The real reason Obama is changing his administration
The president's latest appointments might look like business as usual, says Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times, but they indicate a new mission for the White House
On first glance, President Obama's remaking of his White House staff "may not look like massive change," says Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times. His new economic policy czar, Gene Sperling, is a "Clinton-trained policy wonk" who is succeeding another one-time Clinton aide, former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers. The new chief of staff, William M. Daley, is a "Chicago-born Washington insider," as was his predecessor, Rahm Emanuel. But the new appointments really "reflect a confirmation and continuation of Obama's move toward the political center, which began last year and was most evident in his decision to compromise with Senate Republicans over the extension of upper-income tax cuts." Daley isn't a partisan warrior like Emanuel, he's a "business chieftain" who was critical of "the liberal, big-government bent of Obama's first year." This is no small difference. It's a sign that the "core mission" of the Obama White House has changed. Here, an except:
The motto of that first Obama White House was Emanuel's famous line: "Never let a crisis go to waste." The administration used its popularity and the Democrats' big congressional majority to push through ambitious legislation, including an economic stimulus package, healthcare reform and financial regulation. And it would have liked to have enacted energy and immigration laws too.
Instead, Democrats ran into a backlash from business leaders and swing voters, and lost control of both the House and (as a practical matter) the Senate. So now, as the economy slowly recovers, the White House is retooling for a different mission. Rather than marshaling Democrats, at which Emanuel was supremely talented, the administration will have to find a way to negotiate productively with Republicans. Instead of boosting the economy through government spending, it will have to convince private-sector business leaders that the administration wants to help them invest, expand and create jobs.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read the full article in the Los Angeles Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published