Hillary wants more power and more money, any questions?
Jacob J. Lew
As he prepares to take office, President-elect Barack Obama is relying on a small team of advisers who will lead his transition operation and help choose the members of the Obama administration. Following is part of a series of profiles of potential members of the administration.
Name: Jacob J. Lew
Being considered for: A variety of domestic policy jobs.
Would bring to the job: Extensive experience in the White House and on Capitol Hill; intimate knowledge of the substance and politics of federal programs, the budget process and appropriations.
Is linked to Mr. Obama by: Longtime friendship with Clinton administration alumni, including John D. Podesta, a co-chairman of the Obama transition.
In his own words: “Fiscal discipline is essential to protect Social Security and strengthen Medicare, so that both will be there in the years ahead. Reducing the accumulated federal debt will help us to protect these important programs.” (Congressional testimony in March 2000.)
“Fiscal discipline and progressive government must be essential partners.” (Statement at the White House in April 1998.)
Used to work as: Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1998 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Was deputy director of the budget office (1995-1998), senior policy adviser to Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. of Massachusetts (1979-87) and an aide to Representative Joe Moakley of Massachusetts (1974-75).
Carries as baggage: No serious impediments. He is respected by members of both parties as a policy specialist and a legislative craftsman. Some Republicans say he can be highly partisan. As executive vice president of New York University, he tangled with a union representing graduate students who help teach courses. His work for an investment unit of Citigroup could invite criticism in the current financial turmoil.
Is otherwise known for: No matter how frenetic the pace, he would leave his government office to observe the Jewish Sabbath on Friday evenings.
Résumé includes: Born Aug. 29, 1955, in New York City. ... known as Jack....earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1978 and a law degree from Georgetown in 1983. ... issues director at the Democratic National Committee in 1988. ... founding director of the Center for Middle East Research, 1992. ...worked on Mr. Clinton’s national service initiative and his ill-fated health care plan. ...executive vice president of New York University (2001-6). ...now chief operating officer of Citi Alternative Investments, a unit of Citigroup. ROBERT PEAR James B. Steinberg
As he prepares to take office, President-elect Barack Obama is relying on a small team of advisers who will lead his transition operation and help choose the members of a new Obama administration. Following is part of a series of profiles of potential members of the administration.
Name: James B. Steinberg
Chosen for: Is a co-leader of the Obama transition team's policy working group on national security.
Brings to the job: Foreign policy experience at the highest levels of government, including as deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration, where he earned a reputation for boundless energy and a mastery of subjects, but also for a short temper that sometimes intimidated his subordinates. Michael O’Hanlon, a former colleague at the Brookings Institution, calls him “an incredible networker, but someone who masters the substance as well.”
Is linked to Mr. Obama by: His work over the last several months as an informal adviser, helping to fashion campaign positions on the Israeli peace process, Iran and other foreign policy topics. He accompanied Mr. Obama this summer on his trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign spots.
Used to work as: A clerk to a federal judge; an aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Armed Services Committee; and an analyst at the RAND Corporation in California. He held several top national security positions in the Clinton administration, including State Department chief of staff and director of the department’s policy planning staff. Until 2005, he was vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington. He is now dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas but has remained at the center of the Democratic Party’s shadow foreign policy establishment.
In his own words: “The next president will take office at an extraordinarily delicate and dangerous time in American history. He will face two ongoing conflicts in which U.S. troops are intensely engaged, our ground forces are overextended, and few good options seem available for stabilizing these situations to prevent wider conflict.” — From “Difficult Transitions: Foreign Policy Troubles at the Outset of Presidential Power,” 2008, co-authored with Kurt M. Campbell.
Carries as baggage: Does not have a longstanding relationship with Mr. Obama. His intensity can be off-putting, some former colleagues say, although he is said to have mellowed somewhat since his days in the Clinton White House. He currently lives in Austin, Tex., and would have to relocate to Washington.
Is otherwise known as : A voracious reader, fly fisherman, runner and workaholic who often rises before dawn to run several miles before getting to the office. He has several marathons under his belt. Was struck by a car while running in Los Angeles but has recovered from his injuries.
Résumé: Born May 7, 1953 ... the son of a jeweler, raised in Boston ... earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a law degree from Yale Law School ... a lifelong Democrat, he worked on the presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter and Michael Dukakis ... married to Sherburne B. Abbott, an environmental scientist ... they have two daughters.
