With Rahm Emanuel back in Chicago running for Mayor, President Obama this week appointed financial executive and former Clinton administration official William Daley as his new White House chief of staff. Daley, the Midwest chair of JPMorgan Chase, a board member of Merck and former head of SBC, also served as Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, and will likely lead Obama’s 2012 re-election drive.
The problem with Daley? As The Nation‘s Ari Berman writes, "He shares the corporate centrism of Emanuel and, when it comes to economic issues, may be worse." In another move sure to please Wall Street, Obama plans today to name former Goldman Sachs consultant Gene Sperling to lead the White House National Economic Council, the post recently vacated by Lawrence Summers. Berman joined Democracy Now! this morning to explain what these appointments mean for Obama’s presidency and the future of our economy.
