Mercs wish may come true

[classicman]

Rahm Emanuel expected to quit White House
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, is expected to leave his job later this year after growing tired of the "idealism" of Barack Obama's inner circle.

Washington insiders say he will quit within six to eight months in frustration at their unwillingness to "bang heads together" to get policy pushed through.

Mr Emanuel, 50, enjoys a good working relationship with Mr Obama but they are understood to have reached an understanding that differences over style mean he will serve only half the full four-year term.

Friends say he is also worried about burnout and losing touch with his young family due to the pressure of one of most high profile jobs in US politics.

"I would bet he will go after the midterms," said a leading Democratic consultant in Washington. "Nobody thinks it's working but they can't get rid of him – that would look awful. He needs the right sort of job to go to but the consensus is he'll go."

An official from the Bill Clinton era said that "no one will be surprised" if Mr Emanuel left after the midterm elections in November, when the Democratic party will battle to save its majorities in the house of representatives and the senate.

It is well known in Washington that arguments have developed between pragmatic Mr Emanuel, a veteran in Congress where he was known for driving through compromises, and the idealistic inner circle who followed Mr Obama to the White House.

Link
This should shake things up a bit.
Any thoughts on who might replace him?
I guess the idealists won this round. My concern is that again he is one of the more experienced people with which Obama had surrounded himself.

[spudcon]

I think Josef Stalin is dead, so who does that leave to replace him?

[TheMercenary]

He must have gotten a job offer he couldn't refuse. I wonder if he will make more than 6 figures....

[classicman]

Heard a little about it on Morning Joe this am - They killed the story pretty quick. If its true, I guess they don't want it out till after the November elections.

[TheMercenary]

It is either a ruse, a leak, or total bs. Typical about any of the info that comes out of DC these days.

[Happy Monkey]

Rahm's role seems to have primarily been to oppose anything progressive in Congress. In doing so, he may have thought he was being more pragmatic than the pie-in-the-sky liberals, and he might have had a point if he had been able to actually get much in return for the concessions.

I think that the effect he's had has been to make the Democrats seem wishy-washy, turning off independants, and depressing the Democratic base.

I suspect that getting rid of him might, in effect, be more aligned with liberal wishes than Merc's.

[TheMercenary]

I am not really convinced that replacing him would be the best thing, and I don't recall ever stating categorically that I would like to see him go. Just that I don't like him. Being that as it is, sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't. He certainly has infused a Chicago style of politics into the White House. Not much different than the strong arm technique that Rumsfeld used I guess.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Rahm's role seems to have primarily been to oppose anything progressive in Congress.

I completely disagree - He was supposed THE guy to get things done! THE guy with all the political experience, THE bulldog, THE cat-herder...
Reality is that he has had so many disagreements with the inexperienced idealists that he sees it as pointless to continue.

I think that the effect he's had has been to make the Democrats seem wishy-washy, turning off independants, and depressing the Democratic base.

Thats one perspective.

I suspect that getting rid of him might, in effect, be more aligned with liberal wishes than Merc's.

Merc has been wanting this for some time. I am aware of virtually no one that wants him to stay from either side of the political spectrum. Whether is is good, bad or indifferent will depend upon his replacement.
Then again, he may turn out to be a great one to take the hit for the Sestak deal once he is gone. He can then say he did on his own or some such...

[TheMercenary]

I wonder what other political hack would replace him.

[classicman]

I'm not sure I would call him a hack, but the discussion of his replacement was my point from the git go.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by classicman

I completely disagree - He was supposed THE guy to get things done! THE guy with all the political experience, THE bulldog, THE cat-herder...

He was supposed to be, sure. In effect, all he did was pressure Congress to water down legislation to make it more attractive to people who didn't vote for it anyway.

Then again, he may turn out to be a great one to take the hit for the Sestak deal once he is gone. He can then say he did on his own or some such...

The hit? There's no hit to take.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by classicman

I'm not sure I would call him a hack, but the discussion of his replacement was my point from the git go.

Just how I view him. His job has never been viewed as peacemaker , on any level.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

He was supposed to be, sure. In effect, all he did was pressure Congress to water down legislation to make it more attractive to people who didn't vote for it anyway.

Really? I didn't see it that way. WE can only assume he tried to do the politically correct thing in getting the machine to move in the right direction. Why he was or wasn't he was successful is an issue that the Administration needs to look into. Currently it appears as though there are more reasons. Perhaps its the lipstick and the pig analogy <shrug>

[classicman]

Another one rides the bus....

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag plans to resign, a Democratic official said Monday night, positioning him to be the first high-profile member of President Barack Obama's team to depart the administration.

Orszag is expected to leave in the coming months. The exact timing is not known.

As director of the Office of Management and Budget, Orszag holds Cabinet-level rank and a pivotal role in shaping and defending how the administration spends the public's money. He quickly emerged from a bureaucratic post to become a camera-friendly face of Obama's government, often in front on plans to confront the deficit and to spur the economy.

The official confirmed the news to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.

[TheMercenary]

Follow the money. See where he lands himself.