Tag: chief of staff

The ‘Mystery’ of Denis McDonough?

There is no ‘mystery’ why WH Chief of Staff Denis McDonough is operating a White House at its current nadir of influence and power, and this passage explains why:

McDonough’s no-profile public approach shouldn’t mask the two most important things about the role he has played this year. First, he is a chief of staff for a self-actualized president. Obama hired seasoned Washington figures — Rahm Emanuel, Jack Lew, and Bill Daley — in his first term. McDonough is the first chief of staff who is younger than the president, the first whose career depends on Obama. He is, beyond that, very close to the president. He is “as close as a staffer can be,” said former National Security spokesman Tommy Vietor. The upside of that relationship is that McDonough speaks for Obama and has access to him in a way that Daley, in particular, never did.

It’s obvious, in fact: Denis McDonough is an extension of Barack Obama’s will, and Barack Obama is incompetent.  Garbage in, garbage out.

Via… I am not sure.

Moe Lane

#rsrh NYT lays down a marker on Barry Jackson.

Via Instapundit and GayPatriot comes this thoughtful, considered look at a devoted Republican staffer with a towering reputation among his fellow Republicans and a well-deserved fearsome one among the Democrats.  Tough.  Resolute.  A man who can get things done.  A man of power, yet with a strong sense of duty and a passion for democracy…

What’s that?  Oh, I’m just doing what the New York Times is doing: preemptively buttering up on Barry Jackson,  who is shaping up to be the next Speaker of the House’s chief of staff.  It might get him to return my calls.

Now, where was I?  Oh yes… and he COOKS, too!  Cooks like unto a god…

Moe Lane

WH nervously denies Rahmbo cut-and-run.

[UPDATE]: Welcome, Hot Air readers. And Jules Crittenden readers.

Given that the Telegraph report came out yesterday afternoon, it’s amazing that they’ve gone to the trouble of denying it before the start of business hours today. And to Fox, no less.

The White House Monday dismissed reports that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel plans to leave his post after becoming frustrated with the Obama administration as “ludicrous.”

[snip]

In response to the report, a senior White House official told Fox News the “ludicrous” story was “not worth looking into.”

Continue reading WH nervously denies Rahmbo cut-and-run.

White House CoS Rahm Emanuel [expletive deleted] up again.

[UPDATE]: Welcome, Instapundit readers.

(H/T: Hot Air Headlines) Today’s entry has as its theme How to succeed in insulting the press corps without really trying.

For reporters covering President Obama, there’s only one party in town that matters: The White House Holiday Party. It’s a rare opportunity to walk around parts of the White House and meet the president and first lady. In the past, the highlight of the event has been the chance to get your picture taken with the president in the receiving line.

This year, however, the White House seems to be doing things a little differently. The invites went out late – and didn’t include journalists who have been invited in the past. And those who have been invited seem likely to be denied the traditional receiving-line photo.

There’s a lot of good schadenfreude in the Politico article, if you’re the sort to mock the press corps for this – which I’m actually not inclined to do, in fact.  The reason why I’m not is because of this sentence:

“It’s always been a big deal,” said [Dee Dee] Myers, who served as press secretary to former President Bill Clinton. “It’s exhausting [for the president] but it’s the one time when reporters feel like they’re treated like human beings and not just some guy behind the rope line. It’s the one time they can actually say hello.”

Continue reading White House CoS Rahm Emanuel [expletive deleted] up again.

New York Post: Rahm Emanuel Freddie Mac board member during fraud years.

[UPDATE]: Welcome, Instapundit readers.

Funny how this sort of thing takes forever to make the papers. From Dick Morris and Eileen McGann:

RAHM’S ‘RENT’ IS JUST THE TIP OF ETHICS ICEBERG

[snip]

Consider: Emanuel served on the Freddie Mac board of directors during the time that the government-backed lender lied about its earnings, a leading contributor to the current economic meltdown.

The Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Agency later singled out the Freddie Mac board as contributing to the fraud in 2000 and 2001 for “failing in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention.” In other words, board members ignored the red flags waving in their faces.

The SEC later fined Freddie $50 million for its deliberate fraud in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Meanwhile, Emanuel was paid more than $260,000 for his Freddie “service.” Plus, after he resigned from the board to run for Congress in 2002, the troubled agency’s PAC gave his campaign $25,000 – its largest single gift to a House candidate.

That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?

Continue reading New York Post: Rahm Emanuel Freddie Mac board member during fraud years.