The White House will also benefit from the addition of John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Clinton and founder of the Center for American Progress, a liberal public policy group that has provided personnel and policy ideas to the administration. He has agreed to serve a year as a counselor to Obama.
But Podesta is no outsider. In addition to his work at CAP, he led Obama’s transition team in 2008, stocking the administration with political appointees. So if Obama is going to broaden his circle and embrace constructive criticism, he’s still got work to do.
This is no shakeup. It’s a gentle layering. White House officials insist that Podesta’s hiring reaffirms Obama’s support for Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, the one person, beside Obama, who is ultimately responsible for any management failures. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who reportedly mocked McDonough for micromanaging the ACA implementation, still has her job – as do others who fumbled Obamacare and other issues.
I wrote last week that Obama needed more than a sacrificial lamb or a couple of new faces. He needs to fire those responsible and hire people who compensate for his weaknesses, a ruthless management team that will force him to remain engaged in the nitty-gritty of politics and governing.
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