gets a security detail from the US Secret Service (USSS). That means 24/7 protection, at a cost of millions of dollars a year. Of course, it also means an air of importance for Jarrett--her own taxpayer-funded entourage. The idea that someone such as Jarrett--who officially plays no role in national security or counter-terrorism--would receive USSS protection would be laughable if it werent, in fact, real. Its like a tale out of the Versailles Court of the Sun King--the sort of anecdote that provokes the peasants, eventually, to revolution. But in the meantime, before the deluge, Jarrett plans to live it up; surrounded by agents with guns, she is queen of her own court. In other words, for pure conspicuous consumption, Jarrett puts her fellow Chicagoan, the laughably self-important Desirée Rogers, to shame. The Audacity of Cronyism: Jarrett, Plouffe, and Donilon
Rumor has it Jarrett was the primary force behind turning down the Bin Laden mission on 3 separate occasions. Eventually the Generals and even the Secretary of Defense who were practically in open revolt, convinced the President that they had no other choice but to go ahead with the mission. Jarrett was worried about what failure would do to Obama's re-election chances. I'm sure Obama was too, but Jarrett wasn't gonna allow anything to happen to screw over her boy.
One thing is clear in the Obama White House, if you butt heads with Valerie Jarrett you're history. The fact that Jarrett seems to be responsible for many of Obama's decisions has gone largely unreported. I remember when the press made fun of George W. Bush claiming that he was just an idiot that needed Karl Rove just to be able to function. To be honest, I think Obama would be lost without Valerie Jarrett.
Shes there to try to promote what she understands to be what the president wants, the former aide said. Ultimately the president makes his own decisions. The question that is hard to get inside of, the black box, is whether she is really influencing him or merely executing decisions hes made. Thats like asking, Is the light on in the refrigerator when the door is closed?
For further reading......http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/u...her-power-in-the-west-wing.html?_r=1&emc=eta1