The reason he’s floundering is that in his previous jobs, he’s been allowed, even encouraged, to take notes as he interviews and prepares for his stories.
In this job, he is forbidden to take notes as Obama’s handlers are telling him what to say, so there won’t be any notes to be subpoenaed later.
You try remembering, without notes, 15 to 30 minutes of lies you didn’t originate, and telling them to the world as you are being recorded. That’s a butt-load of pressure.
That's Jay's problem. One handler tells him to say this and another handler tells him to say that instead.