The image above is a screenshot of William M. Daley about to give his introductory speech to a room full of the president's staff and other people closely tied to the administration, after he had been introduced by Obama. So, succeeding the most cynical Democratic Party operative in recent memory - the guy most responsible for dismantling Howard Dean's "50-State Strategy" after the 2008 victory - is the youngest son of the most corrupt, sleazy mayor in 20th century Chicago history. Here's the ceremony, courtesy of the White House:Here's a clip that shows a young William Daley, sitting behind his father at the 1968 Democratic Convention, as his dad screamed at Sen. Abraham Ribicoff ""Fuck you, you Jew son of a bitch!" You can see young Bill jumping up and almost flipping off Ribicoff at 44 seconds in this segment:
Progressive Alaska published Howie Klein's excellent takedown of this hiring decision earlier in the week.
Now I'm going to poll you, readers:
What do you think of President Obama's choice of William Daley to be his Chief-of-Staff?
Good
Bad
Don't Know
Don't Care
9 comments:
I was looking for the "Is he CRAZY?" choice on the the poll, but that seems not to be there.
The only other thing this "choice" makes me think of is the old saying about keeping friends close by, but keeping one's enemies even closer.
Just - puzzling.
Leaning to the i dont care catagory. I find it hard to explain to young people what there is to hope about.
Hope. Is that a disease? I don't have it. Anger. That's no cure but I do have it. Going to be very careful in the future about whose campaign signs I carry.
I thought for a moment I was reading Conservatives4Palin.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/23/AR2009122302439.html
"The leaders of the Democratic Party need to move back toward the center -- and in doing so, set the stage for the many years' worth of leadership necessary to produce the sort of pragmatic change the American people actually want. "
I'm just sad at this point.
Aside from the endless invocation of "what the American really want " like we're all some vast homogenous blob, instead of the amorphous,amalgamation of over 300 million discrete souls, I am affronted that this man is saying somehow or other the Democrats are too far left... or left at all.
This is apparently what happens when folks like Rove get to define what is right and left for too long.
All I can see is the remnants of an overloaded bus which blew a tire and landed in the ditch with Bush and the drunk Congress at the wheel and a few hardy souls standing on the bank trying to work out how to yard the sucker outta there after carrying away the dead...
And I'm beginning to feel this administration and this Congress are down the street at the tavern knocking back shots of "pragmatism" while the rest of us sit in the cold...
alaskapi
Chicago Pols are rarely ideology driven. I believe this is a smart choice to weaken the business lobby's claim that Obama "doesn't understand".
The Daley's are an enduring political machine, they didn't get that way by being too loyal to too few special interests - there is no city more blue collar than the City of Chicago. They know exactly which side (all of our) bread is buttered on. The Middle Class.
What sill Obama propose in 2011? http://blogs.micds.org/bking/
I unsubscribed from all political donation, activist and volunteer activities. I've tried to make sense of some of Pres Obama's choices, but can't seem to, and am done trying. Emmanuel? Salazar? Daley? Horrible choices which the every day person cannot understand, and many have lost the faith that he even knows us anymore.
Has he rallied his party? NO! Has he stood up against the lying sack of creeps in Congress? NO! Did he condemn torture? NO! Will I ever give him another dime or minute of my hard work? NO!
He's the pragmatic choice.
With an poll introduction like this, why bother with a poll at all.
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