Bill Daley should turn the job down

By Bernie Quigley

For The Hill on 1/4/11

President Obama may be high minded, as has been said about him, but is he trustworthy? The answer is firmly no. It was not ornery contention that led New Hampshire state representative Dan Itsy to bring a states rights challenge to Obama within weeks of his inauguration. It was not race or rural pride which led 37 states to follow suit. It was Obama’s radical move to the far left directly after he was in office. It betrayed the good will and intentions of the people who voted for him. That brought the Tea Party to life and it brings it now to a new Congress. This week he moves to the center, effectively pushing away any challenge from the middle, particularly that from Hillary Clinton. And it is reported now that he has asked Chicago’s Bill Daley to come in as chief of staff; that is, to be the new moderate figurehead of the new Obama in the middle. Daley should turn the job down. The new Obama has a greater chance; a right good chance, of reelection with Daley at the helm. But once reelected, what is to say he would not ditch him and head left again? It is his first tendency. This would be disastrous for America. If the last two years has been any indication, it could potentially bring us to a condition of revolution.

Has Obama had a change of heart? How is that possible? Is Obama a Trickster? Possible. Daley would be in Obama world a symbol, a chess piece, a pawn in his game. His own initiatives would be neutralized.

On Dec. 24, 2009, Daley wrote in the Washington Post:

“The announcement by Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith that he is switching to the Republican Party is just the latest warning sign that the Democratic Party -- my lifelong political home -- has a critical decision to make: Either we plot a more moderate, centrist course or risk electoral disaster not just in the upcoming midterms but in many elections to come.”

Daley was the first to see it and the first to say it. In July, he joined the moderate think tank The Third Way:

He said then: “I believe in Third Way’s unique mission—advancing moderate ideas, challenging orthodoxies, and building a big tent political movement that can attract an enduring majority. Their views are right for both campaigning and governing: pro-market, strong on security and seeking common ground on culture issues. Third Way is doing exactly the work that we must do—with the White House, Congress and statehouses—if we’re going to own the center of American politics and create the kind of pragmatic change the country wants.”

This goes in the right direction. Suppose he would bring the Clintons, spurned and falling form the sky now like the birds in Arkansas, with him on this. Say what? Bring a frontal challenge to the Obama Democrats, possibly even as a third party. Consider the possibilities. The Clintons with Daley could challenge the Obama crowd that has commandeered the Democratic Party. Daley should stick to his guns. If the Democrats are not to go the way of the Whigs, they might start again with Bill Daley.