Daley & Boehner: old faces, new roles
Arthur I. Cyr directs the Clausen Center for World Business at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. This is from Scripps Howard News Service.
The New Year brings new faces to Washington, notably in the largely Republican freshmen class of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. But arguably the most significant transitions are among the old familiar faces taking on new top positions.
Two of these individuals are worth special focus: Democrat Bill Daley, new White House chief of staff, and Republican John Boehner, new speaker of the House. Both have extensive experience in national government and politics. Beyond that, each man personifies important continuities - and changes - in the dynamics of our political party competition.
Both Boehner and Daley are relatively pragmatic, in an age when our party politics have become steadily more partisan - indeed often intensely ideological - as Republicans have moved to the right and Democrats to the left. Boehner from Ohio and Daley from Illinois also draw attention to the electoral importance of the Midwest in an era where the two parties are generally evenly matched in public support.
Daley has been keeping a relatively low profile for the past decade, spending his time building a substantial network - and substantial wealth, in banking and telecommunications. In familial terms, he has been overshadowed by his brother Richard M. Daley, now retiring as the longest-serving mayor of Chicago in history.
During the 1990s, however, Bill arguably was the more prominent Daley, as both secretary of commerce in the Clinton administration and campaign manager of Vice President Al Gore's 2000 White House bid.
Discussing the brothers, Daley conjures memories of their powerful father, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. The senior Daley's legacy is apparent in both personal and professional terms. His commitment as parent is reflected in the success of his sons, while the Chicago Democratic organization endures even as other major cities, including Los Angeles and New York, have elected Republican mayors.
Boehner, in contrast to the brothers Daley, is part of no durable dynasty in politics, but rather an individual who has steadily ascended through demonstrated electoral and legislative skill. Earlier in his career, he worked as a bartender as well as a salesman.
Congress is heavily populated with wealthy men and women, a large percentage of whom began life with considerable economic advantages. Boehner provides a believable bridge to the working people who make up the vast majority of the electorate.
In practicing politics in the House, the new speaker has notably emphasized pragmatism. During Congress' just-concluded lame-duck session, he was instrumental in helping to broker the compromise with the White House that extended the Bush-era tax cuts.
Boehner, by temperament and background, is well positioned to emulate Democrat Sam Rayburn of Texas, longest-serving speaker, who led through the challenging 1940s and 1950s by emphasizing bipartisanship and personal honesty. Rayburn was extremely successful despite the poisonous politics of that time. In a subtle manner, he effectively separated his speaker's role from the rest of the Democratic Party leadership - in the process rising to a status somewhat akin to the speaker of the House of Commons in Great Britain.
As both parties prepare for the 2012 presidential election, regional distinctions are of distinctive importance. The Northeast and West Coast generally vote Democratic, the South and West generally Republican, while the Midwest remains the swing region. Midwesterners Boehner and Daley are now positioned to influence this election outcome, perhaps decisively.
