"Pete Rouse is invisible and methodical – the anti-Rahm."

[Clio the Leo]

Pete Rouse is invisible and methodical – the anti-Rahm.

“Stepping into role will be Pete Rouse, a deeply trusted senior adviser to Obama who has made much of his living as a chief of staff. Obama on Friday is expected to herald Emanuel's service, talk of unfinished business and introduce Rouse as interim White House chief of staff, likely for the rest of the year.” (AP)

Pete Rouse is invisible and methodical – the anti-Rahm. He’ll create new structures and impose processes on a West Wing that’s hungry for them. For instance, Obama won’t impulsively name a female CEO to replace Larry Summers. Rouse will run a process. The new management team will sit down and figure out what kind of person and skills are needed, then make recommendations to POTUS.

The following people have worked for him (NOT counting White House): Robert Gibbs, Bob Bauer, Ron Klain, John Podesta, Anita Dunn, Dan Pfeiffer, Joel Johnson, Alyssa Mastromonaco, Pat Griffin, Denis McDonough, Michelle Ballantyne, Nancy Hogan, Julianna Smoot, Mark Lippert, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Sarah Feinberg, Steve Hildebrand, Paul Tewes, Mitch Stewart and the senior people at just about every agency in the government. Rouse has an eye for talent and they remain loyal to him for years. It’s how the Obama campaign was staffed.

Age 64; one of three “Senior Advisors” (along with David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett).

WashPost A1, “Emanuel's replacement is known as a fixer,” by Anne E. Kornblut: “It was Rouse who arranged the presidential transition, hiring John Podesta to run it. … In late 2009, Obama asked to grapple with the administration's policy for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after it became clear that the president would miss his self-imposed deadline to close the prison … More recently, Rouse helped create the administration's new consumer protection bureau, navigating competing internal factions (including between Emanuel and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett) to make Elizabeth Warren a senior adviser to the bureau. … Rouse is single and famously fond of the Maine coon cats he keeps as pets. The voice-mail greeting on his cellphone was recorded by Emanuel's children. Colleagues affectionately describe Rouse as obsessively devoted to work, one trait that he and Emanuel share. … ‘I look for real smart people, people who place a premium on getting the job done, as opposed to getting credit,’ Obama said in a 2008 interview. ‘My chief of staff in the Senate, Pete Rouse, Tom Daschle's old chief of staff, is as well connected, and as well known and as popular and as smart and as savvy a person as there is on Capitol Hill. But is completely ego-free.’”

http://www.politico.com/playbook/1010/playbook1190.html

[Kdillard]

1. He sounds like the right guy for the job.

[DirkGently]

2. "Anti-Rahm" seems like a promising start.