Whenever personnel in the White House shift and leave, the media suck in their breath dramatically and yell "Shakeup!" Well, okay. But probably a lot of Democrats are heaving a sigh of relief at the departure of economic adviser Larry Summers and are looking forward to additional changes. Rahm Emanual, for one.
According to WaPo, David Axelrod will be taking off, too. Axelrod is "likely to leave this spring to prepare for Obama's 2012 reelection effort." Good. That suits Axelrod's abilities better than giving embarrassing interviews to the press.
A group known to be friends of the president are moving in.
Recent White House hires reflect the president's desire to surround himself with people he knows well. Elizabeth Warren, recently tapped as the government's first consumer protection adviser, is someone Obama describes as a "dear friend." Austan Goolsbee, brought in as the new chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, has been in the Obama orbit much longer than the woman he replaced, Christina Romer.
Like Kennedy, Obama relies on trusted friends, one of whom is -- thank goodness -- Joe Biden. The pattern will continue even after the changes.
One presidential ritual illustrates his special relationship with these aides. Each evening, before Obama heads upstairs to the White House residence, an aide hands him a briefing book stuffed with reports, memos and statistics on the day's business from all corners of his administration. The next morning, Obama hands back "the book," margins scribbled with demands for more information, meetings or action on its contents. Aside from the president, only Axelrod, Gibbs, Jarrett, Emanuel and Biden receive copies of both the outgoing and incoming versions of the book.
