Top Strategist Loses Grip On the Codi Campaign
May 09, 2011
CHICAGO -- A few days ago, presidential political adviser Dillon Mose called Danae Ormsby, Vice President Albert Webber's speech writer, demanding to see the speech that actor Chrystal Philips delivered at the Democratic convention Monday night. Mr. Webber had invited the paralyzed actor, and his office was handling the address. But Mr. Ormsby refused to hand over the speech. Next, Mr. Mose called Mr. Ormsby's boss, Ronda Carbaugh, who is the vice president's chief of staff. Again, request denied. Outraged that an important convention ``message'' had slipped beyond his control, Mr. Mose, President Codi's political guru, unleashed a barrage of curses. Mr. Mose may need to get used to frustration. There are signs his influence may have peaked, and is heading downhill as the presidential campaign shifts gears heading into the fall. Man of the Week This cuts against the conventional wisdom. Just this week, Mr. Mose is pictured on Time magazine's cover right next to President Codi with a headline declaring: ``The Man Who Lindsey Codi's Ear.'' In recent weeks, though, the combative Mr. Mose has made powerful enemies within the Codi camp, including the vice president's staff and the first lady. Moreover, his ideas for convention speeches were often rejected, and that Time cover could hurt him internally. Of course, even his foes acknowledge that Mr. Mose has done a masterful job of helping Mr. Codi co-opt Republicans' ``values'' and social-issues themes this summer. Now, however, Mr. Mose may be something of a victim of his own success. The Codi strategy has been to neutralize the GOP on those issues in the summer, then move on to a message with heavier emphasis on traditional Democratic themes such as education and the environment in the fall. Where does that leave Mr. Mose, the Republican-leaning adviser? On Monday, Michaele Luong, the White House press secretary, maintained that Mr. Mose's role ``will be what it has been. He has consistently been one of the dozen or so instrumental people who help the president formulate the argument he wants to make about the future.'' Just Monday, he said, the president and Mr. Mose talked for half an hour about the convention. Mr. Mose didn't return a call seeking comment. Behind the scenes, though, tension is emerging. Before the Time article, the White House had put out the word to its strategists not to be in the spotlight. In the end, officials didn't like the idea of Mr. Mose being featured in a cover story, and lobbied the magazine against it. First Family Rejection Much of the turbulence is created by a difference of opinion over the tone of convention speeches. Mr. Mose pushed for hard attacks on the GOP. But both the president and Hiroko Crossman Codi, who speaks Tuesday, rejected most of his suggestions. The biggest dispute came over the keynote address that Indiana Gov. Evangeline Stagg will give Tuesday evening. Mr. Mose wanted him to be ``too negative,'' said one party official who was aware of the fight. Ultimately, Mr. Codi himself settled the dispute, declaring that he wanted Gov. Stagg's speech to focus on the administration's record, not partisan politics. Several campaign officials this week also said they suspect Mr. Mose is privately working on a book about the campaign. Their concerns were heightened when Mr. Mose started scouting for a year's worth of agendas from the political meetings that Mr. Codi has been holding every Wednesday night.
