White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the rise of a Conservative Party challenger in a closely watched upstate New York House election shows that the Republican Party leadership is “becoming more and more extreme, and more and more marginalized.”

“It’s rather telling when the Republican Party forces out a moderate Republican and it says, I think, a great deal about where the Republican Party leadership is right now,” Jarrett said when asked about the GOP candidates’ decision to suspend her campaign, making it more likely the Conservative will win Tuesday’s special election.

On other issues, Jarrett told host George Stephanopoulos that she sees “a great deal of momentum … on heath care,” and said the White House does not view the decision of Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan’s leading opposition candidate, to withdraw from a Nov. 7 runoff.


Asked what the New York development shows about the Republican Party leadership, Jarrett said: “I think it’s becoming more and more extreme, and more and more marginalized. Look at the number of people who actually say that they’re registered, consider themselves a Republican. And if that’s the direction they want to go, fine. What we’re going to do is what we’ve always done. And that is, we’re going to reach out.

“We’re going to try to include as many people to be a part of our governing process — being open, being transparent,” Jarrett continued. “And we’ll let the American people decide. And right now what you see is a great deal of momentum moving forward, for example, on health care. The American people want change. They don’t want the same old health-care system that’s not affordable, that doesn’t offer coverage to everybody, that keeps escalating in cost. And what we’ve seen from the Republicans is, really, a desire to have the status quo. And, George, that’s not acceptable anymore.”

Stephanopoulos asked Jarrett if Abdullah’s withdrawal will cast a cloud over Afghan President Hamid Karzai and make it more difficult for President Barack Obama to implement his strategy.

“We don’t think that’s it’s going to add a complication to the strategy,” she said. “It’s up to the Afghan people and their authorities to decide how to proceed going forward. We watch the election very carefully. And we’re going to work with the leader of the Afghan government, and hopefully that’s going to improve the state of conditions for the people in Afghanistan and also help us as we try to bring this war to a close.”

Stephanopoulos pressed: “So this is not a complication, as far as you see it?”

“No, we don’t see it as a complication,” Jarrett replied.

Stephanopoulos asked if it’s possible that Obama’s decision a strategy for Afghanistan will be delayed until after his trip to Asia in mid-November, and the anchor concluded from her answer that it was possible.

Jarrett said: “What the president has said consistently is, he is going through a very rigorous process. George, before he puts our men and women in harm’s way, he wants to make absolutely sure that he has a strategy. This isn’t just a matter of how many troops are sent over, although that is a very important component.”

Asked why Obama allowed television cameras to record his visit last week to Dover Air Force Base to observe coffins of fallen Americans returning from Afghanistan, Jarrett said Obama “wouldn’t have done it in public if the families had objected.”

“It’s important for us all to recognize what’s at stake,” she said. “And so when you talk about numbers like 40,000 troops, … it’s a reminder about how deep the sacrifice is. And it’s something that’s open and transparent. And it was a way for him, as the president, to convey to those families — on behalf of the American people — how much we appreciate that enormous sacrifice they made.”