Jason Zengerle: “In the weeks since the election, this Plan B has been taking shape, as Obama has consulted with a range of people, from current and former advisers to historians, about how he should conduct himself in his post-presidency, doing much of his thinking during long days on the golf course throughout his Hawaiian vacation in December.”
“While it’s clear that Obama will have to remain more immersed in politics than he’d planned, it remains a mystery what that role will now look like. Certainly he’ll be asked to help rebuild the Democratic Party. Already, Obama has been drawn into the jockeying among candidates vying to lead the Democratic National Committee—a process he expected to sit out.”
Said one Obama aide: “Nobody wants to know what the Clintons think—they’re totally checked out. It’s falling on us just by default.”