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William Daley Brings Business, Clinton Experience To Obama White House

Callie Schweitzer |
January 6, 2011 | 7:06 p.m. PST

Editor-in-Chief

A $5 million salary is just one thing William Daley will have to give up when he takes over as President Obama's new chief of staff.

Daley, a senior executive with J.P. Morgan, has previous political experience from serving as President Bill Clinton's commerce secretary and Al Gore's campaign manager in his losing bid for president in 2000.

He is also hailed for his work in helping Clinton pass the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Daley, the son of late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley who served from 1955 through 1976 and the brother of current Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, comes from a family with deep ties in the political sphere.

But having worked for J.P. Morgan and SBC Communications, Daley also brings an insider's knowledge of the business world and of Wall Street that the Obama administration is sorely lacking.

“He possesses a deep understanding of how jobs are created and how to grow our economy,” Obama said in his announcement.

Daley's views are much more moderate than many in the president's cabinet, and he is "expected to bring an outside voice" to the Obama White House.

He has openly criticized Obama and his policies in the past.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post in December 2009, Daley urged Democrats to "steer a more moderate course on the key issues of the day, from health care to the economy to the environment to Afghanistan."

The WSJ hailed the move as a sign that Obama, a "chastened President," may finally see the importance of leading from the center.

The Chicago Tribune calls it a "relief" to see Daley at Obama's side:

Obama seems to recognize that his business-bashing rhetoric of the last two years made him look small-minded and undermined the confidence of job-creators. Daley, who leaves a senior executive post at JPMorgan Chase, understands that businesses small and large — yes, even Wall Street banks — are not the enemy. America depends on hiring and investment to jump-start an economy that is just beginning to create jobs again. Employers need to gain confidence in an administration that has pummeled them with an onslaught of new regulation.

The timing of the announcement comes one day before Friday's employment report, and many in the business community lauded the appointment.

"What cheers people up isn't his experience at J.P. Morgan, as fine as that is," said Peter Rose of Blackstone, an investment firm that isn't usually behind Obama. "It's his success in getting things done in a way that draws the admiration of leaders in both parties."

But some are skeptical of his corporate ties.

Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, wrote on the liberal website Daily Kos, "This is exactly the wrong direction for the administration, which seems intent on drawing exactly the wrong lessons from the 2010 elections. What the public wants is meaningful action on jobs and an end to the insider, corporate deal-making arrangements that William Daley represents."

Justin Ruben, the executive director of MoveOn.org, said, "With Wall Street reporting record profits while middle class Americans continue to struggle in a deep recession, the announcement that William Daley, who has close ties to the Big Banks and Big Business, will now lead the White House staff is troubling and sends the wrong message to the American people."

But the move appears to be more symbolic than anything else.

Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post says the choice is "further evidence that the White House is paying little attention to the carping on the left…Put simply: Daley has deep and strong relationships with the business community -- one of the reasons liberals don't like the pick -- and will almost certainly work to mend broken fences with that industry."

He concludes, "The more the Obama Administration is seen as pushing the restart button on the staff level, the easier it is for the president himself to start anew with voters after the very difficult outcome of the 2010 election."



 

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