Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max For decades, JILL BIDEN was a reluctant political spouse. In many ways she’s now a reluctant First Lady. That’s the portrait captured by Associated Press reporters JULIE PACE and DARLENE SUPERVILLE in their new biography “Jill” which comes out today. She is the only First Lady to work at a non-White House job as she has continued teaching at a local community college. She is guarded with reporters and wary of the limelight after decades of her husband engaging in political combat. She has an admittedly cynical view of the world she’s been dragged into. “I hope it’s helped make me stronger and more resilient,” she told the authors, who sat down with FLOTUS three times last September in her East Wing office. “My expectations for people aren’t so high.” Pace told West Wing Playbook that “in some ways [Jill Biden is] pretty hardened to the game, and maybe that comes from being reluctant to be part of it in the first place.” The authors track this disposition all the way back to her wariness about entering into a political marriage — Joe proposed four times and then gave her an ultimatum on the fifth try. Even after they married in 1977, she was still a registered Republican in 1978 so she couldn’t vote for him in the Democratic primary when he was running for reelection. She stayed in Delaware and did not move to D.C. until Biden became Vice President in 2009. Joe’s sister, VALERIE BIDEN OWENS, noted in her recent book, that in “the years leading up to Joe’s selection as VP, Jill was a self-proclaimed and avowed nonpolitical spouse. She was a team player, to be sure, but her mantra was ‘I am an educator. Val’s the political one. Let her make the speeches.’” Writing about Joe’s failed 1988 presidential campaign, Biden Owens wrote that “Jill gave [Joe] her blessing, but her heart wasn’t in it either.” In spite of that wariness, the authors note she has slowly become a political partner over the years. Her heart was in Joe’s 2020 candidacy. And during the presidency, Superville notes, “she's traveling far more than he is promoting his policies and programs.” Still, the authors think a large part of the First Lady’s legacy will not be a signature policy initiative — like healthy eating or anti-bullying — but rather how she maintained some independence from political obligations. “Her whole schedule is built around what her school schedule is,” Pace said. “And I think she would want that to be a lasting legacy and send a message not only to future first ladies, but just other women in their lives, that they can be true partners and maintain some level of independence….even if your husband gets elected president of the United States.” Superville, who has covered four first ladies, agreed. “She's now made it easier for future first ladies to continue to work outside the White House,” she said. Jill’s disdain for the game can, at times, make the First Lady a tough interview. She often speaks very carefully or in generalities. When the AP reporters asked her last September how her community college classes were going, she responded: “It’s going great” and “It’s going really well.” Her office can also be reluctant to grant access. When they do, it’s often with media figures with whom she has a positive history. The two most in-depth profiles over the past year appeared in Vogue and CBS Sunday News Morning. They were, respectively, from JONATHAN VAN METER and RITA BRAVER who had published flattering pieces about her before she was First Lady. Still, the First Lady’s team did give the two AP scribes three separate interviews — a notable departure from past practices. As First Lady, MELANIA TRUMP didn’t sit down on the record with MARY JORDAN or KATE BENNETT for their books about her. MICHELLE OBAMA didn’t sit down with JODY KANTOR for her book on the Obama marriage. LAURA BUSH also opted not to be interviewed for ANN GERHART’s biography. Still, it’s not clear if the First Lady’s team was thrilled at the prospect of a book. Asked if Jill’s team sounded enthusiastic when told about the biography, Pace laughed and responded: "You should talk to them about that." So we asked her office. Spokesperson MICHAEL LaROSA responded: “Of course! We were more than happy to participate in their project.” TEXT US — Are you First Lady JILL BIDEN? We want to hear from you (we’ll keep you anonymous). Or if you think we missed something in today’s edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal/Wickr/WhatsApp Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427. WHAT YOU TEXTED: An administration official noted that there were actually three former cast members of “The West Wing” at yesterday’s Easter Egg Roll. KRISTIN CHENOWETH, who came onto the show in later seasons, attended as well.
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