Meet Obama's Right-Hand Woman

Close Obama Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Perhaps The Most Powerful Woman In Chicago After Oprah, Talks With Katie Couric

(CBS)  When Karl Rove worked for President Bush, he had so much influence that some called him "Bush's Brain." Valerie Jarrett is the woman known as the other side of Barack Obama's brain. Jarrett, a 51-year-old business leader and single mother, just may be the most powerful woman in Chicago besides Oprah. And she's earned the complete confidence of Barack and Michelle Obama. CBS News anchor Katie Couric reports.

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Katie Couric: You first met the Obamas when you tired to hire Michelle.

Valerie Jarrett: I did.

Katie Couric: for a job.

Valerie Jarrett: I was trying to recruit her into city government when I was Mayor Daley's deputy chief of staff. And I was successful.

Katie Couric: And before she took the job, she wanted you to meet her fiance?

Valerie Jarrett: She did. In fact the three of us had dinner - she had some serious reservations about whether she's going to leave the practice of law and leap into the mayor's office in a political environment. And the two of them said 'How about we have dinner and go out and talk this through.' And I knew that unless this conversation ended well, probably the two of them were gonna go home and say, "Well, not so much. Maybe that's not the right move." So at the end of the dinner I did say 'well, did I pass the test?' And we laughed and she of course she did come and join us, and made a huge difference.

Jarrett has now known the Obamas for 17 years, and is one of their closest friends, Couric reports. Her title on the campaign is senior adviser - which means she often serves as Obama's surrogate at meetings and events he can't attend. After Michelle, Valerie Jarrett may be one of the people he trusts the most.

Katie Couric: Do they look to you to kind of keep them honest?

Valerie Jarrett: Absolutely. I think I would describe it not so much as to keep them honest but to help them give their own kind of gut check and look at themselves. When you have so many people kind of surrounding you and giving you advice, often times I'll just say, 'you know, what do you think? What do you think is the right thing to do?'"

Katie Couric: I understand you were critical when it came to the controversy over his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. What did you advise him to do?

Valerie Jarrett: It was a very personal and painful experience for both he and for Michelle. And I think, you know, to have your pastor say things with which you totally disagree, that you have never heard him say before, and to say things that weren't so kind to you on a national platform which turns into an international platform was painful. And I did encourage him to give the speech that he gave on race. I encouraged him to, you know, just speak from the heart, which he did. I think it will go down in history as one of the great speeches ever.

Jarrett is considered to be part of a new generation of black leaders, and has been heavily influenced by her pioneering parents, reports Couric. Her mother is a child psychologist and educator who at 80 continues to hold two jobs. Her father is a renowned doctor who traveled with his family to Africa and Iran to study blood diseases and genetics.

Valerie Jarrett: He was the first African-American resident at Pres.-St. Luke's hospital. And he kind of broke the barrier. They had told him he had to come in through the back door, and he wasn't about to do that as a physician and so he walked in the front door. And then the next day, all of the staff came in the front door with him, the African-American staff, so that kind of broke the glass ceiling there.

Katie Couric: How have you been shaped by the accomplishments of your parents?

Valerie Jarrett: To grow up parents who were one step removed from such blatant discrimination, and yet to grow up in a household where my parents said, "Look, life is not fair. Don't expect it to be fair. Work twice as hard. And, just you know, just keep focused on working hard. And eventually it will pay off."

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Read part of Jarrett interview that didn't make the air.

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Katie Couric: You've also said it's always going to be harder as a woman. I'm just curious if you saw evidence of that in the primary process and your thoughts on how Hillary Clinton was treated?

Valerie Jarrett: That was a hard journey, and, you know, she took a lot of hits along the way - many times she was treated very unfairly. But she persevered. And so in that sense because it was harder, her accomplishment is even greater.

Katie Couric: What do you envision for yourself if Senator Obama is successful and is elected?

Valerie Jarrett: I can't even go there. You know, it's a very -- it's a simple question. You would think I could answer it. I can't even -- it's a distraction. It's a distraction. And as I said, Senator Obama tells us to keep focused. And as Michelle likes to say -- not getting ahead of ourselves.

[kmccliment]

Live at 3:30pm et:

Georgian president quotes John McCains support for the country of Georgia and calls for Russia to halt. Georgian president quoted John McCain not Barry Obama. The international community in a crisis does not recognize Obama. They do respect and support John McCain.

McCain 08

[terrorislamx]

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[raoul2b]

IF YOU LIKE THIS ECONOMY;

IF YOU LIKE THIS NEVER-ENDING WAR;

IF YOU LIKED HIS VOTE AGAINST A GI BILL FOR IRAQ VETS;

IF LIKE PAYING HIGH GAS PRICES;

IF LIKE THE TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH;

IF YOU CAN''T WAIT TO INVADE IRAN;

IF YOU LIKE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT;

IF YOU LIKE A PRESIDENT WHO VOTED AGAINST EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN;

IF YOU LIKE A PRESIDENT WHO VOTED AGAINST MATERNITY LEAVE FOR WOMEN;

IF YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE END OF ROE V. WADE;

IF YOU LIKE THE UNFAIR TRADE POLICIES THAT SEND JOBS AND TECHNOLOGY OVERSEAS;

IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT PRACTICES TORTURE;

IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT SPIES ON ITS OWN CITIZEN;

IF YOU LIKE THE FACT THAT THE US IS ONE OF THE MOST REVILED NATIONS ON THE PLANET, THEN YOU''LL JUST LOVE McCAIN.

[raoul2b]

By your perverted reasoning, you should not vote for a Jew since Jews participated in acts of domestic terrorism: The attempt to kill Rep. Darrell Issa of California: the conspiracy to kill a doctor in Miami. Both incidents were perpetrated by member of the JDL. Kahane of the JDL committed suicide after arrest.

Then there is the destruction of the Murrah Federal bldg, in Oklahoma City which took the life of over 300 people. It was committed good old American CHRISTIANS.

And then there was the bedlam and homicides of David Koresh, a good old American Christian, which resulted in the deaths of over a hundred people, plus children.

Now do me a favor: Tell me of even on incident of terrorism committed by domestic Muslims.

THERE IS NONE.

[raoul2b]

What%u2019s that about Michelle again?

In 1989, Cindy McCain became addicted to opioid painkillers such as Percocet and Vicodin, which she initially took to alleviate pain following two spinal surgeries for ruptured discs and to ease emotional stress during the Keating Five scandal. There, her role as a bookkeeper who had difficulty finding receipts for trips on Charles Keating''''s jet caused complications for her husband when he was already being examined for his role regarding oversight of Keating''''s bank. The addiction progressed to where she was taking upwards of twenty pills a day and she resorted to stealing drugs from her own AVMT. During 1992, Tom Gosinski, the director of government and international affairs for AVMT, discovered her drug theft. In January 1993, McCain terminated Gosinski''''s employment on grounds of budgetary reasons. In spring 1993, Gosinski tipped off the Drug Enforcement Administration to investigate McCain''s drug theft and a federal investigation ensued. McCain''s defense team, led by Washington lawyer John Dowd, secured an agreement with the U.S. Attorney''''s office that limited her punishment to financial restitution and enrollment in a diversion program, without any public disclosure.

[raoul2b]

The year is 1083 and the Catholic Pope Urban ll starts the so-called Crusades. They attack every Muslim country on the face of the earth. Millions die in the process.

The years 1939 until 1945 the Christians kill over 6 million Jew in concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Pope Pius Xll visits Hitler and gives his stamp of approval.

The year 2002, Stupid Bush launches and invasion of Iraq which ultimately results in the deaths of over 1 million Iraqis, the wounding of many more, the destruction of ten of thousands of homes, millions of refugees are forced to leave to other countries.

[raoul2b]

So much for experience!

He had an array of experiences: Minister to Russia, Minister to Great Britain, ten years in the Senate, elected five times to the House of Representatives, Secretary of State for five years. While he was in office the nation increased in size by 33%. Yet, when he was elected as president in 1856, James Buchanan soon acquired the reputation as the worst president in the history of the country. The man who followed him in office only had two terms in the Illinois State Legislature, but Abraham Lincoln had no problem being elected to the presidency.

[raoul2b]

IF YOU LIKE THIS ECONOMY;

IF YOU LIKE THIS NEVER-ENDING WAR;

IF YOU LIKED HIS VOTE AGAINST A GI BILL FOR IRAQ VETS;

IF LIKE PAYING HIGH GAS PRICES;

IF LIKE THE TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH;

IF YOU CAN''T WAIT TO INVADE IRAN;

IF YOU LIKE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT;

IF YOU LIKE A PRESIDENT WHO VOTED AGAINST EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN;

IF YOU LIKE A PRESIDENT WHO VOTED AGAINST MATERNITY LEAVE FOR WOMEN;

IF YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE END OF ROE V. WADE;

IF YOU LIKE THE UNFAIR TRADE POLICIES THAT SEND JOBS AND TECHNOLOGY OVERSEAS;

IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT PRACTICES TORTURE;

IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT SPIES ON ITS OWN CITIZEN;

IF YOU LIKE THE FACT THAT THE US IS ONE OF THE MOST REVILED NATIONS ON THE PLANET, THEN YOU''LL JUST LOVE McCAIN.

[johnbush2-2009]

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has been privately enumerating her doubts about Obama to supporters, according to people who have spoken with her. Clinton%u2019s pollster Mark Penn recently unveiled a PowerPoint presentation red-flagging Obama%u2019s lukewarm leads among white female voters and Hispanics.....

CBS news

Obama is a radical muslim senator from Illinois. As a male muslim, Obama is naturally a misogynist. Women can see that clearly and hate him.

Obama is also a violent advocate of black liberation theology. I doubt this goes down well with hispanics.

Further, as a radical muslim, Obama is also antisemitic. Jews don''t trust an Obama presidency.

To compound his problems, Christians could never support Obama as he is a strong and passionate advocate for infanticide.

As I have told you many times, Obama is going down. Americans are going to kick Obama''s shiny black @ss back to the senate.

The fact is that Obama could only win in Illinois because there is a large black and muslim population in Chicago.

[husein_pasha]

We will see, we will see. You sponsored USAma in the 1980s, don`t forget

[johnbush2-2009]

Husein_Pasha, don''t waste you time here. Americans will never elect a muslim as President. One day, we might have a buddhist or a hindu as President but never a muslim. Period.

[johnbush2-2009]

the infidels don`t come to mosques

Posted by Husein_Pasha at 10:39 AM : Aug 12, 2008

That is because he don''t believe in Islam.

[husein_pasha]

the infidels don`t come to mosques

[husein_pasha]

the infidels don`t come to mosques

[johnbush2-2009]

but all in the name of the justified cause!

Posted by Husein_Pasha at 10:32 AM : Aug 12, 2008

Violence is never justified. The fact is that muslims are reminded every friday to kill infidels in their mosque. Violence is all you know.

One billion muslims in the world and only a handful of medals in the 2008 olympics????

[husein_pasha]

but all in the name of the justified cause!

[johnbush2-2009]

At least 10 people were killed and many injured when security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir opened fire on stone-throwing Muslim protesters.

breaking news

Terrorists from the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority carried out the latest deadly attack in northwest China''s Xinjiang region, state media said, citing a local official.

Muslims are the cause of violence all over this world. Accept this fact.

[husein_pasha]

The biggest terrorists are the Iowa and Tecxas villagers from GOP (Gangsters` Oppression Party)

[talkingham]

Johnbush2 is a fecal spewing liar.

[johnbush2-2009]

Husein_Pasha, muslims like yourself are the biggest perpetrators of violence in this world. 99 per cent of terrorists are muslims.

There are more than 1 billion muslims in the world but 95 per cent of them are poor and illiterate and turn to terrorism because of Islam.

In the Beijing Olympics, only a handful of medals will be won by muslims. That says a lot.