Peter Rouse, Obama’s new chief of staff will bring a softer rhetorical style

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Peter Rouse, Obama’s new chief of staff will bring a softer rhetorical style
By: MATTHEW SHEFFIELD
Washington Examiner
10/01/10 4:25 PM EDT

Now that Rahm Emanuel, the hard-charging liberal former congressman from Illinois has left the Obama White House for parts unknown all eyes are on his replacement as chief of staff, Peter Rouse.

The general consensus is that Rouse, whose position is said to be temporary until after the November election, is equally as well-connected as Emanuel but far less pugnacious.

Both, according to veteran Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lynn Sweet are primarily interested in the art of the possible, at least when it comes to enabling President Obama’s agenda. Considering that Emanuel was not able to dissuade Obama from cramming his now-unpopular health insurance bill through the Senate, it will be interesting to see to what degree Rouse attempts to rein in Obama’s many highly ideological top staffers.

Rouse is also press-shy. He wasn’t even present at the White House when the president announced his appointment.

He’s also being touted by the White House as a “fixer,” a person who can solve difficult situations. In a rare moment of self-deprecation, even Obama admitted this: “The good news is that we have plenty of problems to solve,” he said.

In this New York Times profile of Rouse, there are two good examples of him living up to the fixer reputation:

[pollyannaish]

How nice.