Reaction to President Obama's selection of Bill Daley as his chief of staff has been limited to a fairly predictable argument: He's either part of the problem as a Wall Street and corporate insider or a savior/emissary to the business community that has had its feelings hurt in the first half of Obama's term by insults real or imagined. There will be expressions of outrage, Inside Job style, over the next few days. But with financial reform done, and Elizabeth Warren ensconced, Obama can surely handle the political criticism.
But beyond the politics, is Daley a smart choice? I'd say yes. There are four strong arguments for Daley that are compelling:
1. He's from outside the Obama bubble. In terms of bringing in new blood, rather than just rearranging the chairs, Daley is as close to the new guy as Obama could possibly get within the president's comfort level. With the Daley/Chicago connection, he isn't a total outsider to the Obama world. Yet he doesn't bring preconceptions, notions, scars or baggage from the last four years of campaigning and governing.
2. He brings a preexisting political network to the table. Daley's relationships to fundraisers, businesspeople, and officeholders will be very helpful to Obama in the next two years of governing. From his work in the private sector and politics, Daley can bring new surrogates and supporters to the table to help make the case for the president's policies, a significant weak spot in the White House operation up until now.
3. He has prior political experience as an executive. Daley has run a presidential campaign and served as a cabinet secretary. He understands the dynamic of serving the president, but won't be cowed or wowed by his prior relationship with Obama or the power of the office. He has been a leader in his own right, and will have more gravitas outside the White House as an emissary for the president as well.
4. He has prior Cabinet experience. Daley understands the complexity of running government agencies in D.C. and the interplay between them and the White House. From his new perch, he will help make sure that all assets are firing on all cylinders in support of the president's, not the specific agency's agenda. Daley is a seasoned, experienced hand who can spot evasion or excuses from the bureaucracy immediately and get things back on track quickly.
While a new Chief of Staff is hardly a panacea for the many challenges facing the president, someone with Daley's assets will help him reinvigorate and reset his leadership in 2011.
Let's not forget that we are dealing with politics here, and in politics, image counts for something. There is no way that the President is going to make any Americans happy with his choice for COS, save the Republicans, but they hate him already anyway. Liberals and progressives will predictably be clenching their fists, and even the ficklest of independent voters will be left scratching their heads when they see that their leader has appointed an establishment banker as his point man. This isn't exactly the way that one escapes the 'business-as-usual' tag; this is how they embrace it. As far as image was concerned, this pick could be a colossal mistake.
http://www.doubledutchpolitics.com/2011/01/after-2-years-as-president-the-real-barack-obama-can-now-stand-up
The real shame is that Republicans have moved the debate so far right & have a Tea Party movement leading the debate that to get any priority passed the Democrats are in a sense forced to move more center and with the blue dogs center right.
As Bill Maher so cleverly puts it: "There is not party that reflects my values anymore, the Democrats have moved to the right and the Republicans have moved into a mental institute."
"political experience" - surely many others possess that qualification
never mind that Obama's problem isn't politics, it's integrity
Daley should be getting prosecuted for the frauds committed by his company - but Obama and Holder have shown repeatedly that they will not act on mortgage fraud (on the origination or on foreclosure) and related securities fraud - and bringing Daley on board is simply demonstrating that fact once again
"political experience" - surely many others possess that qualification"
Yet you offer no names.
Daly's got the credentials. Obama will take some heat for it but if Daly can shepherd Cabinet business and get some response for the base, it'll be a good pick. Personally I think the pattern of insulting the base did a lot of harm. Glad to see Gibbs, Summers, and Rahm all gone.
I have also read the suggestion a few times about the differences between people who need to be told what to do and how things are versus people who are thinking for themselves as a larger and deeper movement of humanity as it slowly lurches forward in consciousness. I don't buy it as a general way of seeing differences between left and right but there do appear to be some differences nevertheless. Thanks forthe reply.
Obama nominated Geithner and Summers, and after all we have seen for Wall Street he is still nominating Wall Street to run the White House.
No one is forcing Obama to nominate them. It is his choice. You cannot blame the Dems' or the Reps or anyone for that. This is Obama's choice. He could have picked Elizabeth Warren, or Robert Reich, or Krugman, or anyone with NO connections to Wall Street. He could have picked someone to stand by the 98%, but he picked Wall Street AGAIN AND AGAIN.
Anyone that still refuses to see that needs to have their head examined. Anyone that refuses to see that fact is in great need of mental help.
Obama thinks he is the mediator with two waring children fighting over a toy. He is not the judge and jury but the representative of the working class and Progressives as a Democratic president. Obama is really DLC or a Blue Dog. That isn't change we can believe in; it's more of a bait and switch to me.
He ends up being a deal maker and calling that "change you can believe in." Sounds like the same 'ole song and dance that Clinton did under the name of triangulating.
More backdoor bailouts and Chicago-bankster deals, more troops to the "good war," and more Bush agenda. We have health care that we have to pay out of our own pockets while we compete against Asians who can work for one tenth of what we need to pay our bills - all while banksters and multinational corporations use offshore tax havens with foreign operating subsidiaries.
Belt-tightening and austerity programs in the middle of a recession will cause a contraction of consumer spending. Food and gas prices are going up like never before. Without jobs, who can afford health insurance? Those prices are going up, too.
As soon as unemployment benefits run out, you will see millions of homeless people on the streets without food and heath care. This will be a public health hazard as diseases begin to spread.
The new Dark Ages are being ushered in so that bankers get bonuses.