It is of course RBG's fault at the base of it. Obama couldn't fire her or whatever.
But by all accounts Obama did not push her very hard or treat this as a priority. He shouldn't have just asked nicely and then gone away once she said no. They could have built a public media narrative around pressuring her to retire.
It's quite possible Obama considered that and decided he would get the sort of response you would get telling your teenage daughter not to date the bad boy. Sometimes pressuring people backfires.
But by all accounts Obama did not push her very hard or treat this as a priority. He shouldn't have just asked nicely and then gone away once she said no. They could have built a public media narrative around pressuring her to retire.