Shake It Up!

The obligatory post midterm White House staffing shakeup is underway, with official news as early as Friday as to who stays and who goes.  Budget man David Axelrod long ago confirmed his departure, and he's just the first.

There will be major holes to fill, including Axelrod's. Officials have known for months that he would leave for Chicago later this month, and that former campaign manager David Plouffe would come in to assume a similar senior adviser role. Officials have also been scrambling to fill the hole left by Lawrence Summers at the helm of the National Economic Council. Yet there are many more: Both deputy chiefs of staff, Jim Messina and Mona Sutphen, are expected to leave, with Messina moving to Chicago to run the 2012 presidential campaign.

Another important vacancy is the director of the Office of Public Engagement: Tina Tchen, the last director, is leaving to become first lady Michelle Obama's chief of staff. And there is continued speculation that there will be an opening at the top of the political shop, although rumors that political director Patrick Gaspard will leave have circulated for months and not come to fruition.

Additionally, the senior adviser opening created by Rouse himself, when he assumed the chief of staff role, has yet to be filled.

On Tuesday, Vice President Biden announced that his longtime chief of staff, Ron Klain, will leave later this month, another major shift. "For 25 years, Ron Klain has been my friend and adviser," Biden said, underscoring how significant Klain's departure will be. "As my chief of staff in the White House, Ron has done an exceptional job of building my team, implementing my direction on top priorities and providing invaluable counsel."

In filling those six to eight holes, the White House could create even more vacancies still, if, as expected, they are filled with current employees. In Biden's office, communications director Jay Carney is on the short list to replace Gibbs, if he departs; the other leading contender is Bill Burton, now a deputy press secretary at the White House. Carol Browner is on the short list to become a deputy chief of staff, as is Phil Schiliro, officials have said. As insular as the Daley move might appear from the outside, one Democrat said, "all the other moves they will make will be much more insular than this." 

We'll see what happens when the dust settles.  The White House's major weakness has been messaging, so hopefully when all is said and done we'll have a White House ready to go on the attack when need be...and against this House GOP leadership, that's going to need to be every news cycle.

Besides, if you need to replace Robert Gibbs as White House Press Secretary, I understand this gentleman is available.