Tony Blinken

We were not as effective, and he was not as effective, arguably, as he should have been, could have been, in actually conveying to the American people everything that we were doing for them, and very, very successfully. And it was a big, big frustration.

So much so that I think, to some extent, people couldn't somehow connect all of the good things that were happening with what the administration was doing. And if you don't have that connection... It's obviously not going to redound to you in a positive way politically. And yeah, it is part of the job. And I think it's also the reason why, ultimately, he decided not to run again.

So much so that I think, to some extent, people couldn't somehow connect all of the good things that were happening with what the administration was doing. And if you don't have that connection... It's obviously not going to redound to you in a positive way politically. And yeah, it is part of the job. And I think it's also the reason why, ultimately, he decided not to run again.

So much so that I think, to some extent, people couldn't somehow connect all of the good things that were happening with what the administration was doing. And if you don't have that connection... It's obviously not going to redound to you in a positive way politically. And yeah, it is part of the job. And I think it's also the reason why, ultimately, he decided not to run again.

It wasn't about doing the job in the moment. It was the ability or foreseeing the ability to be able to do the job for another four years, including this notion of communicating effectively with people.

It wasn't about doing the job in the moment. It was the ability or foreseeing the ability to be able to do the job for another four years, including this notion of communicating effectively with people.

It wasn't about doing the job in the moment. It was the ability or foreseeing the ability to be able to do the job for another four years, including this notion of communicating effectively with people.

As you say, you go back in the DeLorean machine, hindsight's always 20-20. And on just about anything or everything you do, you always think there's something I could have done a little bit differently or maybe more than a little bit differently. But here's the thing. First, every decision that we made, every judgment that we made, every policy we pursued, that was him. That wasn't someone else.

As you say, you go back in the DeLorean machine, hindsight's always 20-20. And on just about anything or everything you do, you always think there's something I could have done a little bit differently or maybe more than a little bit differently. But here's the thing. First, every decision that we made, every judgment that we made, every policy we pursued, that was him. That wasn't someone else.

As you say, you go back in the DeLorean machine, hindsight's always 20-20. And on just about anything or everything you do, you always think there's something I could have done a little bit differently or maybe more than a little bit differently. But here's the thing. First, every decision that we made, every judgment that we made, every policy we pursued, that was him. That wasn't someone else.

That wasn't me. That wasn't any of the other advisors. Everything that we did was the product of a decision that he made and an informed decision through discussion, debate. argument that he was more than fully engaged in. So you can say, I don't like the results of those policies. That's fine.

That wasn't me. That wasn't any of the other advisors. Everything that we did was the product of a decision that he made and an informed decision through discussion, debate. argument that he was more than fully engaged in. So you can say, I don't like the results of those policies. That's fine.

That wasn't me. That wasn't any of the other advisors. Everything that we did was the product of a decision that he made and an informed decision through discussion, debate. argument that he was more than fully engaged in. So you can say, I don't like the results of those policies. That's fine.

But you can't say that he was not the person responsible for them, who decided them, who made those decisions, made those judgments and got those results. And that's fundamentally the bottom line. I think that's the bottom line that he saw. Now, again, coming back to your point about, well, did we communicate that effectively? I think the answer is no.

But you can't say that he was not the person responsible for them, who decided them, who made those decisions, made those judgments and got those results. And that's fundamentally the bottom line. I think that's the bottom line that he saw. Now, again, coming back to your point about, well, did we communicate that effectively? I think the answer is no.

But you can't say that he was not the person responsible for them, who decided them, who made those decisions, made those judgments and got those results. And that's fundamentally the bottom line. I think that's the bottom line that he saw. Now, again, coming back to your point about, well, did we communicate that effectively? I think the answer is no.

Does that mean he could be confident about being able to do that same job, making those decisions, making those judgments? for another four years with advanced age, that's something different. But these decisions about what he should have done, when he should have done it, what difference might that have made in political outcomes? Yeah, it's easy to prognosticate about that, but no one knows.

Does that mean he could be confident about being able to do that same job, making those decisions, making those judgments? for another four years with advanced age, that's something different. But these decisions about what he should have done, when he should have done it, what difference might that have made in political outcomes? Yeah, it's easy to prognosticate about that, but no one knows.

Does that mean he could be confident about being able to do that same job, making those decisions, making those judgments? for another four years with advanced age, that's something different. But these decisions about what he should have done, when he should have done it, what difference might that have made in political outcomes? Yeah, it's easy to prognosticate about that, but no one knows.

One of the things that I've learned too over working for three presidents over the course of the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations is, you know, keep whatever counsel you gave to the president to yourself.