Ezra Klein is right about this: The key measure of a chief of staff is whether he (or she) will make the White House a more effective operation. Whether Bill Daley likes health-care reform is irrelevant if he successfully works to secure its future.
That said, if Daley is the president's pick for chief of staff, the optics couldn't be worse; yes, he is a former commerce secretary, but as the Midwest chairman of JP Morgan & Co., Daley represents -- fairly or not -- Wall Street and its uncomfortably close relationship with the federal government. For my part, I hope this isn't an attempt to mend fences with business interests, though all signs point to it as an important consideration:
Press-friendly and outgoing, William Daley could serve as a potentially powerful liaison to business interests and a vocal spokesman on economic matters - something White House officials have said they want as they focus on unemployment and the economy heading into the 2012 presidential race.
I've said this before, but business leaders are in no position to whine about the Obama administration, or demand friendlier treatment. I'll just quote myself:
Wall Street nearly destroyed the global economy, and Obama refrained from nationalizing the banks and selling off their assets. Corporate profits have been growing like gangbusters, but business leaders are still mad that they aren't well-represented in the administration? Really? If they could hear themselves, they'd know that they sound less like Galtian lords of capitalism and more like spoiled children, angry that they can't have that fourth scoop of gold-flaked ice cream.
Still sounds right.
-- Jamelle Bouie
