If it was up to the group of six senators, Obama wouldn’t make the speech this week, according to sources close to the talks. They found out about his plans when the rest of America did, when senior White House adviser David Plouffe announced it on the Sunday talk shows — and they weren’t happy.
Sure, they’ve been asking for presidential engagement for months. But with the talks in a very sensitive stage, maybe weeks away from a deal, several senators expressed their concerns to the White House about the timing and warned the president to tread carefully, the sources said.
The last thing that the gang wants, at this stage, is a presidential endorsement.
“They need to be seen as honest and independent players in this process, not as people who have been set up to achieve the White House’s goals,” said former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), now a lobbyist.
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