Obama Moves DNC to Chicago

Posted by Trish , Pensito Review at 9:12 AM on June 13, 2008.

A recent move shows how breathtakingly different a Pres. Obama would be from the Current Occupant, or even the Current Occupant Wannabe. Obama is reorganizing the DNC. Hello, Chicago!

In a major shakeup at the Democratic National Committee — and a departure from tradition — large parts of the committee’s operations are relocating to Chicago to be fully integrated with the Obama campaign.

The DNC’s political department, housed in Washington, D.C., will be dramatically rebuilt, with staffers offered a choice of moving to Chicago, joining state operations, or staying in Washington, DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said…

The move reflects Obama’s desire to maintain an unusually streamlined campaign, as well as his swift and complete takeover of a Democratic Party that isn’t always known for its unity. The move may also save the campaign money, as the Obama campaign can use DNC salaries and staff to pay for elements of its organizing campaign and avoid some of the duplication that has often dogged presidential efforts.

It could also help avoid the John Kerry-tastrophe of 2004.

…this is partly about ensuring that the Illinois Senator avoids the fate of John Kerry, whose 2004 presidential campaign was hampered by behind-the-scenes battles with the DNC.

You may recall that the DNC chair in 2004 was one Terry McAuliffe, and in his book, McAuliffe wrote about the back-stage infighting between the DNC and Kerry camps. McAuliffe said that Kerry’s aides had wanted to oust him; that relations were chilly throughout the campaign; and that the Kerry camp muzzled him when he wanted to assail George W. Bush’s military record.

By contrast, upon securing the nomination, Obama very quickly put out a statement showering praise on Howard Dean; is now moving to put staff in all 50-states, in concert with Dean’s approach; and is quite literally moving swaths of the DNC to Chicago to create a unified organization with the sort of party-wide message discipline that has eluded Dems in the past.

In the primary, the Obama campaign was famously devoid of (publicly visible) infighting and/or leaking, and clearly, he’s taking aggressive steps right now to ensure that this success is duplicated in the general.

If Obama can run a government the way he’s running his campaign, America’s future is looking better already.