WASHINGTON–White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers told me Friday she will step down next month, after presiding over 330 events in the White House in 14 months.
Rogers is departing after achieving a major goal of President Obama and First Lady Michelle — opening up the White House to make it the “peoples house.”
“As we turn the corner on the first year,” Rogers told me, “this is a good time for me to explore opportunities in the corporate world.”
Rogers told me it has been “an honor and a privilege to serve this president and First Lady, in what has certainly been a historic presidency.”
Rogers, a friend of the First Couple for years, was one of the first Obama administration appointees.
“When I took on this assignment, we talked about the importance of creating the people's house. My work was really to create this framework,” she told me.
“I think I completed that work. Our office has been able to lay the foundation for what will be known as the “people’s house”; and it has already taken shape.”
Rogers tenure was marked by high points–she was a moving force behind a White House music series–and a low point, when the Obama;s first state dinner was crashed by a publicity seeking couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Though the Secret Service immediately said it was their fault–agents did not follow security protocols–Rogers got some of the blame.
President Barack Obama’s top advisers are quietly laying the groundwork for the 2012 reelection campaign, which is likely to be run out of Chicago and managed by White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina, according to Democrats familiar with the discussions.
For now, the planning consists entirely of private conversations, with Obama aides at all levels indulging occasionally in closed-door 2012 discussions while focusing ferociously on the midterm elections and health care reform, the Democratic sources said. “The gathering storm is the 2010 elections,” one top official said.
But the sources said Obama has given every sign of planning to run again and wants the next campaign to resemble the highly successful 2008 effort.
David Axelrod, White House senior adviser, may leave the West Wing to rejoin his family in Chicago and reprise his role as Obama’s muse, overseeing the campaign’s tone, themes, messages and advertising, the sources said.
This could be taken a number of different ways. Perhaps the White House knows that they might be in trouble and are getting ready to plan the attack now. Either way, it does seem to be a bit early on. However in the interest on fairness, I will point this out:
Even though the planning is still very preliminary, the campaign is likely to launch in just over a year. President Bill Clinton opened his second presidential campaign in the March after his first midterm congressional elections, and President George W. Bush opened Bush-Cheney ’04 a month later in the political cycle.
So, unlike some of the partisan Bloggers, I will not sit here and act like this is some sort of a new thing with Barack Obama. However, it does show that possibly the White House and the President know that the winds are changing and they are wanting to be ahead of the game.
There is a possibility that this could be a violation of the Hatch act.
Newly-seated Republican Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.) on Monday joined Democrats in voting to move forward on their $15 billion jobs bill.
Brown crossed the aisle after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) nixed an $85 billion, bipartisan plan in favor of a more narrowly-focused bill.
“I came to Washington to be an independent voice, to put politics aside, and to do everything in my power to help create jobs for Massachusetts families,” Brown said in a statement. “This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I voted for it because it contains measures that will help put people back to work.”
Democrats needed to poach Brown and and least one other Republican to reach the 60 votes necessary. Centrist Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) also voted for cloture on the proposal.
Reitiring GOP Sens. George Voinovich (Ohio) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.) also voted for cloture.
A Twitter friend said that he’s still better than Teddy Kennedy. Well. The only reason for a Republican Senator is to stop any sort of spending bills.
[…]
Now, I’m hoping that the next big spending bill that comes along Scott Brown body slams. That’s unlikely to happen before the midterms in November. Even Democrats are worried about big spending bills right now.
When Scott Brown starts crafting national health care legislation, or sounding like the liberal lion of the Senate, get back to me. Until then, it’s Massachusetts. We’re still a long way ahead on the deal.
Yes, sigh, Scott Brown. Looks like he hasn’t taken up my suggested D.C. itinerary. But those of us who knew all along what we were getting — a game-changer who vowed to torpedo Demcare, but who was not an ideological conservative — are not surprised. And I pointed out Brown’s moderate record several times on Fox and on this blog during the campaign.
….and for a Final Touch, I received this private message from a Joe Santelli on facebook:
WHO CARES WHAT YOU FUCKING THINK….IT IS MA VOTERS WHO COUNT WITH HIM!
Scott Browns closet gay lover maybe? Hmmmm….Obviously, a Democrat. 🙄
Anyhow, this right here is why I was not falling all over myself to support this guy. Somewhere between the tea party movement and the Scott Brown campaign; the message became a bit muddled. What Scott Brown’s idea of real Conservatism is, and what actually fiscal Conservative values are, are obviously two different things. You have to the learn the language of politics, when a candidate says, “I am going to do the will of the people, who voted for me…” and it is regarding a bill that Conservatives traditionally oppose; that usually means that person is going to go against Conservative principles. Also, when someone says, “Well, the Campaign is over now…” and proceeds to change a position, that is usually a good idea that this person is going to break a campaign promise in a big way. It happened with Barack Obama’s Campaign and now it is happening again with Scott Brown. The bad part is, people were suckered into believing the hype on this guy. I always try and look past the hype, and see what the person is really like. Kind of like Ron Paul; once you get past the hype, there’s really not much there.
Ah well, live and learn, I suppose. Maybe the Tea Party movement can learn from this one. That you do not support someone, unless you REALLY know them first.
ABC’s Jonathan Karl and Z. Byron Wolf report from Washington D.C.:
It is one of the biggest annual gatherings of conservatives in Washington. The yearly CPAC convention hosts everyone from Sen. Scott Brown to Mitt Romney. Even former Vice-President Dick Cheney made a surpriseappearance today.
The crowd was full of frustration towards President Obama and his administration, and the words “Tea Party” seemed to be flying out of every Republican’s mouth. One big agenda item for the Republicans? Galvanizing the youth vote.
And one of the people leading the youth charge is Stephen Baldwin. One of the famous Baldwin brothers, Baldwin hosts a conservative radio show and has enlisted himself in the youth recruitment effort. Baldwin told our Jonathan Karl that he blames Obama for the state of the country, but also prays for him.
“I am not happy about the way things are. I pray for President Obama every single day. But tell you what. Homey made this bed, now he has got to lay in it,” said Baldwin.
Uh…. Um, I should have this under this heading here. But, I figured it could stand on its own. I mean, Homey? I think you can now guess why I did not attend CPAC. I mean, I am all for the defending of the Constitution, limited Government, and the defense of the Christian Faith. But what I am not for, is going to some Convention; where a bunch of wealthy and some not-so wealthy white people; sit around and bitch about the evil black socialist President. I give them credit, some of them nuance the racism, and do it very well; but most do not, and some do not even nuance it at all. This is one of worst examples of nuanced racism ever. Nothing says I have a problem with the black race better, than a pasty white guy calling a black man,”Homey”, much less the President of the United States, who just happens to be black.
I will be honest with you, I do not like President Obama’s politics whatsoever. But I do respect the office. This is why you do not see me writing about stupid kooky conspiracy theories on here. I’ve done it in the past and got burned hardcore; after that I said that until the birthers can provide me some solid proof that Obama was not born here, other than the opinions or half-baked claims of some attention-whoring, black-hating, harpy Jew with an attitude; I just will not write about it anymore, period. Anyhow, Orly Taitz aside; that is why I do not write about the nonsense. Because I respect the man’s office. Some cannot; but I can and do try to. That does not mean he is above criticism, because you know that I do that well. Although here as of late, he is scoring some brownie points with me on the Afghanistan war.
Anyhow, it just irked me, because both of these guys, especially the bug-eyed jack ass in the middle are supposedly Christians —- Evangelical Christians no less. But yet, they make idiotic statements like this. You know see why I left the Evangelical circles for good. Because of ignorant crap like this. Which is, incidentally, forbidden by the Bible.
I have said this in the past and I will say it again. If the Republican Party thinks that embracing this sort of nuanced racism is going to do anything for them in the coming elections in 2010 and 2012, they had better think again. Because I will warn them; the American people are just much too smart for that and they will suffer in the coming elections. because I will tell you, that I WILL NOT VOTE for a party that embraces this sort of anti-black, nuanced racism. I will vote libertarian; I did it once and I will do it again. It is seriously time to get real folks, and this is not doing that at all.
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