by Christi Parsons
Pete Rouse, who helped Barack Obama craft the early plans for his White House bid, will take on a key role in the new administration as a senior advisor to the president.
A Capitol Hill veteran and former advisor to Sen. Dick Durbin, Rouse took over as Obama's chief of staff when Obama was new to the U.S. Senate. He quickly became one of the key players in building the foundation for the presidential run.
Obama was a celebrity politician when he joined the Senate in 2005, and he looked a few other close advisors to help him build a record to go along with all the buzz. Rouse was an important part of the team, as the Tribune reported in its biographical series of Obama.
Rouse's elevation will bring to the White House another veteran of former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle's (D-SD) ranks, where Rouse served as chief of staff for almost twenty years.
The Obama transition team has already chosen Phil Schiliro, former Daschle policy director, as assistant for legislative affairs, and Ron Klain, one-time staff director for the Senate Democratic Leadership Committees under Daschle, as chief of staff to the vice president.
Obama is also naming two deputy chiefs of staff, Mona Sutphen and Jim Messina.
Sutphen, a member of the Obama transition team's staff, has been managing director of Stonebridge International LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.
She is a former U.S. Foreign Service officer, serving in the White House at the National Security Council from 1998-2000.
Among other assignments, she served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Office of the High Representative following the Bosnian War and in the State Department human rights bureau.
Messina served as national chief of staff for the Obama presidential campaign. Before that, he was chief of staff for Sens. Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and for Rep Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).
Comments
These Dem retreads Obama is recycling may be good or bad choices. Only time will tell.
What they aren't is "change."
Posted by: Regime Change | November 16, 2008 11:23 AM
'The 15% Solution"
One possible approach to dealing with the auto crisis -- The federal government should give any one who buys a fuel efficient car from the Big 3 a 15% instant rebate back on the selling price. This program could have an 18 month time limit.
The total of the rebate dollars might then constitute a loan the auto makers would have to pay back.
If effective, this solution would immediately jump start US auto makers by giving them a huge advantage over the competition while they work on the remaining legacy issues. Auto makers would stay employed and no money would go directly to the car makers.
The feds might also think about underwriting an extended warranty program for this period. Again, the total dollars to do so, could constitute a loan to the auto makers.
If the dollars don't proof out, the concept still might we worth exploring.
Joseph Hare
Hingham, MA.
More.....
A quick direct "15%" instant government rebate (say averaging around $3,000) from the Dept of Treasury paid to consumer with purchase of a US auto maker lower mileage car I think would make those cars stand out from the crowd.
Problem with tax return deductions is you onlyt get indirect value but once a year(Aprol 15) and higher wage earners get more real dollar benefit....and they do get lost in the shuffle.
If you could buy a Camry priced today at $20,000 for $20,000 versus a Malibu priced today for $20,000 for $17,000 plus get a 10 year warranty which would you buy?
US Car makers would have to use their real current sell the car off the lot price (then on top of that consumer gets 15% back ASAP from the Feds.
Such a program, if it worked, would give auto makers an instant dramatic jump start while they work on getting
more cars that would sell (without rebate program) developed and while they deal with worker legacy issues.
Giving a bailout just keeps them from going bankrupt while they try to get a higher % of americans to buy their cars. They have not suceeded in doing that over the last 20 years.
Posted by: Joseph Hare | November 17, 2008 10:37 AM