A Daley for a White House job? Critics lash out at 'Chicago Machine.'

Robert Gibbs Leaving Job as White House Press Secretary
Updated 1:29 p.m. Eastern Time Robert Gibbs is leaving his job as White House Press Secretary. At his daily briefing Wednesday afternoon, Gibbs said serving as press secretary over the past two years has been the "opportunity of a lifetime, one that I will be forever thankful and grateful for." "this was not an easy decision, but I think it was a very natural time period to make the decision to recharge a little bit," said Gibbs, who first went to work for Barack Obama back in 2004. Gibbs si...

Daley visits White House, renewing chief of staff speculation
William Daley visited the White House today and sat down with President Obama and interim Chief of Staff Pete Rouse multiple news outlets reported today. Daley, a executive for J.P. Morgan Chase, is said to be under consideration to replace Rouse as President Obama's chief of staff. Daley previously served as U.S. Commerce Secretary during the Clinton Administration and is the brother of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. There was no word on whether President Obama offered the chief of staff p...

Bill Daley Visits White House
President Obama was scheduled to meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon with William M. Daley, the former Clinton Administration commerce secretary who has emerged as the leading contender for the role of White House Chief of Staff. Tim Boyle/Bloomberg William M. Daley in April. Mr. Daley was set to hold a series of meetings in the West Wing, an official said, including one with Gene Sperling, who is expected on Friday to be named as director of the National Economic Council. The presid...

Daley, candidate for senior post in Obama administration, visiting White House
William Daley, the front-runner to become permanent Chief of Staff to President Obama, is paying a furtive visit to the White House on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the hiring process. This Story Robert Gibbs resigns, saying he'll serve Obama better from outside Gibbs: It's been a 'remarkable privilege' Daley visits White House as Obama prepares to make sweeping staff changes The Fix: Gibbs shoes are tough to fill Robert Gibbs leaving the White House Michelle Obama names new ch...

Cant anybody play this game?
* For reasons unknown to mere mortals, Carol Moseley Braun extended the media coverage of her initial refusal to release her Tax Returns by dribbling out a bit more information yesterday. And she actually plans to keep the story alive by releasing more information sometime today… Carol Moseley Braun on Wednesday released longer versions of her 2008 and 2009 tax returns, expanding on the two-page summaries she put online the day before. Her disclosure brought her closer to matching two of...

Gibbs tells staffers he is leaving White House
Robert Gibbs told White House Staffers Wednesday that he is leaving his post as President Obama's Press Secretary, ending a two-year tenure that made him the face of the White House as he sparred with reporters and defended administration policies. This Story Gibbs tells Staffers he is leaving White House Ron Klain, Biden's Chief of Staff, resigns to join Case Holdings President Obama announces appointment of Tom Donilon as National Security Advisor (video) Tom Donilon: Political wunderkind t...

Emanuel residency case appealed
A Veteran election attorney seeking to have former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel removed from the ballot took his case Wednesday to the Illinois Appellate Court, just one day after a Cook County Judge agreed with Chicago election officials that Emanuel had a right to run for Chicago mayor. Lawyer Burt Odelson asked the court for an expedited appeal and decision. The election is Feb. 22 and early voting begins Jan. 31. Read more HERE on Clout Street. ...

Tina Tchene announced as Michelle Obama's new chief of staff
It's official --first lady Michelle Obama has a new Chief of Staff, the White House announced Wednesday. Tina Tchen, who Obama has known for two decades, will replace Susan Sher in leading Obama's East Wing staff. In her previous White House role, Tchen worked as the director of the Office of Public Engagement and headed the Council on Women and Girls, a role that she will keep. "Tina's tenure at the White House has focused on ensuring that communities across the country have a voice an...

Gibbs joins parade to door
Saying he simply needed a break, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Wednesday added his name to a growing list of West Wing staff departures as President Obama restocks the team that will help him deal with newly resurgent congressional Republicans and prepare for a 2012 re-election bid. Mr. Gibbs said he will step down in early February after serving for nearly seven years as a spokesman for Mr. Obama, having joined the president's staff when Mr. Obama was the Democratic Candidate for ...

Is Rahm Emanuel voting illegally?
MyFoxChicago ran a story on October 11, 2010, or maybe it is more correct to say they ran a Press Release from the Rahm campaign, documenting Emanuel’s participation in early voting.  It also talks about how this was not the first vote made in the voting district by Emanuel, as Rahm has voted by Absentee Ballot in previous Elections. So did he commit the act of voter Fraud?  By my interpretation of Article III of the Illinois Constitution he is not eligible to vote.   ...

Potential Daley hire as White House Chief of Staff praised as good news for investors
President Obama's reported consideration of William Daley to come on board as White House Chief of Staff is being hailed as a positive development for investors and markets as the president moves to the center on business issues. "In our view, Mr. Daley is the epitome of a business-friendly Democrat," said Brain Gardner, senior vice president of Washington research at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "We think this move would be another sign of the President's move to the center and would be welco...

Howard Dean likes William Daley for White House chief of staff
WASHINGTON--Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean--and former Democratic National Committee chair--on Wednesday backed former Commerce Secretary William Daley for White House Chief of Staff. Dean made his comments about the brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. President Obama is expected to make a decision soon on a replacement for Rahm Emanuel, who stepped down to run for Mayor of Chicago. ...

A banker for W.H. chief of staff?
Just a year or two ago, a lukewarm glass of water and a stern talking-to from President Barack Obama was the most a bank executive could hope for when visiting the White House. Now Obama may ask one to run the place. Granted that Bill Daley, who many Democrats believe will become Obama’s new Chief of Staff and was spotted at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, is not your typical Banker. He’s a former commerce secretary, who headed up President Bill Clinton’s effort to en...

Obama May Name William Daley to Top Job
(Honolulu) — President Barack Obama is considering naming former Commerce Secretary William Daley to a top White House job, possibly Chief of Staff, a person familiar with the matter said Monday. The development comes as Obama eyes a broader reorganization of his senior staff heading into the next phase of his presidency. Daley, an executive at JPMorgan Chase, has extensive Private Sector experience, an attractive profile for a White House trying to counter the notion that the president ...

Gibbs out as White House spokesman
Robert Gibbs, the feisty Press Secretary whose job as President Barack Obama‘s chief spokesman and confidant has given him an outsized presence at the White House, announced Wednesday he was quitting for the less demanding, more lucrative role of giving paid speeches and advising the president from the outside world. In a rapidly unfolding makeover, Obama was also closing in on a decision whether to tap William Daley, a former commerce secretary, for the vital gatekeeping job of White Hous...

William Daley and the Chicago Connection
Washington, D.C. is definitely the center of Public Policy.  But, there is new evidence suggesting that heading into the 2012 re-election bid, Chicago is the undisputed center of the political universe as there are reports that the Obama Administration is picking former Commerce Secretary William Daley as its new Chief of Staff to replace Rahm Emanuel. At present, interim Chief of Staff Pete Rouse is in charge.  But, Rouse has already indicated he has no real desire to run the White Ho...

Daley visits White House as Obama prepares to make sweeping staff changes
Former commerce secretary William Daley paid a furtive visit to the White House on Wednesday, adding to speculation that he is the clear front-runner to become President Obama's new Chief of Staff. This Story Robert Gibbs resigns, saying he'll serve Obama better from outside Gibbs: It's been a 'remarkable privilege' Daley visits White House as Obama prepares to make sweeping staff changes The Fix: Gibbs shoes are tough to fill Robert Gibbs leaving the White House Michelle Obama names new chie...

Howard Dean endorses Daley and smacks outgoing Obama staff
The Sarah Palin of the Democratic party - Howard Dean - has endorsed a product of the Chicago Machine’s favorite family as Obama’s Chief of Staff.   He feels William Daley would be a “huge plus” for the Obama  because he is someone “who knows Washington, but he also is not of Washington." Yeah, that’s kinda the point - he’s from Chicago.  Just like the guy in the Oval Office who supposedly “knows Washington” but

Exclusive: Volcker to step down from White House panel
Source: Reuters (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker plans to leave his role as head of a panel of experts advising President Barack Obama on The Economy, sources familiar with the decision said on Wednesday. The departure of Volcker, 83, as head of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board is among a series of changes under review at the White House. The decision to leave the board was Volcker's. A source close to him said he was ready to continue to advise Obama on a...

Gibbs Resigns as White House Press Secretary
BY Philip Caulfield DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Robert Gibbs, President Obama's Press Secretary, will be stepping down from his post after the State of the Union address to become an adviser to the President during his Reelection campaign. Gibbs began informing his White House colleagues today that he will be leaving in order to concentrate on the 2012 election, but has not released an official statement. [Read more about the 2012 Presidential Election.] "There are mixed emotions around here,...

Gibbs talks about leaving the White House
Calling his nearly two years as the president's chief spokesman -- as well as his nearly seven years as a close adviser -- an "opportunity of a lifetime," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he would soon be leaving to take on a new role as an outside adviser to the White House. Gibbs said he expects to depart his position at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in early February to become a paid consultant working outside the White House to re-elect President Obama in 2012. "What I'm gonna do nex...

Obama meets possible chief of staff pick (AFP)
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama on Wednesday met William Daley, a top Candidate to serve as his new Chief of Staff, as a major White House staff reshuffle gathered pace. Daley, a Clinton-era commerce secretary met Obama and other administration officials, an official said on condition of anonymity. There was no indication on whether Daley had been or would be offered the job. Obama's first chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, like Daley a renowned Chicago powerbroker, left last ...

Needed: Painful grand compromise in Illinois
Me in the Chicago Tribune. Illinois has a $13 billion Deficit, alongside very serious long-term Budget challenges. Taxpayers-especially the affluent-must pay higher income taxes. Politicians must submit to a more transparent and disciplined Budget process. Public Employees must renegotiate some unsustainable Retirement arrangements. And the media must raise its game to cover these issues with the required diligence and depth. There really is no alternative at this point....

Blue Cross reverses mental health preapprovals
An Illinois Health Insurer is reversing its plan to require patients to get preapproval before they see Mental Health providers. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois' plan drew fire from psychologists and psychiatrists. Under the plan, subscribers to some Blue Cross health plans would need prior approval for many Mental Health services. The Chicago Tribune first reported the insurer's decision to drop the plan. Mental health professionals said the plan would violate a federal law that requires...

Tina Tchen New Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff for First Lady
From the WH: The White House today announced that Tina Tchen has been promoted to Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady. Ms. Tchen most recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement, and as Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. She will continue to serve as Executive Director of the Council in her new position. Statement from Mrs. Obama: “I am thrilled to welcome Tina to my team. ...