Onto this scene in November 1981, enter Ed Rollins, Reagan's incoming political director.

Asked by an Associated Press reporter if President Reagan would offer Hayakawa a job if he decided not to run for reelection, Rollins, underlined that the White House was not negotiating with Hayakwa but said: "If the senator chooses, on his own initiative, not to run for re-election, I'm sure the president would be willing to offer him a substantial administration post."

Rollins told the AP reporter "it has never been discussed" so it would be "purely speculative to say" what job Hayakawa might be offered. "We are clearly not encouraging it," he said.

Asked to respond, Hayakawa said, "I'm not interested... I do not want to be an ambassador, and I do not want an administration post." In a statement, Hayakawa said, "I have not contacted the White House in regard to any administration or ambassadorial post, and they have not been in contact with me."

In his campaign announcement speech, Obama highlighted his lack of Beltway experience: “I know I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.”