Channels, Fall 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 3 • Number 1 Page 87 solutions to the country’s economic malaise—and the president’s political slump—are at a premium.” Further, the president and Daley never truly clicked. Obama preferred advisors who could talk nitty-gritty details of policy, while Daley much preferred to talk politics or Chicago sports. After just a few months as COS, it was clear that Daley's authority was ebbing. Clinton COS Erskine Bowles said about Daley: "The key to success as chief of staff is being empowered by the president. When people saw that Bill Daley wasn't empowered, he was dead. You have zero power then, and you might as well just pick yourself up and go home" (Whipple, 2017). Summary and Departure. On October 28, 2011, Politico published an exclusive interview with Daley, in which he described his role in the White House as "ungodly" and "brutal" and repeatedly berated key figures in the Obama administration, including his predecessor, Rahm Emanuel and Democratic majority leader Senator Harry Reid. Eleven days after the interview, Daley was demoted within White House organization, effectively serving as COS in name only. Managerial responsibilities were taken over by Pete Rouse, senior advisor to the president. In January 2012, Daley went to the president with his resignation, and the president accepted. Daley's tenure as COS brought much-needed organization to the White House, but he was never able to fully grasp the complexities of his role, which provided many challenges to the Obama administration overall. Jack Lew as COS Choosing Lew. After Daley's departure, Jack Lew was tapped to run the White House. Lew, the then-director of the Office of Management and Budget, was also a former senior policy advisor to Speaker of the House, Tipp O'Neill. AS OMB director, Lew and Obama had a close working relationship through their work on the stimulus package, the grand bargain, and the debt ceiling. At the time of his appointment, there were few people as compatible with the president as Lew. Office of COS under Lew. Lew restored calm to a White House marked by the tumultuous reign of William Daley. Lew's main duties as COS revolved around the 2012 federal budget deal. In this capacity, Lew served mainly as an advisor and proxy. Lew was well-known inside the Beltway as a level-headed, data-driven bargainer, which was a valuable asset to the Obama administration during the contentious budget process. As proxy to the Hill, Lew always ensured that he was speaking for the president, not for himself. Summary and Departure. Lew was brought on as COS in light of the impending budget deal, and he delivered on the result. While Obama hoped that Lew would stay on as COS, Lew was determined to become Secretary of the Treasury. If he could not get that job, he told Obama, he would return to New York and enter the business world (Whipple, 2017). On January 20, 2013, nearly a year to the day that he accepted the position, Lew resigned as COS. Shortly after, he was appointed by President Obama as Secretary of the Treasury, a role in which he served until the end of the Obama administration. Denis McDonough as COS Choosing McDonough. For his fourth COS of his administration, President Obama selected Denis McDonough, his deputy national security advisor and close personal friend. This selection reflects Obama's desire to work with people he knows and trusts, as well as a