Obama's White House Brain Trust Starts To Form

Barack Obama has started to assemble his brain trust, the inner circle of advisers who will guide him as he leads the country and navigates the shoals of Congress.

In addition to chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who accepted the post today, Obama has reportedly selected his campaign's chief strategist, David Axelrod, to be his senior adviser in the White House, according to ABC News.

Axelrod and Emanuel would make a formidable duo, both known for their expertise in brass-knuckle politics and experienced at tough Chicago-style politicking.

In addition, Robert Gibbs, a campaign spokesman known for his steady presence on Air Obama, the campaign plane, will be named the White House press secretary, Democratic officials told Politico.

Gibbs is a more genial presence, although he made headlines at the tail end of the campaign by aggressively confronting Fox News host Sean Hannity over the host's inclusion of an anti-Semite in his documentary on Obama.

The next step for President-elect Obama will be his Cabinet picks, especially the crucial post of Secretary of the Treasury.

Read more about Obama's potential Cabinet picks here.

And check out HuffPost's BigNews Page on Obama's potential Cabinet.

Comments

[Gotcha54]

I read something on this host yesterday that the pregnant daughter isn't "showing" like she should be over the course of our getting to know the clan. Has anyone heard anything on this?

[blastocyst]

No, and since much was made of it, I wonder a little bit.

[Gotcha54]

haven't seen the boyfriend since the week of the convention!

[breakingnews]

I have been noticing that too. Palin was announced at the end of August. They said she was 4 months at the time. That would make her about 6 months now. And no change to her body shape. I find that really odd, as a woman.

How many days until we hear that she has miscarried? I hate to seem cruel, but seriously.

[gladys46]

Saw a photo spread of the family clad in those new clothes ... she was wearing a smart dress with a black patent tightly fitted belt !!???

[vippy]

Not all people show. When I had my son on New Year's Eve, I had gone shopping for baby
clothes before Christmas and they asked if I wanted to have them gift wrapped.

[clsmithj]

Morning Bloe is in the tank for Sarah Palin.

in contrast Fox News is all about destroying Sarah Palin.

You know which channel I'm watching now.

[Gotcha54]

Are they blaming her for McCains loss? They better be careful because if Fox News is still around in about a year when they start the campaign process all over again they'll be eating their words.

[who38]

If they don't blame Sarah, then the party will have to admit that they used bad judgment. Guess which choice they are making?

[hope]

Obama is forming his brain-trust.

Eight years later, we're still waiting for Bush to form his.

(Bush. Brain-trust. I'll leave it alone. It's just not as much fun when the jokes write themselves).

[MNmommy]

T U R D B L O S S O M and Cheney - the Shrub's architect and brain - scary stuff that. Thank goodness our long national nightmare is over.

[vippy]

Acdtually, they stole the elections and then they stole our money and they did it blatantly
and made no attempt to hide the fact. And they got away with it because we are stupid.
We will be paying for a very long time for being so aloof.

[gladys46]

Rahm, Axelrod & Gibb are great men ... just great! I really enjoy listening to all three of them ... they are clear & precise as is their boss !!

[abby4ever]

I believe it's the start of a great team. Some won't even give it a chance of course because they are livid that Obama won.

[RobertaInCT]

Well they will just have to su-ck it up like we had to to for that last eight years.

[Gotcha54]

Joe's certainly not going to get into a debate with Mika's dad. I hope her father scolds her for sticking up for Palin and loving everything she does. A good old father scolding is what she needs! Haha!

[RobertaInCT]

"Sarah Palin will get the last laugh" - According to Mika's tea leaves.

[Gotcha54]

At the expense of the Republican party though! I don't mind - works for me!

[MNmommy]

Mika's wrong of course and the Thug party isabsolutelyscrewed either way.

[gladys46]

Last laugh was lawyer deployed to Alaska to repossess the clothes ... hopefully, they allowed her the towels !

[cagney57]

Does Mika have Palin envy????
Maybe Mika should do deeper research before she reports on Palin doing no wrong...so­meone tell her to go to Alaska and dig around.

[Rose52]

It would take a real journalist to dig deeper and research.
Mike isn't a real journalist.

[breakingnews]

Ha! Mika's Dad is going to be on.....Hoe will have to pipe down for a segment.

[BreakfastatTiffanys1]

MIka is saying attacks on Palin are sex_ist. She also said that Sarah will get the last laugh.

It won't be as good as the one I am having at her expense.

[breakingnews]

She may have the last laugh, but no one will hear her, as we are too busy laughing at her.

[BreakfastatTiffanys1]

You betcha.

[RobertaInCT]

She needs to wash that w-ar paint off, she looks like cr@p......­.......

[BreakfastatTiffanys1]

LOL

[Gotcha54]

He's ready to blow!!!!!!! Haha - too funny!

[Gotcha54]

Now Joe is pretending that everyone in the media, or in the McCain camp, is making up things on Palin that didn't happen. It's a pretty interesting show this morning. O'Donnel is certainly more aggressive after the election.

[gladys46]

Yes. Hoe is stupid, stupid ... sandbox dweller !

[cagney57]

I wonder who he blamed when he left his first wife to take on his second..po­or Joe...no one to blame???

[Gotcha54]

There he goes saying the media show favortism to Obama. Yet night after night I would see news on Keith's primetime show and be shocked at things that have happened and I hadn't heard a word from any news show. I'd then watch MJ and they to would not cover stories that Keith covered the evening before - it's the same network!

[MNmommy]

I used to find it angrifying ;) - especially when they were eviscerating Hillary - but I got over it sometime in the middle of the primaries when I realized that Doucheborough was a fax blast receiver and just spewing the Ailes/Rush/FNC talking points, he was just getting the first crack at them to everyone outside of the Fixed News audience.

They pushed Obama early on to weaken Hillary knowing full well that they would cruc!fy Obama once Hillary fell and just as I predicted it happened. Once Obama was weakened Doucheborough started in with his *girlfriend* schtick about Hillary.

Honestly - you can almost predict what Doucheborough will say on any given day.

Now, it just amuses me.

[BreakfastatTiffanys1]

Morning Hoe's head is exploding. Again.

Question: was Rahm ever indicted for money laundering and federal corruption?

If not, why is Hoe comparing him to Tom Delay?

[manVlad]

I just thought about something. Now that Obama is president elect he doesn't have to worry about being seen in public with Wright or Ayers.

[RomeoinFl]

I know, these attacks are dead forever. Thank God. They were playing the Wright ad every hour here in Florida. Millions wasted by the RNC in OH, PA and FL. YES!!!

[cagney57]

When they played those Wright ads here in Ohio, I saw it 12 times in an hour(I counted) and after the 5th time I just tuned them out.
Heard about Wright almost two years ago and i put that to bed then.

Besides, think about this...if we continued on our ways hating and waring, why would GOD not D.a.m.n. us for our sins????

[abby4ever]

Hey everyone, look!

It's DaManIV, in an anagram, just as DaManIV and DaManV was. The key part being the 'Da'. Which rhymes with 'Za' and, some say, even IS Za. Born November '08, 3 posts so far.

Have fun!

[abby4ever]

Sorry, it's DaManVI who just joined us. There are just so many I get mixed up. oreilly, oreily, Za, Zaff, Da, TheLight, and now another poster tells us that CBS is Za (add the 3 numbers).

He's all yours, I've done my bit.

:]

[hope]

I just thought about something. Now Obama is president elect because Republicans wanted to be aligned with Bush and Cheney.

[RomeoinFl]

I know, they wasted their millions in FL, OH and PA

[WongChin]

Three appointments so far, three homers for the president elect.

I had already picked out Gibbs for press sec., Axelrod for senior adviser, and I was wondering who the chief of staff might be. When I learned it was Emanuel, I knocked myself for not thinking of it. Perhaps, it was because I read sometime ago how he had wanted to be Speaker after Pelosi, how Pelosi wanted him to take over Obama's senate seat, and not wanting such a reliable soldier lost to the Democratic Congressional caucus. These considerations prevented me from predicting the appointment.

Now that it has been made, it is absolutely the best. Like Obama, Emanuel is very clear in his head what should be done. Unlike Obama, however, he takes no prisoners. He it was, after Obama became the presumptive nominee and there were lingering discontent among Hillary supporters and the fear and threats they won't back Obama, who announced that any Congressional Democrat scheming to undermine Obama--covertly or overtly--should expunge such ideas from their minds or else.. .

I love the guy.

[who38]

Emanuel is proud to be a bull-dog. Hope he doesn't end up leading Obama around on the end of a leash. Rahm would have been the perfect Speaker of the House. Instead, we will continue with the ineffectual Pelosi.

[BreakfastatTiffanys1]

My fellow prisoners,

Bob Johnson is going to be on Morning Hoe. Can you think of a better hoe to appear on Morning Hoe?

I can't wait to hear what theassholehas to say.

[Gotcha54]

The name doesn't strike me - who is he?

[BreakfastatTiffanys1]

Founder of BET. He hated Obama during the primaries.

[clsmithj]

the former BET founder that was on the pulpit at a church that HRC was at attendance early this year suggesting Obama was doing drugs in his young life.

[gladys46]

African American millionaire who was a strong supporter of Hil lary ... said some very disturbing things about P.E.Obama ... made a complete idjitt of himself ... had to apologise !

Hoe will book those whom he thinks agrees with him ... something like Mc roaming upState PA for b i g o t s !!

[gladys46]

He folded after Hil lary lost .. in fact, before ! Hoe thinks he has a kin in Johnson !