After former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel pirouetted off to Chicago to steamroll his shallow-pocketed adversaries in the upcoming mayoral election, President Barack Obama has cast about for a potential successor. Now we have a potential pick; not only does it represent a sort of Chicago-politics switcheroo, but there’s also a Wall Street angle (thank heaven).
Bloomberg reports that former Commerce Secretary William Daley, of the Chicago Daleys, is up for a big-time position in the Obama administration, and could even be set to take Mr. Emmanuel’s seat. It’s a good narrative; as a member of Chicago’s political powerhouse family, Mr. Daley showed Mr. Emmanuel the ropes when they both worked in the Clinton administration. And! He works for JPMorgan Chase, a huge Wall Street bank:
After serving as president of SBC Communications for more than two years, he joined New York-based JPMorgan, the second- biggest U.S. bank by assets, in 2004, serving as Midwest chairman and the bank’s head of corporate responsibility.
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Besides his work as a banker, he serves on several corporate boards, including Boeing Co. and Abbott Laboratories. Daley was named by Clinton to the board of Washington-based Fannie Mae in October 1993 and was reappointed in 1995.
The appointment of a member of a political dynasty with Wall Street ties would no doubt infuriate some of Mr. Obama’s supporters who believe large banks did a great deal to tank the economy and the government should be distancing itself from these people. On the other hand, could Mr. Daley’s appointment soften an implacable Wall Street in its attitude toward Mr. Obama? Probably not!
mtaylor [at] observer.com | @mbrookstaylor
