Won’t You Come Home, Bill Daley? Obama’s New White House Chief of Staff Quitting a Year Early to Return to Chicago
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on January 10, 2012
WH Chief of Staff Bill Daley has turned in his resignation to return home to Chicago
More trouble in Obama Paradise… despite agreeing to stick it out through the end of Obama’s first/final term, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley has turned in his resignation to return home to Chicago.
Since hearing of Daley’s sudden planned departure, the 1902 popular song “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?” has been knocking around in my head. Daley’s reasons for leaving this early to go back home are strangely vague.
Why back to Chicago, and why now? To “see the grandkids more”? Uh, not convincing.
Reported by Lynn Sweet at the Chicago Sun-Times, Bill Daley out as White House chief of staff:
White House chief of staff Bill Daley is resigning, President Obama announced on Monday, departing earlier than expected after a rocky tenure. Daley will be replaced by Budget Director Jack Lew. He will become a co-chair of Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, based in Chicago.
President Obama discussed the move flanked by Daley and Lew, not taking questions after brief comments. Obama said he originally did not accept Daley’s resignation. Daley’s departure comes a day before Obama returns home to Chicago for three fund-raising events.
Obama said Daley was leaving for reasons that seem very vague: to return to Chicago and to spend more time with his family, especially his grandchildren.
“I didn’t accept Bill’s decision right away. In fact, I asked him to take a couple of days to make sure that he was sure about this. But in the end, the pull of the hometown we both love — a city that’s been synonymous with the Daley family for generations — was too great. Bill told me that he wanted to spend more time with his family, especially his grandchildren, and he felt it was the right decision.”
“…I plan to continue to seek Bill’s advice and counsel in the years to come,” Obama said.
Daley will become a co-chair of Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, based in Chicago.
“He’s got a ton of political experience, knowledge and contacts and we look forward to leveraging those assets and working closely together to re-elect the President this year,” a member of the Obama team told the Chicago Sun-Times.
In his resignation letter, dated Jan. 3, Daley wrote to Obama, “I have been honored to be a small part of your administration. It is time for me to go back to the city I love.”
Daley, a former Commerce Secretary and brother of former Mayor Richard Daley, followed Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the job last year, but seemed mismatched for the position as the political and governmental situations changed. Daley was not close to Obama and the two did not share much in common except political strategist David Axelrod and Emanuel.
Last year, Daley told NBC5 Chicago that he was going to stay only through the end of Obama’s first term. Last year, Daley was put in an uncomfortable position within the White House after much sniping and infighting–he was demoted from running day-to-day operations, turning them over to Pete Rouse, who served as interim chief after Emanuel left.
Daley, a former Chase Bank executive, was hired in part to be a bridge between the White House,the business community and the Republicans in Congress–a job that soon ceased to exist as relations continued to fray–especially with Republicans– and eventually snap all together.
The beginning of the end for Daley started in October, in an interview he gave to to Politico’s Roger Simon where he blamed congressional Democrats–as well as Republicans–for the deadlocks.
“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 said. “This has led to a kind of frustration.”
At that point, Daley barely had a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nv.) and by November, his position was reconfigured with Rouse taking on the day-to-day role.
From Chicago Tribune, Emanuel defends Bill Daley:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel today stood up for Bill Daley, saying his successor as White House chief of staff did a good job at “the toughest job in America.”
“The most important thing you can do is be loyal to the president and have his back,” Emanuel said at an unrelated news conference. “Bill can walk out of the White House with his head held high for a job well done.”
Emanuel, who stepped down as Obama’s chief of staff in fall 2010 to run for Chicago mayor, also ticked off a litany of domestic and foreign policy achievements for Obama during the time Daley served as chief of staff.
“Not that Bill was personally responsible, but he helped the president think through a major decision on dealing with Osama bin Laden,” Emanuel said, referring to the military raid in Pakistan during which U.S. Navy Seals killed bin Laden.
Daley struggled to find a place among Obama’s trusted advisers. In November, the president announced a change in how his staff was organized that left Daley with a reduced role.
Emanuel said every chief of staff has problems while working in the White House, and dismissed the idea that it’s important to be familiar with the way Washington D.C. works to serve in the position.
Obama, however, seems more broken up about his dog-walker/BlackBerry-carrier, right-hand dude Reggie Love leaving the White House…
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