Ed Klein, a bestselling author and a former New York Times Magazine editor, claims in a new book that senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett has been pushing so hard for Vice President Joe Biden to enter the 2016 race that she even got him psychiatric help to deal with depression.
“With Obama’s approval, Valerie helped Biden seek psychiatric help for his depression,” Klein wrote. “She also began a series of political discussions with Biden at a gingerly pace, trying not to apply too much pressure on him. But she left no doubt that if and when Biden chose to run, he would have the complete support of the Obama White House.”
Klein’s book, Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary, is an insider account of Hillary Clinton’s long-coming quest to become president. It depicts Clinton as a power-hungry politician who lacks the charisma and charm to fulfill her White House ambitions.
Klein, a controversial author who has written two critical books on Barack Obama’s presidency, writes in the book that Biden is the current White House’s choice to succeed its current occupant.
“When the New York Times broke the story about Hillary’s emails, the Obamas were very happy,” Klein quotes a source, referring to the controversy over Clinton’s reliance on a non-government email server during her tenure as secretary of state.
The book says that Jarrett, a longtime friend of the Obamas, is responsible for leaking the Clinton email story to the press. It also says that she “discreetly put out word” that the White House would “look with favor” if news outlets would report on a then-recently resurfacing Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern who had an extramarital affair with President Bill Clinton.
Jarrett has denied that she leaked any damaging information about the Clintons.
“I’m trying to light a fire under Joe,” Jarrett is quoted as saying in the book, which claims Obama sees Biden as the best person to carry on his legacy.
Biden has not said whether he will pursue what would be his third attempt at the Democratic presidential nomination. In May, Biden’s son Beau died of brain cancer.
The book published Sept. 28 and debuted at No. 14 on the Times bestseller list.
