Battle Stations Ready at the White House

With the departure of Larry Summers, Barack Obama’s main financial advisor, Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff of the White House, Christina Romer after Peter Orszag, the former budget director, and David Axelrod, the political advisor to the 44th president, the White House is preparing for a major reorganization that will depend on the outcome of the elections in four weeks — especially since other departures should be announced soon, such as that of James Jones, the security advisor.

First of all, contrary to what the press says, resignations during mid-terms are completely normal. There are those who leave to prepare for the coming presidential campaign. A president’s term is only four years. During mid-term elections, it is time to start raising funds and reactivating the network of militants that brought the president to power.

Secondly, the rhythm of the White House is hellish, especially for those who have families. It isn’t uncommon to arrive at 5 in the morning and leave at 9 or 10 PM, every day of the week. Rahm Emanuel, the man behind the passage of key legislation, started his days by meeting at 7:30 AM with key advisors to the 44th president, who had to respond to his firing of questions about their work, their projects and the main issues.

Whatever the outcome of the November election, the White House has to be reorganized — especially, of course, if the Republicans take control of one or both Houses. Now that Rahm Emanuel is a candidate for mayor of Chicago, the new Chief of Staff, Peter Rouse, who is also a resident of Chicago, must not only prepare a new team, but a team whose profile will depend on the legislative agenda of Barack Obama. If the Republicans take control of Congress, there will be war between two branches of the government. The Republicans will do everything they can to prevent health care reform, for example. The Obama administration is already failing to convince Congress to eliminate tax cuts for the highest earners while the Democrats control both Houses. It will be even more difficult for Obama to advance his agenda if he finds himself in the minority.

The end of Obama’s first term could well resemble that of Bill Clinton, who left the Democrats for a compromise with centrist Republicans. Republicans, the masters of Congress, no longer have the excuse of being in the minority to block all the White House propositions at a time when the electorate is especially incensed by Washington’s inability to act.