Obama Team Anything but Shy and Retiring; "known for their combativeness"

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Obama Team Anything but Shy and Retiring
By HELENE COOPER
Published: November 17, 2008

CHICAGO — Whatever happened to Mr. No-Drama-Obama?

After running a campaign known for its almost military-like cool and discipline, the president-elect is now assembling a staff whose members are known for their combativeness.

His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is a take-no-prisoners politician known for his willingness to butt heads with adversaries. Mr. Obama’s top liaison to Congress, Phil Schiliro, is a skilled political infighter. His press secretary, Robert Gibbs, is no shrinking violet, as one of the few people who can boast of shouting down Sean Hannity of Fox News on Mr. Hannity’s own show.

And then there’s the consideration that Mr. Obama is giving to Lawrence H. Summers, the outspoken former Harvard president, as Treasury secretary, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, a move so explosively bold that it has sent the Washington press corps into overdrive.

Some kind of shift was inevitable in the transition from politics to governing, political experts say. But by surrounding himself with forceful personalities, Mr. Obama may also be preparing himself and his administration for real battles.

Aides to Mr. Obama say that he intends to run a tight ship, and that an Obama administration would not be a return to the factional fighting of the Clinton White House. They say that his choices of Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Mr. Emanuel — and potentially of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Summers as well — reflect a self-confidence and a willingness to tolerate internal dissent.

“‘No-Drama Obama’ during the campaign meant that if you had something to say, you said it,” one Obama campaign aide said. “You didn’t go around people, or try to undermine people, you said what you thought. That’s how he’s going to run his administration.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/us/politics/18memo.html?_r=1

[av8rdave]

1. Obama mentioned in one of his Rolling Stone interviews...

That because he tends to be courteous, people tend to misjudge and think he's not willing to "mix it up."

I think a smart, aggressive administration that knows when to negotiate/compromise and when to stand their ground is a good thing!

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Agreed! nt

[kestrel91316]

3. He's appointing Dems with spines and somebody thinks this is a BAD thing??

:rofl:

[Joe Chi Minh]

4. Yes. The Republicans.

[Skittles]

5. it's what we need right now

[santamargarita]

6. If we could get someone with Balls in the Senate...