Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
It almost doesn't matter precisely how many seats the Democrats lose in November. If you read the Wall Street Journal this morning, you know that they're seriously rattled.
When things like this happen, people lose their jobs. When an administration bumps along with such low approval ratings, the knives start coming out. People start calling other people (people described in newspapers as "friends of the president") and they start talking about who should go. "This guy (or gal) is killing you," they'll whisper to the president. "You've got to shake up the team," the people who talk to people will tell him.
And there will be leaks in the press -- authorized or not; substantiated or not -- about Who Is Going to Go?
But why wait? Let's talk about it now. My guess is that Hillary Clinton is gone by the end of the year -- her choice, not his. Also: Rahm Emanuel is gone, maybe even before the midterms.
Surely that won't be all, though. Who's next?
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May '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Robert Gibbs, certainly.
Bob Gates we know. He will be replaced by Colossal Genius Chuck "Chuck" Hagel.
Jun '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
I think definitely Gibbs is gone, and if there's any justice, Valerie Jarrett too. Even reporters that were predisposed to go along with Gibbs are getting tired of the revised history and the runarounds. Gibbs is a joke.
Jun '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Based on the previous thread the interior decorator is gone. And, maybe, Michelle, somebody’s got to take the hit for the Spanish vacation.
Aug '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Eric Holder must go for the good of the nation, which is why Obama will never let that happen. The plan is to do as much damage as possible before the end.
Jul '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Jul '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
POTUS:
"Hey, come on in. Sit.
Look, first, let me be perfectly clear. Everyone in this administration is grateful for your contributions. No doubt about it....
And, ah, everyone likes you, personally...
But ah, ah, in politics, sometimes you just gotta change things around. And I'm sure you know this is somethin' I'd rather not do, but we're gonna have to let ya go.
Now shake...
And, uh, Bo, on your way out? Don't poop on the lawn, like Rahm did."
Edited on Sep 2, 2010 at 1:19pmJul '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
I imagine Howard Dean is updating his resume right about now.
May '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Based on the flexibility and realism we saw in the health care debate, I would guess that exactly no one gets the ax.
Sep '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Gibbs wants to move into policy - which means up, not out. He's also very, very close to the ear of the President. My guess is that he stays.
Interesting comment about Rahm leaving prior to the mid-terms. I'd read somewhere he'd be willing to leave in order to run for Mayor back in Chicago - with Dick Daley showing no signs of vacating, do we really think Rahm will leave? Where will he go?
You would think someone on the economic team would get the ax, but Summers appears to have won the internal struggle for now. Hard to see Geithner leaving, though he may be a good sacrificial lamb.
Also, if Hillary leaves, how long until she starts openly gunning for 2012? Or do you think she has the patience to wait until 2016?
My guess is that, ultimately, the size of the exodus will be determined by the severity of the losses. If we pick up more than 50 seats in the House, that White House will be filled with new faces...
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
And remember that these little post-election purges often work -- not just from the inside out, but from the outside in. The larger the culling, I'm going to guess, the louder the press will cry "Bold! Dynamic! On America's pulse! Hope and change is back!"
Jul '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
What is killing President Obama's popularity? ( I mean besides his perosnality)
The economy. Who can he shift blame onto for that? Geithner is gone.
Jul '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Average voter Joe Shmoe doesn't even know who Geithner is.
Jul '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
I think Robert Gibbs might be more secure than Ted Baxter ever was, even though clearly getting rid of him might be the best thing for them. I'd bet on Rahm sometime after midterms, but I wouldn't bet on Valerie Jarrett. He owes her too much. Same for Ploufe and Axelrod. Good for the Republicans, bad for the President, bad for the country.
Rob, you think she'll run or just get out of Dodge? I'm waiting to see how Pelosi handles losing the Speakership. I think more than anybody else...she put Obama there and if she decides to take him out, encouraging Hillary would seem like a good place for her to start. Though if Pelosi loses Leader of the Party too, her ability to accomplish anything might vanish overnight...
Aug '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
All the medication in her burgeoning pharmacological arsenal won't keep Pelosi from cracking up when she loses the Speakership. What a dazzling show that will be!
Sep '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
River - I'm glad you said it. It's gonna be quite a spectacle, indeed...
(I can't help it, whenever the topic of Nancy P. comes up, my mind instinctively turns to Cheri Oteri doing Collette Reardon: http://bit.ly/b7rRyY)
May '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
It's puzzling to me because until these latest whisperings about a tax cut he hasn't seemed to be interested in paying even the paltriest lip service to tacking right. Rahm's job is to get bills passed which he did admirably well, so it's not his fault. I guess you could blame Gibbs for not communicating properly, but as others have observed, he seems to have the president's full confidence.
So I think departures are not involuntary but voluntary from those with political ambitions that extend beyond Barack Obama: Napolitano, Clinton, Sebelius, Salazar...?
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
Rob, you think she'll run or just get out of Dodge? · Sep 2 at 10:56pm
Well, I'm on the record: I think she's going to run. I think she's going to take 2010 and turn it into a cause for moderate Dems to take back their party. In a way, it's what Bill did -- he formed the Democratic Leadership Council in the wake of the drubbings of 1980,1984, and 1988. Also: the only way the Dems would ever vote out the first African-American president is to vote in the first female president.
Sep '10
Re: Whose Head on the Chopping Block?
OOPS. Daley Won't Seek Re-Election.
Rahm's outtie...
Next?