Politico reports.Interviews with dozens of members of Congress and senior aides reveal frustration and in some cases exasperation.... These Democrats say they almost never hear from Obama personally... [T]he president evidences no interest in getting to know them or their political circumstances....
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), an early Obama supporter in 2008 and top surrogate in that race, put it this way: “Everyone loves a touch. It’s not his favorite part of the job. But it’s a necessary part of the job.”
Everyone loves a touch....
To bring up the topic of Obama and his old colleagues with members of Congress themselves, not a class of people lacking in pride, is often to get stared back with daggers. Hemming and hawing often take place, good-sport recollections of always hearing back from staff are brought up and occasionally come requests to go off the record....
[T]he tensions flared anew when Democrats on the Hill got a cursory heads-up just a day before Obama’s campaign apparatus announced plans to become a new political entity aimed at pushing through the president’s agenda. The first time it came up, said this official, was at a “this is what we’re doing” briefing the day before it was made public.
