Epstein Secrets

irman. In 2010, as foreign policy advisor to now-Vice President Biden, McKeon was the Obama administration's point per

h—a spot usually reserved for the Vice-President. Joe EFTA00712756 Biden was bumped to the following

ng spot at the Convention, in Charlotte, the night before the President's speech—a spot usually reserved for the Vice-President. Joe EFTA00712756 Biden was bumped to the following night, in the slot immediately before Obama. The reconciliation began in earnest late last summer. Patrick Gaspard, the

tightly controlled national security matters from the White House. Because his power is so outsized, we have not included him -- or Vice President Joe Biden, the resident devil's advocate whose occasional verbal missteps belie his deep international experience -- on our list of the 50 Democrats who have

ense secretary by telling Iraq to "damn it, make a decision" on America's troop presence -- one of the most influential of Washington insiders. 3. Denis McDonough is both gatekeeper and confidant for President Obama when it comes to foreign policy. The former football safety at Saint John's University in Min

02029356 EFTA02689731 24 The positions of senior officials in this process reflect a mixture of serious thought and gamesmanship. Vice President Biden along with NSC Adviser Tom Donilon mark the center—there is no left. They're pressing for a July announcement of 30,000 in cuts over 12 months. Te

t a mixture of serious thought and gamesmanship. Vice President Biden along with NSC Adviser Tom Donilon mark the cent

es, the projected withdrawal total and end dates could change somewhat. No one, not even Obama's most intimate national-security aides—Tom Donilon, Denis McDonough, and Ben Rhodes—can be certain of their boss' final calculations, but key officials feel confident that the president's secret thinking will gener

, and political polarization now than even during Joe McCarthy's anti- communist witch hunts of the 195

ndsey Graham of South Carolina, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Johnny Isakson of Georgia. They've been meeting frequently with White House staff chief Denis McDonough and other top Obama aides seeking ways to replace deep, non-discretionary automatic cuts known as sequestration with gentler, more targeted cuts. G