valerie jarrett

valerie jarrett

WASHINGTON--The profile of Valerie Jarrett, Senior White House adviser is high and gets bumped up this weekend when she is the cover of the Sunday New York Times Magazine. Hat Tip to Mike Allen of Politico for what he calls the "West Wing Must-Read" about Jarrett:

From Allen: The cover of The New York Times Magazine -- striking image here -- is: "OBAMA'S BFF / VALERIE JARRETT IS ONE OF THE PRESIDENT'S MOST INFLUENTIAL ADVISERS. SO WHAT DOES SHE DO, EXACTLY? BY ROBERT DRAPER ... Obama's long time aide-de-camp is a woman with chameleonlike ability to move fluidly between high-level policy meetings and outreach efforts involving business groups and African-American leaders. And, from her West Wing office, she can also press the president on any issue. But what does Jarrett really do and what do other top insiders like David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel think about her sizable influence over their boss?"

From Robert's piece: "Valerie Jarrett was born of African-American parents in Shiraz, Iran, where her physician father was running a hospital as part of an American aid program. Obama's fabled 'exoticism' was therefore comprehensible to her, the president told me. 'I think we both share an appreciation of the world outside our borders that ironically probably makes us appreciate more the values of America,' he said. 'It also allows us to maybe travel between worlds and cultures in ways that have proven to be not only professionally important but emotionally satisfying. I guess another way of putting it is, she and I both are constantly looking for links and bridges between cultures and peoples. That's central to who we are. And that probably has contributed to forging an even closer relationship than we might've otherwise had.' ''

THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FROM THE PIECE SO FAR, BUT WE CAN TELL YOU THE CORRECT ANSWER TO WHAT VALERIE DOES. Hilary Rosen has the best description we've ever heard, and she shared it with Playbook: "Valerie is the keeper of the flame. She doesn't just track what campaign promises the President needs to keep -- she remembers why he made them. And she knows which ones matter to Michelle. It is the uber-powerful combination."