Oral history interview with Stephanie A. Cutter, 2021
Abstract
Stephanie Cutter reflects on her work on Obama's presidential campaigns, for which she served as chief of staff to Michelle Obama in 2008 and deputy campaign manager in 2012, and in the Obama administration, in which she served from 2009 to 2011 in a variety of roles including counselor to Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, assistant to the president for special projects, and White House d eputy senior advisor. Cutter outlines her responsibilities and activities in each of these roles, and speaks widely about the challenges of communicating effectively with the public about complex economic, policy, and legislative issues. She provides details about notable issues, events, and initiatives with which she was closely involved, including the handling of racist attacks against Michelle Obama during the 2008 campaign; Michelle Obama's popularity and political importance; the power of Timothy Geithner's public statements during the financial crisis; the politics of fairness and public criticism about the behaviors of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) fund recipients; the Senate confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court; the development and launch of the first lady's Let's Move! initiative; the coordination of interagency activities and relations between the East and West Wings of the Obama White House; communications in support of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the response to misinformation about the legislation; the organization of White House advisory staff during the first term; the strategy for the 2012 reelection campaign; and the gender dynamics of the Obama White House. Cutter also discusses her experiences moving in and out of government service throughout the period of her service; the pace of work at the Department of the Treasury during the financial crisis; and her work with Senator Ted Kennedy, including during the Obama years
Presidents--United States; Presidential campaigns--United States; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Cutter, Stephanie; Obama, Michelle, 1964-; Obama, Barack; Sotomayor, Sonia, 1954-; Troubled Asset Relief Program (U.S.); Let's Move! (Campaign : U.S.); United States. Office of the First Lady; United States; United States. Department of the Treasury; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
49 pages
Note (Biographical)
Stephanie Cutter is a political consultant. During the Clinton administration, Cutter served as White House deputy communications director. During the 2008 Obama campaign, she was chief of staff to Michelle Obama, and then chief spokesperson during th e transition. In 2009, Cutter served as counselor to Secretary Tim Geithner. Cutter was also an advisor to President Obama for Justice Sotomayor's confirmation and helped with the development of the Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative. In 2010, she served as assistant to the president for special projects. In 2011, she became deputy senior advisor to Obama, and then became deputy campaign manager for the 2012 re-election campaign
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on January 27, and March 18, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Stephanie A. Cutter, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023