Friday, November 14, 2008

Advising Presidents


So, as Obama's transition team continues to make decisions about its appointments, we're likely to hear more about one of the president-elect's lead advisers, Valerie Jarrett. She's actually been a kind of mentor for both Obamas for years.

Jarrett's presence and prominence in Obama's inner circle will provide us with opportunities to consider the possibility of a black woman making key planning decisions at the highest level.

Many of my students here at SIUE are from Chicago, so I'm curious if any of them have thoughts on Jarrett, who's a chi-town sister. As Michelle Cottle revealed in a profile The Woman to See in The New Republic, Jarrett's been a political mover and shaker in Chicago for quite some time.

Condoleezza Rice had the ear of G. Bush, so we're looking at a continuation but with some important variations of course. Actually, we'll probably have another Rice, this time Susan Rice, in a high level foreign policy position in Obama's administration.

So more so than inspiring the really young folks to become president, I’m hoping that the rise of Obama causes some of the older-younger people to think more about becoming specialized advisers, strategists, and politically savvy thinkers.

Links:

Jarrett appears in one of the earliest video talks on their site change.gov.

Jarrett gets senior role at White House.

No comments: