Glenn Greenwald and Joan McCarter on Obama, Daley and "the left"

Joan McCarter:

Once more with feeling: Obama has not governed from the "left"---Greg Sargent continues to bring up the key false narrative being pushed in reaction to Bill Daley's selection for chief of staff--that this is a "correction" in an administration that has governed from the left. He follows up in a great post today, noting that (of course) the Third Way picked up the lie and ran with it in their reaction to Daley's selection. MORE...

Glenn Greenwald:

Daley is a reflection, not a cause---Few things interest me less at this point than royal court personnel changes. I actually agree with the pro-Obama/Democratic-Party-loyal commentators who insist it doesn't much matter who becomes White House Chief of Staff because it's Obama who drives administration policy. Obama didn't do what he did in the first two years because Rahm Emanuel was his Chief of Staff. That view has the causation reversed: he chose Emanuel for that position because that's who Obama is. Similarly, installing JP Morgan's Midwest Chairman, a Boeing director, and a long-time corporatist -- Bill Daley -- as a powerful underling replacing Emanuel isn't going to substantively change anything Obama does. It's just another reflection of the Obama presidency, its priorities and concerns, and its overarching allegiances. MORE...