Gregory Craig To Be Obama's White House Counsel: Reports

UPDATE on November 16 at 12:27 PM EST:

The Washington Post also reports that Craig has been chosen for the post:

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Washington lawyer Greg Craig, who served as President Bill Clinton's lead attorney during his impeachment proceedings, to be his White House counsel, according to an individual involved with the transition.

Craig has been a longtime adviser to Bill and Sen. Hillary Clinton, but became a close adviser to Obama during the campaign, reportedly serving as the stand-in for Sen. John McCain during debate preparations.

Transition officials declined to comment. And Craig did not return calls left on his machine.

Politico reports that Barack Obama will name Gregory Craig has White House counsel:

Gregory B. Craig, a well-known Washington lawyer who quarterbacked President Bill Clinton's impeachment defense, has been chosen White House counsel by President-elect Barack Obama, according to Democratic officials.

Craig is intimately familiar with the president-elect's record because he played the role of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in debate preparations.

CNN also has a source saying Craig will be named to the post:

Prominent Washington lawyer Greg Craig will be named White House counsel for the Obama administration, a Democratic source tells CNN. The source added that it is unclear when the appointment will be made public.

Craig first gained prominence representing President Clinton in the Senate impeachment trial, but he endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries and later played a key role in Obama's vice presidential vetting process.

Read more at HuffPost's Obama Transition BigNews Page.

Comments

[Texas4Obama]

DemConWatch this morning has posted a tracking list of Cabinet Appointments, etc. and will be adding a White House list shortly. This will be a great site/list to keep an eye on...

http://www.demconwatchblog.com/2008/11/demconwatch-presidential-appointment.html

Help spread the link so it will go viral ;)

[Mas]

Hopefully there's room in the AG's office (criminal div. preferred) for Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald. Not to retry the scooter case, but to help uncover the criminal enterprise.

[playera]

I'm not sure I'll be happy with any former top, middle, or bottom officials that were Heckuva Job Bush people, ever, unless they have come out and pleaded their remorse.

[YesWeDid]

As long as it's not MSNBC's Dick Gregory which would be defeating the purpose!

[MysticMichael]

Dick Gregory is the famous comedian. The journalist on MSNBC is David Gregory.

[oneCTvoter]

loved dick gregory - started his career in my area - good guy!

[zyxt]

Clinton lost the first two years of his first term because he didn't have enough experienced people around. He didn't use Carter's people --he wanted all new and that didn't work out for the country-- he/we lost those first two years and the the elephants charged back into the power.

[Shanvan]

I love how these Rethugs keep complaining about the Obama administration and change. Obama is the new U.S president elect. He will be president for the next 4 years come January 20th. He now has political capital, and he can appoint whoever he so desires to be a member of his cabinet get used to it. This is what political capital entitles you to. If you want to be bitter, stay bitter for the next 4 years, if you want to roll up your sleeves and help this country pull together, please do so, with objective constructive criticism. Otherwise, sulking buddies get a life and stop whining about nonsense. I trust Obama, even if he makes mistakes, and he will because no president is perfect it will never be as bad as George W. Bush, never. A couple of years from now say 25-30 yrs from now, history will judge W's presidency as the worst this country has ever had. The most corrupt incompetent administration in the history of the U.S. This judgement one day will become a reality trust me.

[Clarabell]

The Re tards don't understand that the change we need is no more Ge orge W. B. And now they want to dictate the changes. Sorry bubs, it's time to more over.

[Harlemnite]

We won't have to wait 25-30 years to decide if W. was the worst President ever. We can make that assessment now.

[jwatso7]

I have several thoughts I'd like to share. First, for those who are complaining about Obama turning to people with Clinton years connections, so what? From what I recall, the Clinton administration was a prosperous time for this country. The people in the Clinton administration contributed to a period of time with peace and economic growth. Why is it a bad thing to turn to those people again? They may be the very people with the experience and ideas to get us out of the mess we've been in. Frankly, I'd rather return to some Clinton advisers than the folks we've had the past 8 years. Second, this is a no win for Obama. If he picks people with ties to Clinton, he's slammed for not bringing change - even though any democrat in Washington with meaningful experience likely has ties to the Clinton era. If he doesn't pick them, he'll be attacked for going with untested advisers and putting the country in jeopardy. We can't have it both ways. Finally, ultimately, the man at the top is different. The president sets the tone. Clinton had great advisers, but Bill blew it with his bad behavior towards the end. That's not a reflection on the advisers, it's the man at the top. Obama will shape his administration through his vision regardless of who's helping him. Everyone just needs to relax.

[ritenow]

jwatso97

Thank you for this posting. I had a recent conversation with friends expressing the same thing.

Everyone needs to just chill out. If you take a minute and look at the way Obama ran his campaign, how he changed the way campaigns will be run from this day on, how it was run with integrity and insight, how it was inclusive and not exclusive, we should give him the respect and honor he and his decisions deserve.

Just chill out everyone. We're in much better hands than we've been in for a long, long time. We all just have to do our part and that begins with trust and putting an end to second guessing the man we all worked so hard to put into the White House.

[Clarabell]

Yes!

[kellygrrrl]

as long as he is ready, willing and able to fire up the criminal investigations of Cheney/BushCo --

[MysticMichael]

There may yet be some of that. But believe me, O is going to have his hands full with much more pressing concerns. Criminal investigations may have to wait...

[elcojonu]

To those who bad -mouth the Clinton Administration and those who served in it.
We had the best Economy in a Generation, no wars going anywhere, we where respected all over the world and Bill walked off the job with a 60% approval rating.
If Barack can accomplish that without the ' drama ' we lived thru during those years, it would make me very, very, happy.
Plain truth is that ,if it had'nt been for the ' sex dramas ' we were put thru , Bill had a very succesful 8 years.
There was nothing wrong with his people, it was his behavior who f....d things up.

[blueskybigstar]

The Clintons were not terrible for the economy, but they were corrupt. They never balanced a budget in Arkansas. They inherited the dot.com era. That time would have even made George Bush look good. He supported Greenspan and his deregulation. He supported things that the Republicans could not have passed on their own. The free trade agreements under him, at first, helped our economy by selling all of the family's furniture, but it was only a bubble until other economies could organize and beat us at our own game. Also, he let China do whatever they wanted. AIG is owned by China. Is thiswar by another means? He abandoned a lot of his promises like loan reform which would have prevented this mess. Did I mention all the people who "passed on" just before they were about to make a deal with prosecutors?

[elcojonu]

He lost the Congress in '94; not much you CAN do with a Congress that battles you 24/7.

[jorge4u]

Hey, at least, these people have shown before that they are better than the ones who have been in charge for the last 8 years. I may not agree with the Obama's choices in some cases but trust his judgment and instinct.

[kellygrrrl]

the ones who have been in charge for the last 8 years did exactly what they were supposed to do -- Rape&Pilla­ge&Conspir­e&Conceal WAS the job description

[SOLERSO68]

Greg Craig must know as as much as anyone about the republican smear/attack machine. That has to be a plus.

[KeysDan]

Is he related to Larry?

[Mason]

Does he maintain a list on the web?

[whatfreshhellisthis]

Carter brought "new" people with him from Georgia to Washington, and his is generally regarded as a failed Presidency, in part because of his inexperienced advisors. Reagan got his economic advice from a newcomer to the political scene, David Stockman, originator of the trickle-down theory. Even Stockman recently admitted that trickle-down doesn't work.

One of the charges the GOP made against Obama was that he was too inexperienced for the White House, and Democrats responded that although he was not as experienced as some other candidates, he would surround himself with experienced, seasoned people. That is what he is now doing. I'll wait to see if they bungle things before I feel any regret about my vote.

[blueskybigstar]

Carter only failed because he was naive to all of the malevolent forces against him which undermined his presidency. TheCIAmade a deal with the Iranians to hold thehostages until after election day.

[YesWeDid]

Give Obama a chance. The economy, domestic and international relations are WAY to chaotic to bring people with absolutely no experience into essential posts. The last group Obama can pull from with qualifications and experience come from the Clinton administration. If you want to 'shoot your shot' at someone, aim it at Russ Limpball, he's calling the economic crisis we're experienceing the obama recession when it was him and his playmate george bush and dick cheney that got us into this fiasco.

[anonymousDC]

Any prominent Democrat with experience will likely have spent some time connected with the eight years of the Clinton presidency. What's important is that Craig was one of the very first friends of the Clintons to break with them and support Obama instead. That shows independence and strength of character, particularly knowing the long shot that Obama was considered at the time when Craig started advising him. It's also notable he was willing to go against the Clintons considering their penchant for payback against those they view as disloyal. Moreover, it shows Craig's long-held belief in Obama and his policies over those of the Clintons. Obama has spent enough time with Craig over the past to fairly judge his character and determine he's the man to give him legal advice as President. So to everyone posting that believes Craig is simply another Clinton insider, try not to jump to conclusions. Also, White House counsel is not a position for a novice lawyer without Washington experience--look where the utter legal incompetence of the last 8 years got us. Nobody can question that Craig is one of the top attorneys in the country with unparalleled experience to help Obama navigate the legal intricacies and piranhas of DC.