Daley Out – Lew In

When Rahm Emmanuel quit his post as Chief of Staff to run for Mayor in Chicago, and Obama selected William Daley to take his place, I opposed the appointment.  I thought that Daley, a Clintonista, was too Bankster-friendly and elitist to do an effective job and I was right.  Obama may have hoped that he could convince corporate criminals to play by the rules, but he was mistaken.  Needless to say, I’m happy to see Daley leave.

Last January, Obama tapped Daley to replace Rahm Emanuel with high expectations. Daley, a former banker who also served as commerce secretary in the Clinton administration, was expected to help the White House improve relations with Wall Street as it implemented a series of financial reforms in the recession’s wake.

President Obama held a press conference Monday afternoon to announce the resignation of current chief of staff William Daley and introduce his replacement, Budget Director Jacob Lew.

But Daley never seemed comfortable in the job, drawing wide criticism for his handling of the bitter and protracted legislative battles between the White House and Congress during much of 2011 that helped drag down the president’s public approval ratings.

Daley struggled to develop relations with members of both houses of Congress, and after he relinquished day-to-day operations to senior adviser Pete Rouse in the fall, his role seemed significantly reduced.

In a brief appearance at the White House on Monday, Obama announced that Daley, 63, will be replaced by budget director Jacob J. Lew, effective at the end of the month. Daley will stay in the job through the president’s State of the Union address Jan. 24 to help ease the transition.

Traditionally, the role of a White House chief of staff has included managing daily operations of the staff, weighing in on domestic and foreign policy, and helping manage relationships between the White House and Capitol Hill, Wall Street and other outside groups.

Whereas the fiery Emanuel, who had been a congressman before joining the White House and left to run for mayor of Chicago, was intimately involved in most of Obama’s decisions on politics and policy, the cooler Daley was said to have taken a more CEO-like approach to the job. Congressional Democrats complained privately that Daley acted as if they were “wasting his time,” and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) never embraced him… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Washington Post>

Now, I don’t know enough about Jacob Lew to project how he will do as Chief of Staff.  I do know that he dis his job as Budget Director well, and that he has a reputation for impeccable integrity, but Chief of Staff is a unique and demanding role so time will tell.  He has to be an improvement.