Obama's People

Obama's People is a photo exhibition of Barack Obama's top 52 advisers. This is probably the most diverse cabinet of presidential advisers in the history of the United States, and it made me ask many questions. My IM 204 class and I did some fact-finding on a few of the advisers:

James E. Clyburn: Majority Whip: The first South Carolinian and second African-American to hold the position of Majority Whip. Clyburn was a major figure in the Civil Rights Movement, and served as Congressman of South Carolina. His career in politics started at 12 years old, when he was elected president of his NAACP youth chapter. In 2005, Nancy Pelosi invited him to serve on the Democrat's Faith Working Group.

Rahm Emanuel: Chief of Staff: Emanuel's Jewish roots and tough, mercurial personality precede him. Now that he is in Obama's Cabinet, he is doing his best to keep a calm demeanor although he will always remain a challenger and instigator. This is the main reason why Obama has selected Emanuel for this position; to have an unwavering Devil's Advocate when discussing important issues, and to serve as the unrelenting front guard for items not up for discussion.

John Favreau: 27 years old: Speechwriting Director: aka "The President's mind reader." Though the young Favreau may be a highly perceptive wordsmith, he did not realize that a photo of him grabbing the breast of a cardboard Hillary Clinton had surfaced on Facebook.

Patrick Gaspard: Political Affairs Director: Born in Haiti. Prior to working with Obama, Gaspard was a community organizer for school reform and labor issues. He had worked on the campaigns for Jesse Jackson, Howard Dean, and New York City Mayor David Dinkins--New York City's first African American mayor. Very little information has been published about Patrick Gaspard, although as field director of Americans Coming Together (ACT), a 527 "Get Out the Vote" group, he was unaware that convicted felons were hired as canvassers, and that ACT also violated some campaign finance laws.

Eugene Kang: 24 years old: "Special Assistant to the President". There is still not yet enough public information available on what exactly Eugene Kang is going to do. Kang has a Facebook page if you want to add him, though. He organized a great deal of information for Obama during his campaign, and mobilized many Asian American communities into voting for Obama.

Valerie Jarrett: Senior Adviser: "the other half of Obama's brain". Jarrett comes from an incredibly prominent African-American family, full of firsts. She has lived all over the world, worked in corporate law, and then headed to the Chicago Mayor's office as chief of staff. As chief of staff to Chicago mayor Richard Daley, she had hired Michelle Obama (then Robinson) as assistant to the mayor. It is uncertain what her political views are, although she is a divorced parent and voted by journalism website muckety.com as one of Chicago's "100 best networked".

Reggie Love: 26 years old: Personal Aide and "kid brother". Love played football and basketball while going for his degree in Political Science at Duke University, tried out for the Green Bay Packers in 2004 and didn't make it, tried out for the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 and didn't make it...so he went to work for Barack Obama!

Desiree Rogers: White House Social Secretary: First African American to be named White House Social Secretary and longtime personal friend of the Obamas. I originally thought that "Social Secretary" had to do with Social Services of some kind, but no...Desiree Rogers is going to be the official event planner and party planner for the White House. This is an important position? What about the White House Chef?

Eric K. Shinseki: Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Retired General Shinseki is a Vietnam war veteran who had seen combat firsthand, and has done some incredible things in his position. Shinseki clashed quite frequently with Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz on the number of US troops needed in Iraq--Shinseki insisted that they would need "something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers".

Hilda L. Solis: Labor Secretary: Solis has voted NO on major illegal immigration bills, and remains a powerful voice in government for Latinos. The bills she has worked on in the 110th Congress show a commitment to Latino representation, domestic violence, and environmental issues. (For the record, she does not support a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a bond between man and woman, either.)

Mike Strautmanis: Chief of Staff: Long time personal friend of the Obamas who worked for Michelle as a paralegal before getting involved with politics. Strautmanis has a son with autism, and is working on a disability policy that specifically addresses the needs of autistic people.

Cass Sunstein: Information and Regulatory Affairs Commissioner: Law professor who has written some good stuff about why Americans should celebrate paying taxes and how every US citizen who graduates from high school and has no criminal record should get $80,000 to invest in his or her future.

Mona Sutphen: Deputy White House Chief of Staff: Co-wrote the book The Next American Century: How the US Can Thrive as Other Powers Rise.