an outsourced life

This story in today's Washington Post is about how Obama's time is managed. It gives a fascinating insight into the president's daily life:

Obama's life as president is outsourced to about 25 assistants, 25 deputy assistants and 50 special assistants who act as a massive siphon to control the information that reaches his desk and schedule the meetings and public appearances that shape his days. A correspondence staff sorts through his mail and selects the 10 letters that he reads. Three calligraphers write his invitations and thank-you notes. Two "body men" follow him in lockstep to carry his jacket, supply his ChapStick and place his telephone calls....

...It is one of the great ironies of the presidency: The man who controls so much also cedes so much control. Long before Obama arrives in the West Wing after 8 each morning, every part of his day has been debated and partitioned by a circle of senior advisers. They help determine what documents he reads, which international leaders he calls and which meetings he attends. His time is the most valuable commodity in the White House, and it's guarded like a precious jewel. Various staff members act as Obama's liaisons to Cabinet secretaries, governors and legislators, because he doesn't always have time to speak with the most important politicians in the country...

...Obama craves some casual interaction to cushion the formality of life in the White House, friends said. Hosting his first black-tie dinner last week, Obama cleared the East Room of all but six tables, essentially forcing his guests onto the dance floor during a set by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Comments

[Flan Swinson]

I think that's more paradoxical than ironic.