Obama's Affirmative Action EPA Chief Almost Quit: 'She Felt Like She Got Hit With a Hot Poker Between the Eyes'

Not only is Obama putting Obama before country, he doesn't even show the slightest bit of loyalty with in his administration.

The ozone almost did her in.

Lisa Jackson, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, was on the verge of quitting two weeks ago after President Obama rejected her centerpiece proposal for strict new air-pollution regulations, The Post has learned.

Jackson told intimates she had been convinced Obama would back her up despite aggressive lobbying from Capitol Hill Republicans and business interests.

But on Sept. 1, she learned her support in the West Wing had crumbled during two meetings -- one with Chief of Staff Bill Daley and another with the president.

In the face of a weak economy, bad poll numbers and bleak employment figures, Obama made it clear that “we just don’t need this fight right now,” according to an administration source.

A day later, the administration announced it was abandoning the proposal for the tougher emissions rules, which would have cut the amount of ozone that can be spewed into the air.

The White House said that it would revisit the issue in 2013, but that, for now, the changes to the Clean Air Act would have burdened businesses and local governments with costs to contain and monitor air pollution.

“She was very upset,” one administration official told The Post of Jackson’s reaction. “She didn’t know what she was going to do.”

Sources said Jackson spent two days considering whether to quit.

“Lisa was blindsided,” said senior Sierra Club official Jeff Tittel, a longtime confidant of Jackson. Obama “did it and then told her about it. She was pretty pissed off. She felt like she got hit with a hot poker between the eyes.”

Look at the upside. She'll be gone with Obama come Janaury 20, 2013. Let's just hope the damage can be minimized between now and then.