At Obama White House, Back to the Future

The NYT's Clintonite Fuzzy Math
I’m trying to understand the math in today’s NYT story by Michael Shear about Bill Clinton people in the Barack Obama Administration, begged to the announcements of Bill Daley as Chief of Staff and Gene Sperling to head the National Economic Council. Key quotes: The appointments add to the already significant ranks of Clintonites in Mr. Obama’s administration. Still, as some of Mr. Obama’s longtime advisers leave the White House, his decision to revamp his staff by tappi...

Is Obama Following the Clinton Script?
It must seem like moving day lately at the White House - new folks coming in and old folks on their way out. This week alone we learned there will be new Press Secretary; we met a new Chief of Staff; and we learned of some job swaps on the economic team, most notably the return of Gene Sperling to head the National Economic Council. Many remember Sperling for having done that job under President Bill Clinton; most recently, he served as an advisor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Sperling rep...

Newly empowered House pro-life leader calls for investigations of Obama/Clinton for exporting abortions worldwide
On December 21 the “worst nightmare” of Abortion proponents was realized when pro-life leader Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) was named chairman of a House subcommittee that is very important to pro-lifers.  I’ll let pro-abort Jane Roberts explain their fears, who wrote at RH Reality Check right after the November election: And if Chris Smith (R-NJ), an arch enemy of reproductive health and family planning, chairs one of the subcommittees - the Africa and Global Healt...

Gene Sperling to replace Larry Summers as head of National Economic Council
President Obama on Friday named Gene Sperling director of the National Economic Council, choosing a Veteran of the Clinton Administration Budget battles to navigate the rocky shoals of record Budget Deficits, high Unemployment and a Republican resurgence in Congress. The announcement was made in the Prince George's County suburb of Landover, during a presidential visit to a window company that is taking advantage of a new Tax Break for businesses. Obama also announced other changes to his ec...

Rating Obama
Almost exactly three years ago, as the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was splitting the Democratic Party in half, we asked a group of eggheads and eminences—mostly liberals—to write short essays for the magazine announcing who they would support in the 2008 election. Now, with President Obama’s popularity suffering and many of his supporters expressing frustration with his administration, we thought it would be worthwhile to return to the same group and ask: D...

St. Louis' narrative key to DNC bid
Related: St. Louis, three others compete for Democratic convention Obama is not the first president to have that name attached to him, but civic and political leaders in St. Louis are hoping it sticks. As they try to lure the 2012 Democratic National Convention to the Gateway City, some St. Louis leaders see a theme emerging that might separate their city from its competitors — Minneapolis, Cleveland and Charlotte, N.C. "We're the best place to come tell a narrative that builds on his come...

Gene Sperling named Director of the National Economic Council today
Mr. Sperling, 52, was nominated this morning by President Obama to succeed Lawrence Summers as the Director of the National Economic Council.  Sperling, who has served on the council and has advised Timothy Geithner through the economic downturn has helped the Obama Administration weather the recent economic Recession and provided guidance on maintaining US employment.  Sperling served in the same post in the Clinton White House as well.  While the economic situation differs drast...

US may support throwing out disputed Haitian vote
The Obama Administration could support throwing out the results of Haiti's contested first-round presidential vote if the Organization of American States proposes that step. Cheryl Mills, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's Chief of Staff, says the U.S. is waiting for the results of OAS' review of the Nov. 28 vote. Mills told reporters Friday that the U.S. will consider any steps deemed necessary by the expert panel, including canceling the vote and setting up new Elections. However, she...

William Daley chosen as new White House chief of staff
William M. Daley has the deep political experience one would expect in a top White House hire: scion of a Chicago political dynasty, adviser to numerous Presidential Candidates, former Cabinet secretary who also relishes exerting influence behind the scenes. This Story Robert Gibbs: How the Press Secretary changed, and who will follow him People who could fill Robert Gibbs's shoes William Daley chosen as new White House Chief of Staff Graphic: Daley weaves in and out of two worlds THE TAKE: I...

Late Night: White House Scouting Report Cant Go Left
Such is the state of conventional wisdom in Washington, D.C., that it took Matt Bai (who’s regurgitated his fair share of it) to push back in the New York Times today on the reaction to the naming of the new White House Chief of Staff: Most of the talk in Democratic circles on Thursday, after it became known that President Obama had chosen William M. Daley as his chief of staff, was of going back to the 1990s. The consensus was that Mr. Obama, who once held himself out as the clear alter...

Obama Appoints Ultimate Wall Street Insiders to Top Posts Again
Washington’s Blog strives to provide real-time, well-researched and actionable information.  George - the head writer at Washington’s Blog - is a busy professional and a former adjunct Professor. ~~~ Obama is replacing his chief economic adviser - Larry Summers - with Gene Sperling. Sperling is currently a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and is now being appointed as Obama’s chief economic adviser. He’s been there before: Sperling will

Barack Obama and the Three Envelopes
The communication disaster is indicative of a systemic White House problem. While all exceptionally smart folks, Team Obama only has had a few people who can stand up to the President. In Foreign Policy, there's Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, and Joe Biden. In Domestic Policy there was only Larry Summers, Director of the White House Economic Council. (Obama had high hopes for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, but he turned out to be Summers' acolyte, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Vol...

Top GOPer praises Obama picks
(CNN) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is hopeful the staff shake ups at the White House this week that included a new Chief of Staff and director of the National Economic Council are a sign President Barack Obama is moving toward the political center. "Finally they found a guy who has some real world business experience," McConnell said on CNN's "John King, USA." "So maybe the president is going to take a more Centrist direction and if he does we may be able to do some business." Invoki...

Obama learns it is the economy, stupid
Discussing the latest jobless report at a window factory in Maryland on Friday, President Barack Obama sounded a lot like the last Democrat who occupied the White House. First he borrowed a famous promise of President Bill Clinton to “focus like a laser beam” on Unemployment. Then he announced the return of yet another member of Clinton’s economic team. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset With the addition of Gene Sperling as director of the National Economic Council, the p...

I Love the Smell of Corporatocracy in the Morning
...The president has been reaching out directly to U.S. companies, meeting with 20 chief executives last month to ask for ideas on policies that would inspire them to invest and hire. And on Feb. 7, Mr. Obama will cross Lafayette Park from the White House to the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, his longtime political nemesis, to discuss working together on Job Creation. "The administration took some positive steps recently, striking a Bipartisan agreement to extend current Tax Rates...

Obama's New Chief of Staff is 'The Wolf' of Pulp Fiction
In Quentin Tarantino's 1994 opus Pulp Fiction, two hitmen—portrayed by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson—find themselves in a pickle after accidentally shooting of a colleague on a California freeway. Frantic, Jackson's character phones his gangster boss, pleading for help. Not to worry, says the boss, “Wait for The Wolf—who should be coming directly.” The Wolf—played brilliantly by Harvey Keitel—arrives on the scene, briskly barks directions and coo...

Robert Gibbs' Successor: How About a Woman as White House Press Secretary?
The White House is looking for a successor to departing Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and the top prospects -- as usual -- are men. But Politico's Mike Allen says new Chief of Staff Bill Daley would like a woman in the job. A woman as the face of this administration -- why, that would be something new and different. The most important qualities in a Press Secretary include access to the president, clarity of expression, ease on camera, and good relations with reporters. The names in the mix so f...

Obama taps Gene Sperling to replace Larry Summers
WASHINGTON - President Obama corralled another top Clinton Administration Veteran Friday, naming Gene Sperling to replace Harvard-bound Larry Summers as head his Council of Economic Advisors. In unveiling the choice, Obama also hailed the jobs report for December that was unveiled this morning. It showed the Unemployment Rate dipped to to 9.4%. "The Economy added more than a hundred thousand jobs last month and the Unemployment Rate fell sharply," Obama said in his Speech, delivered in a nearb...

The Top 12 Potential White House Press Secretaries
The Resignation and departure next month of White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs means that administration will soon have a much different face making its case in the lead up to the 2012 Presidential Election. But it's unclear who that face will be. Many insiders expect that deputy Bill Burton will get the job, but other names have started to emerge, such as former Clinton and Democratic Party spokeswoman Karen Finney, that would substantially change the look and tone from the press podium. We'v...

A Penny for Scott, but Six-Figure Salaries for Some Staff
Multimillionaire Gov. Rick Scott is taking a single penny for his gubernatorial Salary, but he’s stocking his staff with people commanding six-figure salaries while promising to cut state spending as the state faces a $3.5 billion shortfall and 12 percent Unemployment. "I'm really not doing it for the Salary,” Scott said back in July when he first promised to work for next-to-nothing. In doing so, Scott is saving the Taxpayers about $130,000 in forgoing the usual statutory salary for...

Obama to visit manufacturing plant
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- President Obama visits a Manufacturing plant in Landover, Md., Friday, touring the facility and making personnel announcements, the White House said. Obama also will remark on the latest national monthly employment report, the daily agenda indicated. It is widely expected that Obama will name Gene Sperling, a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, as the director of the National Economic Council. Sperling, who held the post during President Bill Clinton's a...

Obama names Sperling to top economic job
US President Barack Obama will on Friday tap expertise polished in the fondly remembered Clinton-era economic boom years with the choice of policy Veteran Gene Sperling for a top White House job. The move will be the latest step in a staff shuffle that has seen Obama refresh his economic and political teams to meet a strong challenge from resurgent Republicans as he prepares to build a 2012 Reelection campaign. Sperling is a Veteran of divided government battles with Republicans during then-pres...

Obama names Sperling to top economic job
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (L) confers with Gene Sperling. US P... US President Barack Obama will on Friday name Veteran Clinton-era policy expert Gene Sperling to a top White House economic job, in the latest stage of a staff reshuffle, officials said. The move will be the latest step in a staff shuffle that has seen Obama refresh his economic and political teams to meet a strong challenge from resurgent Republicans as he prepares to build a 2012 Reelection campaign. Sperling is a...

Clinton, Feingold Unlikely to Challenge Obama in 2012
The rumored cast of potential Democratic challengers to Obama in 2012 is quickly fading. Associates say that recently defeated Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold isn’t likely to take on the president in a Democratic primary, and others like ex-Democratic Party boss Howard Dean and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have publicly bowed out. That doesn’t mean a competitor won’t appear, but if it does, says Democratic pollster Peter Hart , it will be from somebody upset with Obama&rsquo...;

Clinton meets Lebanon PM, Saudi king in New York
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed growing tensions in Lebanon with the country's Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Saudi King Abdullah at separate meetings in New York, officials said. Clinton reaffirmed strong US support for Lebanon's independence and for the work of the UN-backed tribunal that is investigating the 2005 Assassination of Hariri's father, Rafiq, a source who attended the Clinton-Hariri meeting said. The Saudi ambassador to Washington also met Hariri and it was not excl...