new: Chief Of Staff

[nmbluesky]

Mr. Obama plans to name Pete Rouse, a senior adviser, to replace Mr. Emanuel, two officials confirmed. Mr. Rouse has been at Mr. Obama's side since the moment he arrived in Washington nearly six years ago, serving as his chief of staff in his United States Senate office.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/emanuel-to-depart-white-house-for-chicago-mayoral-bid/

[rsmith6621]

1. So Is Peter Rouse Like Rahm....A DLC-ER 2????

...Hope he doesn't come from the same thread...the next two years for Obama have to be action and someone who isnt afraid to pull the stops out and call the BLUEDOGS what they are.....

....Rahm was a disappointment..

[Fire1]

2. Rahm did what he was told to do. n/t

[NV Whino]

3. Obama did what Rham told him to do

[cascadiance]

4. +1 - We should HOPE this was the case!

We certainly don't need Obama being more responsible for the corporatist BS than Rahm was! Need to have some hope that the people's agenda will finally start being addressed the next two years!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Well, except for scaling back on his comprehensive health care reform

Obama didn't do it. He also didn't do a deal with Lindsey Graham about military tribunals for terrorist suspects in gitmo in exchange for supporting closure of Gitmo. Believe it or not, Obama was in charge, NOT Rahm.

[boston bean]

20. If true, how sad is that?

[Thrill]

9. I doubt that. We all know Rahm was DLC from his Clinton

days. Its good to see someone take over that knows more about what Obama wants. And doesn't have their own political aspirations.

[EarlG]

6. I was curious about that

I found http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/interviews/rouse.html">this Frontline interview from October 2008, I haven't read the whole thing but there were a couple of snippets about the DLC in there:

Frontline: The Harvard (Law Review) experience: ... We've talked to (members of the conservative Federalist Society) that were there at the same time and were very supportive of him (Obama) because he had this bipartisan attitude about how to get things done. Can you see that in the way he operates?

Rouse: Yes, definitely. ... I believe that his rhetoric or his pitch about working together to solve big problems and building consensus, that's how he thinks; that's what he's always done. It goes back to his days as a community organizer. That's what he brought to the Senate; that's what he brings to the White House.

But that doesn't mean -- and I don't want to be disparaging here, but criticism of the DLC (the centrist Democratic Leadership Council) is find the lowest common denominator and pass it. That's not what he's talking about here. I think he's talking about moving forward with a progressive agenda. Clearly it's not going to be 100 percent of what you want, but we can do better. And we can get 65 to 70 percent, 75 percent, whatever it is, if we work together and are honest about it and, obviously, build popular support for it.

(snip)

Frontline: So the direction that Obama wanted it to go, the reasons that he made the decisions he made on immigration are what?

Rouse: I think, again, the decisions he made were based on his views of what is acceptable immigration reform and what's doable. And again, I would go back to the comment I made about the DLC, just using them as an example. We're not looking for the lowest common denominator just to pass something. We're looking to pass something that may not be the bill we would write if we were sitting alone in the Harvard library writing it, but it's one that we think significantly moves the ball forward. It's not just passing it to pass it. You're passing it because it's making things better.

I feel like the "find the lowest common denominator and pass it" attitude was always Rahm Emanuel's thing... Pete Rouse doesn't seem to be of the same mindset. It will be interesting to see where the administration goes from here.

[FrenchieCat]

10. That says quite a bit, actually.

Thanks for finding that interview.

I'm sure, like the rest of us, he won't be perfect,
but certainly it appears that his way of thinking,
especially when it comes to the DLC way,
is significantly not DLC....to the point of him making
mention of it.

[w4rma]

16. Promising. (nt)

[Pirate Smile]

17. You need to make this an OP. It is clarifying and will make a lot of people feel better because

they really don't know anything about Rouse and some people (shocking!) have a tendency to always assume the worst.

[EarlG]

5. Delete

Posted in wrong place.

[Robbins]

8. Rouse

He Is more an Obama loyalist.Emanuel Is more concerned with himself.He went and pissed on Democratic base.Rouse will be more concerned with helping the Obama agenda fullfilled and with getting reelected.

[Phx_Dem]

11. Great! Someone new to bitch about!

:woohoo:

Who wants to start? (Nevermind. I see rsmith6621 has gotten us off to a great start!)

[Arkana]

12. I'm sure we'll find some reason to hate Mr. Rouse in the next few days.

Maybe he eats meat. Or he owns a gun. Or spanks his kids.

E: But I'm betting the reason will come when he's most likely hired as the new CoS: that he's not Howard Dean.

[JeffR]

13. I'm going to save time and just start hating him right now.

It's just sound time management.

:crazy:

[JNelson6563]

21. lolz

:toast:

[PopSixSquish]

14. Pete Rouse was Obama's COS in the Senate and Before That Tom Daschle's

He didn't want the WH COS job and doesn't want it long term now. He's a caretaker until the President appoints someone else. Both Rouse and Jim Messina, Deputy COS are seen as Obama's "fixers" and will do what the President wants, when he wants it.

It's when the President announces new choice, that the future will become clearer...

[Writer]

15. Now some might see that what they have mistaken for compromised consensus...

is actually democracy in action.

[AtomicKitten]

18. Look for Rouse to become a permanent fixture in that capacity. nt

[xchrom]

19. recommend