Bob Woodward's new book focuses on Washington, Obama and 'gaps' in leadership

In his latest book, investigative journalist Bob Woodward looks at President Barack Obama's leadership during the struggle over the debt limit in 2011 and concludes that there were "gaps" in leadership due to a failure to cultivate congressional relationships.

"My conclusion is President Clinton, President Reagan — and if you look at them, you can criticize them for lots of things — they by and large worked their will," Woodward told Diane Sawyer in a recent interview. "On this, President Obama did not."

In "The Price of Politics," due to be released Tuesday, Woodward contends that during the debt limit standoff, "it was increasingly clear that no one was running Washington."

Woodward is an investigative journalist and author, and is best known for teaming up with Carl Bernstein to report on the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, which led to the best-selling book "All the President's Men" in 1974.

In an excerpt of his new book at The Washington Post, Woodward writes that President Obama summoned Congressional leaders to the White House to discuss the debt limit, and was soon cut out of the meeting as John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Harry Reid, D-Nev., took over.

"Although running things is a joint venture between the president and Congress, a president has to dominate Congress — or at least be seen as dominating Congress," Woodward wrote. "The last president to fold was George H.W. Bush, who gave in to Democrats' demands that income taxes be raised in a 1990 budget deal. And Bush was a one-term president."

The deal negotiated among congressional leaders would require a two-step increase in the debt limit, and would guarantee that the debt limit would be revisited during the 2012 presidential campaign.

In a meeting with Reid and Nancy Pelosi, Reid chief-of-staff David Krone outlined the deal for the president, who said he did not trust Republicans. In return, Krone reportedly "blasted the president to his face."

"Mr. President, I am sorry — with all due respect — that we are in this situation that we're in, but we got handed this football on Friday night. And I didn't create this situation," Krone said. "The first thing that baffles me is, from my private-sector experience, the first rule that I've always been taught is to have a Plan B. And it is really disheartening that you, that this White House did not have a Plan B."

Agreeing to the plan would give Republicans leverage, Woodward wrote, allowing them to bring the issue back in the middle of the presidential campaign and to impose more conditions on the next debt ceiling increase. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner advised Obama to sign the bill, while Obama's senior political adviser, David Plouffe, told the president not to cave.

The standoff concluded when a deal was reached at the end of July.

In a Washington Post review of the book, Steve Luxenberg wrote that it sketched a portrait that showed Obama was "perhaps a bit too confident in his negotiating skills and in his ability to understand his adversaries."

The White House pushed back against the books' claims, The Hill reported Monday, with White House spokesman Jay Carney saying Obama's leadership during the crisis was "significant."

Prior to the book's release, other media reports shared additional excerpts, including anecdotes about Obama insulting current Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi putting the president on mute and Obama's legislative affairs director and former budget aide Rob Nabors talking about tax hikes on millionaires.