I'd heard earlier today that David Axelrod had accepted a position as assistant to the president and senior adviser, which sort of sounded to me like a vague position that would let Axelrod hang out and continue to advise Obama. But Marc Ambinder says that it's actually a reasonably defined role with discrete powers. "Assistant to the president is a very coveted post with quasi-institutional prerogatives; assistants can (if the Obama administration chooses to continue the practice) pop in on the president whenever they want, and they're given review privileges over everything that goes out in the president's name." Meanwhile, David Plouffe, the Obama campaign's other major David, says he won't be working in the White House. This may or may not be related to the fact that he had a baby girl yesterday, making this a very good week for him.
