 Barack Obama and George Clooney were in touch before the actor wrote his brutal op-ed, suggesting Biden was a diminished man who should step aside. Obama did not encourage or advise him on the op-ed, but he did not try to dissuade him either. Oh, yeah, I'm sure he didn't. I'm sure he didn't encourage or advise him. Of course, the entire insinuation of the story is just that, that Obama was behind the Clooney op-ed.