Obama Aide: White House Too Insular

Dan Pfeiffer, one of President Barack Obama's top advisors, admits the president's inner circle is too insular sometimes, but blamed it on being pressed for time, Politico reports.

“It's not because we don't respect the advice of other people and we don't want to hear what they have to say,” Pfeiffer told Bloomberg TV. “It's just sometimes in the White House you're just trying to get through the five minutes in front of you and you don't have time to reach out to folks."

Pfeiffer said it will be important for Obama's inner circle to do the best job it can to “get outside voices in,” and he expects outreach will be a major priority for new chief of staff Denis McDonough, who like Pfeiffer has been with Obama since 2007.

The Obama administration will continue to bring in people with experience in both parties and administrations, and other parts of government, to get advice about “enacting the president's agenda and helping the country,” Pfeiffer said.

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