Bill Daley Dishes About Obama and Rahm

By Soyoung Kwak in News on Oct 29, 2011 6:00PM

Uncensored and unplugged, Bill Daley, the current White House chief of staff, opened up about the Obama administration in a recent edition of Politico. What's there to say about Obama and his presidential term? Well, quite a bit, actually.

Acknowledging Obama's low poll numbers, Daley believes that Obama could be able to lift the dismal numbers before the presidential election next November. After contending that Obama would not settle for being just a one-term president, Daley thinks that Obama could win back lost voters by pushing ahead and by trying to make important decisions without the more unpopular and divided Congress:

All he [Obama] has to do, Daley says, is operate in domestic affairs with the same speed, power and independence that he possesses in foreign and military affairs. That’s all.

“On the domestic side, both Democrats and Republicans have really made it very difficult for the president to be anything like a chief executive,” Daley says. “This has led to a kind of frustration.” The president’s solution? “Let’s figure out what we can do [without Congress] and push the envelope on some of these things,” Daley says.

Obama's frustration with Congress has driven him to do as much as he can without it. This might frustrate politicos in Washington D.C., but Daley thinks that Obama and the White House are simply doing the best they can with what they have been given from the last presidency. Daley also believes that Obama is, in a way, redefining or rejuvenating the title of presidency by trying to forge ahead with as little help from the squabbling Congress as possible.

Aside from defending Obama and staying positive about next year's elections, Daley has confronted many comparisons between himself and the former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Some say that Emanuel was a better chief of staff, but Daley brushes the comparisons aside and distinguishes himself from Emanuel by basically saying that they are different people with different career goals.

Daley's portrait of the Obama administration and its goals paints a different picture of the president's intentions and motivations. Although Daley doesn't know what will happen in November 2012, Daley's outlook is confident and hopeful. We certainly hope that the president and the White House staff are able to change the way dissuaded and frustrated voters may feel right now.