Talk:Valerie Jarrett/Archives/2014

Irrelevant and suspicious daughter reference

I removed what can only be described as a fatuous and highly suspect reference to her daughter. The line about switching from 'a private to a public career' to make her daughter proud was entirely appropriate; the subsequent, entirely irrelevant, line about her daughter's alma maters wasn't. This growing practice of highlighting the education credentials of Wiki entries' children has really got to stop. It's essentially a way of creating Wikipedia sub-entries for people who don't merit their own articles. It's notable that it's invariably done when the subject's children attend Ivy or Ivy-caliber institutions. BasilSeal (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 01:17, 1 March 2010 (UTC).

BLP violation

I removed several paragraphs from the career section because they were not sourced. Little Red Riding Hoodtalk 23:03, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

BOSSgate

How do we comment on Valerie Jarrett vis-a-vis the Barack Obama Senate Seat (BOSSgate) controversy? Jarrett was favored by Obama as his replacement in the US Senate (Senate Candidate 1 in the complaint, according to Politico.com) when he assumes the Presidency in January 2009. Conversations ensued with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, resulting in the Governor complaining that Obama is not offering financial encouragement. Valerie Jarrett is now actively taking herself out of consideration, according to Politico.com and other sources. So Jarrett is not "involved" in BOSSgate as a potential defendant, but is ironically front-and-center, right? Just wondering. Jessemckay (talk) 20:12, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Several reliable sources are saying that [Senate Candidate 1] is "widely believed" to be Valerie Jarrett, we could say that. We could also list the facts: that Senate Candidate 1 is a female adviser to Obama, and Senate Candidate 1 was originally interested in the position, but publicly withdrew interest in the position on or before Nov 12, 2008. And that Jarrett publicly withdrew interest on Nov 10, 2008. Just allow the reader to evaluate it for themselves. --Underpants (talk) 17:11, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

This should be included... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.61.216.94 (talk) 21:59, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Removed content

Beyond how she came to be exposed to both a European and a 3rd-world country early in life, i've removed all of the family history:

He is currently Professor Emeritus in Pathology and Medicine, University of Chicago. Her great-grandfather was the first African-American to graduate from M.I.T.; her grandfather was Robert Taylor, the first black man to head the Chicago Housing Authority. Her father, Dr. James Bowman, was the first black resident at St. Luke’s Hospital. Her mother, Barbara T. Bowman, is an early childhood education expert and co-founder of the Erikson Institute for child development.

If we had verified that she has said this fam history was formative for her, then we could flesh out her assertion with these specifics. Otherwise it is of interest only by being a case of SYN, which is a form of OR and thus unacceptable.
BTW, even if some of the rest of what i removed returns, anchored by additional info that makes it relevant, i have struck thru one sentence on this pg in light of the likelihood that we will have no reason to see it again in the article. Every hospital accounts for one person who is the first black resident there; frankly, it is demeaning toward him to suggest without further detail that it is more than an irrelevant fact in the life of someone who has completed a teaching career in such a rigorous field as medicine, at a school with the reputation for excellence that U of C has. I hope he is proud over the residency's circumstances, but i'm offended on his behalf by the suggestion that that bare fact is informative abt him (let alone abt his daughter) in this context. At best it reflects a failure to remember that even tho most editors share an admiration for virtually ever act of overcoming racial prejudice, what we're sharing is nevertheless a PoV.
--Jerzy•t 22:47, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Assessment for WP:WikiProject Barack Obama

I've rated the importance of the article as Mid, as she is a major appointee and adviser. I've assessed the quality of the article as B, because I think it just meets the requirements for sourcing, structure, informational templates, writing, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility. Still, the article is scanty in many places, with little explanation of what she did or will do in her various positions, and it will take some fleshing out before it is ready for Good Article nomination. Keep up the good work. Mike Serfas (talk) 03:59, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

Long NYT piece

With lots of background info --Padraic 19:18, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Where is the "closest campaign aide[s] – an insider widely tapped for a top position in an Obama administration." quote from? I can't find it in either of the two articles attributed at the end of the sentence.

I ask because "closest campaign aide[s]" sounds like clever editing of "one of the closest campaign aides". Especially in a political context the former has a much different meaning than the latter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Maubee (talk • contribs) 11:37, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Relationship with President Obama

I am trying to include a section that describes Ms. Jarrett's relationship with the President, but it has been deleted twice. I am new to Wikipedia so I'm posting it here for input to make sure that it is ready to submit. It seems clear from all the reporting about her that she is close to the president, both personally and professionally, and as far as I can tell, I have not made claims that were not made in my sources. Perhaps I am not phrasing things correctly. I appreciate your help:

In 1991 Ms. Jarrett, as Deputy Chief of Staff to Mayor Richard Daley, interviewed Michelle Robinson for an opening in the mayor’s office, and offered her the job immediately, which in her words "was totally inappropriate because I should have talked to the mayor first. But I just knew she was really special.” Ms. Robinson asked for time to think and also asked Jarrett to meet her fiancé, Barack Obama. One of the duties of Ms. Jarrett was to open patronage positions to those sent to her by various politicians. Michelle Robinson was one of those. Her position was one of patronage in agreement with that politician who is alleged to have been Jesse Jackson. The three ended up meeting for dinner. After the dinner, Michelle took the job with the mayor's office, and Valerie Jarrett reportedly took the couple under her wing, “introduc[ing] them to a wealthier and better-connected Chicago than their own,” and taking Michelle with her when she left the mayor’s office to head Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.

Thus began a relationship that as of this writing has lasted 18 years. “Well, Valerie is one of my oldest friends,” Obama is quoted as saying. “Over time I think our relationship evolved to the point where she’s like a sibling to me… I trust her completely.” “She’s family,” he has said, “she combines the closeness of a family member with the savvy and objectivity of a professional businesswoman and public policy expert” and he “absolutely” runs every decision by her.

For her part Ms. Jarrett thinks that President Obama is “really by far smarter than anybody I know.” “Not just smart intelligent," she says, "but he’s perceptive.” “We have kind of a mind meld,” she claims, “And chances are, what he wants to do is what I’d want to do,” and “We always go through the day’s stories together and talk about what touched either of us.” Reportedly, when at the White House, Jarrett calls him “Mr. President” in the West Wing and “Barack” in the East Wing. Others have observed their professional closeness. “’If there’s a consigliere in the White House, it’s Valerie,’ said [John] Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.” According to White House Communications Director, Anita Dunn, Ms. Jarrett is “one of the four or five people in the room with him [President Obama] when decisions get made.” She was reportedly in on many decisions of the campaign “and while her lack of campaign experience sometimes frustrated political operatives, they dared not protest, because of her relationship with the Obamas.” In the White House her “long ties to both Obama and his wife establish her as the president’s eyes and ears, positioning her as a counterweight to other senior advisers, David Axelrod and Pete Rouse, as well as Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.” Mels18 (talk) 20:36, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

If I may make a suggestion: A book about to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Kill or Capture by Dennis Klaidman, has a good deal of interest to say about Obama's personal relationships with several important figures in the White House, including Jarrett. --184.46.29.102 (talk) 16:51, 7 March 2012 (UTC)

POV Edit

Just removed some right-wing agitprop POV language fr/ article. Interested folk should keep an eye on the article to prevent more of this. Tapered (talk) 18:41, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

Indeed - Godess forbid that left-leaning Wikipedia content be tainted.199.64.0.253 (talk) 16:46, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

This article is fairly ridiculously SPOV.

Thus began a relationship that as of this writing has lasted 18 years. “Well, Valerie is one of my oldest friends,” Obama is quoted as saying. “Over time I think our relationship evolved to the point where she’s like a sibling to me… I trust her completely.” [16] “She’s family,” he has said, “she combines the closeness of a family member with the savvy and objectivity of a professional businesswoman and public policy expert” and he “absolutely” runs every decision by her.[16]

For her part Ms. Jarrett thinks that President Obama is “really by far smarter than anybody I know.” “Not just smart intelligent," she says, "but he’s perceptive.” “We have kind of a mind meld,” she claims, “And chances are, what he wants to do is what I’d want to do,” and “We always go through the day’s stories together and talk about what touched either of us.”[16] Reportedly, when at the White House, Jarrett calls him “Mr. President” in the West Wing and “Barack” in the East Wing.[17] Others have observed their professional closeness. “’If there’s a consigliere in the White House, it’s Valerie,’ said [John]Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.”[17] According to White House Communications Director, Anita Dunn, Ms. Jarrett is “one of the four or five people in the room with him [President Obama] when decisions get made.” [3][17]

Except for maybe the last sentence of the second paragraph, that whole two paragraphs can get nuked.Wm.C (talk) 00:35, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Slum Landlord Allegations

Why does this article completely ignore Valerie's role as VP for Habitat, the manager of several slums in Chicago? There's a long article in the Boston Globe which goes into great detail about Obama's ties to slum landlords in Chicago, including Valerie's company. Here's the website:

NOTE: hyperlink deleted due to blacklisting, see WP:BLACKLIST for rationale.

I think this should at least be mentioned as an issue, especially since being VP of Habitat was one of her "qualifications" for the job, supposedly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by FrancisDane (talk • contribs) 10:46, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

Attempts to inject POV from Wingnut Website

There seems to be an attempt to inject a claim that Jarret is a supporter of Jihadd and opposed the killing of OBL.

There is absolutely no credible evidence for this claim and an unsourced interview on an extreme right wing web site with an anonymous source does not qualify even if cited.

This article is going to need to be locked.

NOTE: hyperlink deleted due to blacklisting, see WP:BLACKLIST for rationale.

The claims are clearly specious as they are disproved by the photograph of the briefing room. The idea that the head of the CIA would be guilty of gross insubordination is ridiculous. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.216.39.121 (talk) 16:18, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

The edit appears to have been a one-off, but I'll monitor the article for a while. --Alan the Roving Ambassador (talk) 16:49, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

Pay amounts: do they belong here?

What's up with all the salary amounts under "Business administration"? They are not out of line with others in the positions and consulting roles that she has held. They are not related to any scandal event. It seems politically motivated, and I believe, not exactly appropriate for an encyclopedic article? Looking back through the history, it seems to have been there for some time without dispute. But other such advisors and leaders from either side of the "aisle", don't commonly have salary information in their article, unless they are related to a particular movement or news event. Just my two cents - anyone agree/disagree? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Trep26 (talk • contribs) 04:47, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

Wrong Job Title

I don't have an account therefore I cannot make edits. But I thought I'd point out the she is NOT the POTUS, rather she is a a Senior Advisor to the POTUS (first line in description) Would someone please make sure it gets corrected. Thanks , MJ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.88.99.59 (talk) 20:44, 5 January 2013 (UTC)