Michael Crowley's profile of John Podesta calls him "The Shadow President." I'm not sure I'd go that far. But as the architect of Obama's transition operation, Podesta is probably one of the four or five most powerful people in the country today. Put simply, hez in ur govrnment, staffing ur agenciez. And that matters. So much as we all focus on the cabinet-level positions, the stock of under-secretaries and deputy under-secretaries and assistants-to-the-deputy-undersecretary are actually crucially important (the federal government, in some ways to its credit, has almost comical title deflation). Not only do they fundamentally run the government for the next few years, but they're also the talent pool that moves up in year three of the Obama administration. In government, like in any institution, personnel is destiny, and Podesta is the guy running the hiring process.It's also worth saying a word or two more on the Center for American Progress, which Podesta has built from nothing to the central left-of-center institution in Washington. When CAP was created, the idea was something like a liberal Heritage Foundation, or maybe a more forthrightly progressive Brookings. Thankfully, it dodged both those futures and became something unique and incredibly successful. And that something was not a straight think tank. CAP has not, in the aggregate, been a particularly decisive intellectual force in recent years, as the policy tends to remain pretty safe. Rather, it's been this powerful marriage of consensus liberal ideas and internet-age communication techniques. Using Think Progress, the Wonk Room, and the Progress Report, CAP managed to create a style of Democratic rapid response that paired the heavy wonkery liberals favored with the ruthlessly aggressive PR instincts they lacked. Rather than simply aping right wing messaging techniques, it figured out a way to leverage policy superiority as a political cudgel. And that worked, because it was a strategy that liberals could actually pull off.Indeed, in a way, it was the precursor to the Obama campaign's attack strategy -- and in fact, was the source of much of their attack strategy. That $4 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas companies attack? That was CAP. Figuring out that McCain's health plan required a cut in Medicare and Medicaid? CAP. The bottom of their attack ads would often source Think Progress. The vague irony here is that the Center was supposed to simply be the Hillary Clinton administration's gray, suited types in waiting, but they proved most effective at building the new Democratic message machine in exile. Structurally, much of what CAP has been doing in the last four years is much more relevant to running the next presidential administration than the processes the Clintons developed 10 years ago will be. Update: Alyssa Rosenberg -- at the fantastic new FedBlog -- takes this point even further. THE AGE OF PODESTA.
Michael Crowley's profile of John Podesta calls him "The Shadow President." I'm not sure I'd go that far. But as the architect of Obama's transition operation, Podesta is probably one of the four or five most powerful people in the country today. Put simply, hez in ur govrnment, staffing ur agenciez. And that matters. So much as we all focus on the cabinet-level positions, the stock of under-secretaries and deputy under-secretaries and assistants-to-the-deputy-undersecretary are actually crucially important (the federal government, in some ways to its credit, has almost comical title deflation). Not only do they fundamentally run the government for the next few years, but they're also the talent pool that moves up in year three of the Obama administration. In government, like in any institution, personnel is destiny, and Podesta is the guy running the hiring process.It's also worth saying a word or two more on the Center for American Progress, which Podesta has built from nothing to the central left-of-center institution in Washington. When CAP was created, the idea was something like a liberal Heritage Foundation, or maybe a more forthrightly progressive Brookings. Thankfully, it dodged both those futures and became something unique and incredibly successful. And that something was not a straight think tank. CAP has not, in the aggregate, been a particularly decisive intellectual force in recent years, as the policy tends to remain pretty safe. Rather, it's been this powerful marriage of consensus liberal ideas and internet-age communication techniques. Using Think Progress, the Wonk Room, and the Progress Report, CAP managed to create a style of Democratic rapid response that paired the heavy wonkery liberals favored with the ruthlessly aggressive PR instincts they lacked. Rather than simply aping right wing messaging techniques, it figured out a way to leverage policy superiority as a political cudgel. And that worked, because it was a strategy that liberals could actually pull off.Indeed, in a way, it was the precursor to the Obama campaign's attack strategy -- and in fact, was the source of much of their attack strategy. That $4 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas companies attack? That was CAP. Figuring out that McCain's health plan required a cut in Medicare and Medicaid? CAP. The bottom of their attack ads would often source Think Progress. The vague irony here is that the Center was supposed to simply be the Hillary Clinton administration's gray, suited types in waiting, but they proved most effective at building the new Democratic message machine in exile. Structurally, much of what CAP has been doing in the last four years is much more relevant to running the next presidential administration than the processes the Clintons developed 10 years ago will be. Update: Alyssa Rosenberg -- at the fantastic new FedBlog -- takes this point even further. 
