Obama White House No Camelot

First lady Michelle Obama has been a very public presence during her husband’s time in office. But as his approval rating shrinks, she has narrowed her inner circle of advisors, just as the president has, Politico reports.

Michelle Obama relies on cohorts from her Chicago days, just as Barack Obama does. “There has been no attempt to reach out to people they don’t see as their people,” says the wife of a senior administration official who doesn’t have Chicago ties. “They don’t reach out even to people in the administration who aren’t from their inner circle. “It’s extremely businesslike. It’s not Camelot,” she says, referring to the halcyon early days of the Kennedy administration.

"Because of the campaign, people expected Obama and the first lady to revitalize some of the glamour of the White House and bring Camelot back to Washington," says Princeton professor Julian Zelizer. "But the realities of Washington make that difficult.”