Daley’s Demotion: How Washington Elites Got Obama Wrong -- Daily Intel

Daley’s Demotion: How Washington Elites Got Obama Wrong -- Daily Intel

Hiring Bill Daley as chief of staff may not have been the biggest mistake of President Obama’s first term, but it was surely the most obvious one. Now he appears to be reversing it. The official line is that Daley is not being demoted, he is merely handing off more of the day-to-day responsibilities of managing the presidency to Pete Rouse. But, of course, managing the day-to-day traffic in the White House is the entire source of the chief of staff’s power. All accounts suggest Daley performed the mechanics of his job in a catastrophically bad way.

But the interesting legacy of Daley’s tenure is not his mechanical performance. It’s that he conducted an experiment based on the Washington elite view of the Obama presidency. That view, shared by business leaders, centrist pundits, and other elites, holds that Obama’s main problem has been excessive partisanship, liberalism in general, and hostility to business in particular. In December, 2009, Bill Daley wrote a Washington Post op-ed endorsing precisely this analysis. After the midterm elections, Obama – pelted by Daley-esque complaints – appointed Daley chief of staff. “His moderate views and Wall Street credentials make him an unexpected choice for a president who has railed against corporate irresponsibility,” reported the Post. Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Karl Rove, and FedEx CEO Fred Smith raved.

LP- Goodbye Mr. Daley don't let the door hit you on the way out.