Open Thread: Obama's Pick for Chief of Staff
Yesterday it became clear that President Obama has picked JP Morgan banker anf Fannie Mae board member Bill Daley as his chief of staff. Daley will replace fellow Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel.
The pick says quite a bit about the state of the Obama White House. Fiscal conservative Larry Kudlow immediately praised Daley, saying he would ease the White House's anti-business image. Ben Smith concurred, dubbing Daley "right of center on policy." He is certainly right of the Obama administration, having opposed both ObamaCare and the Dodd-Frank FinReg bill.
But is he too pro-business? Lefty groups bemoaned the pick, along with that of Goldman Sachs banker Gene Sperling for chief economic advisor, saying they brought Obama even closer to Wall Street. Conservatives such as Michelle Malkin echoed that point. And indeed, Smith thinks the populist, anti-Wall Street line will become central to the GOP's 2012 strategy. That sort of rhetoric is already starting to appear among potential Republican presidential candidates.
What are your thoughts on the pick? Is it a sign that the Obama White House is tacking to the center, as the New York Times's Matt Bai posits? Or will Daley be a pragmatist among ideologues, as the Wall Street Journal predicts? How should the pick affect Republican strategy as the next election cycle approaches?
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Obama's not "tacking" anywhere
Submitted by Blonde on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:40am.
He's merely picking a crony, one with whom he is the most comfortable in the job, rather than picking the hard core political animal (on a national scale) that he needs.
The COS, particularly with an opposition House in Congress, needs to be an astute operator, well versed in leaking, legislating, positioninng, and wheeling and dealing. Rahm, IOW.
I'm not saying I like Rahm, either, but this pick is just another disaster for Obama (hee hee), picking an idealogue comrade rather than the person with the best qualifications.
Now, to quickly change the subject. Was anyone else reminded of the SNL Pathological Liar when Glibbsy (don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out, Baghdad Bob) said Obama's senatorial vote against the debt limit was symbolic and representative of his deficit hawk self?
The only thing worse than Glibbsy will be Bill Burton, a snarky little snit (I picture him when I read some of the troll blather here).
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
I loved Dick Morris' comment
Submitted by HockeyKid on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:44am.
when Hannity asked him about Daley on yesterday's radio show: "Can't he pick anything but a Chicago thug?"
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
The most ridiculous lawsuits of 2010
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:44am.
Tell me again why we don't need a Loser Pays system?
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
I hate to sound like a broken
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:47am.
I hate to sound like a broken record but I will. :-) Is NewsBusters EVER going to do something to make any new comments unique so we do not have to scroll through and entire thread finding the newest postings?
*New*
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:59pm.
Changing the word "new" to "***new***" to make it easy to find the new posts would be awesome. It must, however, be an extremely difficult programming task, that would take hundreds of man-hours and huge expneses. This must be the case, because they would have implemented the change allready if this inordinate time and ridiculous expense wasn't the issue.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Kingfish17, take a look in
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 2:17pm.
Kingfish17, take a look in the Forums. Any new comment appears as (new). Now why do they have the ability and the blogs (which get waaaaaaay more traffic) do not?
It was bad enough that they did this "upgrade" just before the Election when we where at our busiest and that the old comments are gone but I just wish they would make it easier for people to navigate around the site. Who knows how much traffic they lost since October when this all happened.
Over the top!
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 6:02pm.
It should take someone with site admin powers next to no time at all to change the current "new" to something searchable. I've commented on this from day one aftter the change and have gotten so frustratred that I changed my "tag line".
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Blonde is on target
Submitted by TexasMom0517 on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:53am.
Raised in the Daley political machine, brother to retiring Mayor Daley, THIS Daley is just another slick, corrupt Chicago pol. If Shakespeare wrote their characters, Rahm would use a dagger, Daley a drop of poison.
From the beginning of his career, Obama been a chameleon, taking on the colorations of his surroundings, lying to appear to be what he is not. Why do you think that Palin, Chris Christie and a few other pols are so appealing to the public, which found themselves governed by the ultimate "Flim Flam Man?" It's because both Palin and Christie are AUTHENTIC- flaws and all. We'd much rather have a "decider" than our current "deceiver" and Daley can try to spin Obama all he wants but when a cucumber turns into a pickle, it can never be just a cucumber again.
Daley will be aided and abetted by the alphabet media and the ever-increasingly irrelevant newspapers, but We the People have awakened and our infomation comes from increasingly disparate sources. It will be an interesting two years.
The already tyrannical IRS is getting even more tyrannical
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:55am.
But what would you expect from the tax collecters for the all-knowing, all powerful Nanny State?
Repeal the 16th Amendment and pass the Fair Tax and eventually these Tax NAZIs will be gone forever.
Who knows? We might even have an outside shot at becoming a free nation once again.
Yeah, I know. I'm most definitely reaching here.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Just think!
Submitted by Newsbubba on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:56am.
Instead of the Chicago crime family running the country, we could have had Johnny Boy Edwards!
Fox News reported today (quoting the National Enquirer) that Johnny Boy proposed to his baby momma three days after the funeral. Three days! Of course he had promised her before Elizabeth died that he was going to marry her as soon as he cleared up that little "funeral problem" thingy.
Then they said that Elizabeth had made him promise never to introduce 'that woman" to her children. Guess what?
Best of all was when Geraldo came on and said that Johnny Boy was "Tacky." When Geraldo can call you tacky, you really have to be pond scum. That's like Special Ed calling Governor Christy "fat."
And to think, we could have had this all playing out in the White House. Instead we have the disaster of the Obama crime family.
Where is Bubba Clinton when you need just a mild little scandal like an intern giving POTUS a Lewinsky.
Silky Pond Scum
Submitted by Blonde on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:16pm.
That's pretty funny, Geraldo calling him tacky.
Who ever thought Reille and Johnny Boy would make Camilla Parker-Bowles (the Rottweiler) look good by comparison?
Waiting for Rick to weigh in, on any movement w/the Grand Jury. I hope the new Mrs. Edwards enjoys seeing her spouse on visiting day....he'll look cute in an orange jumper with his hair mussed, doncha think?
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Oh yeah!
Submitted by Newsbubba on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 2:14pm.
I'm betting that the boys in the Big House are already fighting to see who gets to take Johnny Boy to the Spring Prom.
He better learn to embrace the MSNBC slogan, Lean Forward! Would that be sweet justice or what.
Charlie Crist has a new career
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:00pm.
Ambulance chaser extroadinaire.
What a surprise.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
The Who Said It Best..
Submitted by Utherpend on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:01pm.
Meet the New Boss.....Same as the old Boss......
Hmm. Let's see. Remove one run-down Chicago punk...
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 5:55pm.
...and insert one fully charged Chicago punk.
So, he might be slightly less anti-business than the rest of this private-sector wrecking administration, but everybody else in it has the same goal, and that goal has nothing at all to do with promoting free enterprise.
This changes exactly squat.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
It's comical how the lame
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:12pm.
It's comical how the lame street media actually buy the White House spin.
They really seem to whole heartedly buy into this guy somehow being the second coming of Obama . Not that Obama was such a prize either..........but really.
Adding one old Clinton hack to Obama's young and inexperienced gang that couldn't shoot straight, means nothing.
You could tell from the way Barack treated the guy at the press conference, ( none of Barack's trademark boyish smiling and hugging, seemed more like a funeral ) even Barack knows he and his administration are on life support.
The American people, Big Business, Wall Street, etc. are not going to suddenly fall in love with, or even mildly tolerate the Ass Clown simply because he hired a guy that once had a real job......no matter how much the White House and lame street media attempt to convince us ( spin it ) to the contrary.
Barack_Must_Go.....
Daley reminds me of another
Submitted by bassndude on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:21pm.
Daley reminds me of another dude from Chicago...Al Capone.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
European governments getting ready to seize private pensions
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:21pm.
Sucks to be them, I guess.
BTW, the dems were holding hearings in the last congress about doing the exact same thing here.
Don't think it can't happen.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Alive & Well
Submitted by kilrod on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:35pm.
The Chicago Mafia is alive & well in D C.~!~
(GRINS) kilrod "the Birther"
If an unborn child cannot trust you, why should I,??
Daley
Submitted by sarge329 on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 1:44pm.
We get rid of one Chicago crony and replace him with another. So much for hope and change, right? Oh, well. Maybe now we'll see that this IS the transparency that FMR Speaker Pelosi was going on about. It's either becoming more obvious, or they just don't care who sees them as they really are.
Obama is one screwup after
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 3:35pm.
Obama is one screwup after another. I have been hearing about Sgt. Sean Collins and how his family has been snubbed by Obama and the Democrats. Persident Bush used to meet with the families of the fallen but Obama is too busy to even call the family. The boy just ain right in the haid.
HoA NAZIs sue Marine over flag
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 5:56pm.
And I'll give you one guess as to which state this is happening in.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
LSU, LSU, Geaux Tigers
Submitted by Boudin on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 10:29pm.
Take the lead 14-10, A&M came out smokin, but the Tigers are hanging in.
A&M comes back
Submitted by Boudin on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 10:48pm.
But LSU dont flinch 21-17, best first half of the bowl season so far
LSU up by 11
Submitted by Boudin on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:44pm.
28-17, wow some kinda fun here. Hope A&M doesnt come out in the second like they did in the first. My heart my not take it : )
LSU scores
Submitted by Boudin on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:46pm.
Takin control, LSU up 35-17, where was this team last game? LSU you drive me nuts!!
Tigers startin to dominate
Submitted by Boudin on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 12:05am.
Who can beat "THIS" team? Holy cow
A&M was the hottest team in the Big 12,?
The SEC rules.
Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 12:10am.
Just wait until Monday night.
The Quacks have no chance.
None. Nadda. Zip.
They should stay home in Oregon where it's safe, unless they are looking to get plucked, thus having to fly 3000 miles West naked.
:-)
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
LSU gets those Ducks next
Submitted by Boudin on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 1:15am.
A&M was a great challenge. LSU 41 Texas A&M 24
For Blonde And All The NB Fashion Mavens
Submitted by stratman on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 12:17am.
Mr. Buttons Is Home From Hawaii
Neither Barkie nor MEchelle should dress without adult supervion.
The picture of the two boarding AF1 towards the bottom of the thread may be a chicken dinner winner.
Gee, thanks, strat
Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 12:20am.
I was about to retire for the evening.
LOL - Now I have to concern myself with nightmares.
:-O
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
→ strat
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 12:21am.
Lando and Chewy to the rescue.