Harry Tuttle
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- Joined
- Nov 14, 2003
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If Kerry Wins, Teddy’s in Fat City
http://www.washingtonian.com/capital_comment/2004/0904capcom.html
John Kerry’s election chances may be 50-50, but that hasn’t stopped ambitious lawyers and policy makers from lining up for jobs in the executive branch.
The problem is that no one is sure who the key Kerry gatekeepers are going to be. Kerry’s 20-year Senate career has him characterized as aloner. When it has come to getting Bay Staters placed in jobs, it has always been the other Massachusetts senator, Ted Kennedy, who has been the man to see.
A case can be made that Kennedy ended up being the “man to see†for Kerry, as the candidate was foundering in the primaries before Kennedy loaned him Mary Beth Cahill, who became his campaign director and turned the Kerry campaign around in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Kerry would enter the White House beholden mostly to Kennedy, who took Kerry under his wing in 1971, when Kerry first came to national attention as the leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
As a quid pro quo for Kennedy’s help, look for this modern JFK—if elected—to go far in restoring a kind of Camelot. There are plenty of Kennedys around who could use a boost.
Mark Shriver, who lost a congressional primary in Maryland to Chris Van Hollen, might succeed his ailing father, Sargent Shriver, who headed the Peace Corps years ago. Unsuccessful Maryland candidate for governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend might surface as a top deputy in one of the departments. And there is some speculation that her brother Robert Kennedy Jr. could head the Environmental Protection Agency.
As for Ted Kennedy, he is likely to give up his 44-year Senate seat in 2006. Kennedy would have his pick of the top ambassadorial posts—maybe London, where his father was ambassador, or Paris.
As for ex-Kennedys, there is no shortage of those, led by in-law Andrew Cuomo, who is being divorced by Kerry Kennedy. Cuomo’s choice of diplomatic posts might be limited to small Middle Eastern countries.
For those who aren’t Kennedys, here are Washington players who would have Kerry’s ear:
Cameron Kerry. A partner in the Boston-based law firm Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, brother Cameron could spend a lot more time in Mintz Levin’s Washington office. When it comes to FCC commissionerships and related telecom jobs, Cameron should exercise lots of influence. Veteran Washington lawyer Charles Ferris, who chaired the FCC under President Carter, would be listened to by the new president. Another Mintz Levin principal to watch is nonlawyer David Leiter, who runs the firm’s lobbying wing, ML Strategies. Leiter was Kerry’s chief of staff on Capitol Hill for six years.
Nicholas Gess. A former deputy attorney general under Janet Reno, Gess is a senior consultant in the Washington office of Boston’s Bingham McCutchen. He leads a group that has advised Senator Kerry on judicial nominations and legal issues, a role he is likely to continue if Kerry becomes president.
Sarah Bianchi. A staffer on Vice President Al Gore’s team, Bianchi, 31, now leads Kerry’s issues team and would move to the White House as a domestic-policy adviser. Bianchi, whose father is headmaster of a private school in Atlanta, got her start in politics by being Karenna Gore’s college roommate at Harvard. That led to a job in the Clinton White House, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Gene Sperling. Bill Clinton’s economic adviser would seem headed for a top Kerry economic job, either director of OMB or Secretary of the Treasury. He currently is senior fellow with a group called Center for American Progress, headed by former Clinton aide John Podesta.
Robert Rubin. The star of the Clinton administration has Kerry’s ear on monetary and fiscal policy. He’s the most likely candidate to replace Alan Greenspan as head of the powerful Federal Reserve.
Rand Beers. A former national-security adviser in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, he is said to have access to Kerry on foreign policy, especially now that Sandy Berger, under fire for taking classified documents home, has dropped out of the picture.
Joseph Biden. Kerry’s closest friend in the Senate, Biden makes no secret of the fact that he would like to be Secretary of State. Biden says that only if the Democrats retake the Senate would he stay to become head of the Foreign Relations committee. He speaks with Kerry at least three times a week.
Lael Brainard. One of several Kerry advisers from the Brookings Institution, Brainard is a PhD from Harvard who is an expert on poverty, AIDS, and Third World issues. Another Brookings fellow believed to have Kerry’s attention is Peter R. Orszag, who advises on tax policy and Social Security.
Robert Weiner. Currently at Arnold & Porter, Weiner worked in the White House Counsel’s Office under Clinton. He would be on the short list to serve as Kerry’s White House counsel.
Ivan Schlager. Now a partner at the DC office of Skadden Arps, Schlager was chief counsel to the Democratic side on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee for ten years, where he became close to Kerry. Just 43, he has maintained a close relationship and is said to have raised considerable money for Kerry’s campaign. He has links to both Hollywood and Wall Street through his representation of movie studios. A Kerry victory would stamp the ambitious 1989 Georgetown Law grad as a White House player.
Vernon Jordan. The power player’s exodus to New York might end with a Kerry election. Jordan has been named Kerry’s negotiator for the upcoming presidential debates.
Jeffrey Liss. He’s chief operating officer of the fast-growing law firm Piper Rudnick; his wife, Susan, is a domestic-policy adviser to the Kerry campaign. Jeffrey Liss, 53, has been a fundraiser and organizer and has gotten young associates placed in Kerry campaign positions. Liss might be the kind of manager Kerry would look for to organize and run the White House.
http://www.washingtonian.com/capital_comment/2004/0904capcom.html
John Kerry’s election chances may be 50-50, but that hasn’t stopped ambitious lawyers and policy makers from lining up for jobs in the executive branch.
The problem is that no one is sure who the key Kerry gatekeepers are going to be. Kerry’s 20-year Senate career has him characterized as aloner. When it has come to getting Bay Staters placed in jobs, it has always been the other Massachusetts senator, Ted Kennedy, who has been the man to see.
A case can be made that Kennedy ended up being the “man to see†for Kerry, as the candidate was foundering in the primaries before Kennedy loaned him Mary Beth Cahill, who became his campaign director and turned the Kerry campaign around in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Kerry would enter the White House beholden mostly to Kennedy, who took Kerry under his wing in 1971, when Kerry first came to national attention as the leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
As a quid pro quo for Kennedy’s help, look for this modern JFK—if elected—to go far in restoring a kind of Camelot. There are plenty of Kennedys around who could use a boost.
Mark Shriver, who lost a congressional primary in Maryland to Chris Van Hollen, might succeed his ailing father, Sargent Shriver, who headed the Peace Corps years ago. Unsuccessful Maryland candidate for governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend might surface as a top deputy in one of the departments. And there is some speculation that her brother Robert Kennedy Jr. could head the Environmental Protection Agency.
As for Ted Kennedy, he is likely to give up his 44-year Senate seat in 2006. Kennedy would have his pick of the top ambassadorial posts—maybe London, where his father was ambassador, or Paris.
As for ex-Kennedys, there is no shortage of those, led by in-law Andrew Cuomo, who is being divorced by Kerry Kennedy. Cuomo’s choice of diplomatic posts might be limited to small Middle Eastern countries.
For those who aren’t Kennedys, here are Washington players who would have Kerry’s ear:
Cameron Kerry. A partner in the Boston-based law firm Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, brother Cameron could spend a lot more time in Mintz Levin’s Washington office. When it comes to FCC commissionerships and related telecom jobs, Cameron should exercise lots of influence. Veteran Washington lawyer Charles Ferris, who chaired the FCC under President Carter, would be listened to by the new president. Another Mintz Levin principal to watch is nonlawyer David Leiter, who runs the firm’s lobbying wing, ML Strategies. Leiter was Kerry’s chief of staff on Capitol Hill for six years.
Nicholas Gess. A former deputy attorney general under Janet Reno, Gess is a senior consultant in the Washington office of Boston’s Bingham McCutchen. He leads a group that has advised Senator Kerry on judicial nominations and legal issues, a role he is likely to continue if Kerry becomes president.
Sarah Bianchi. A staffer on Vice President Al Gore’s team, Bianchi, 31, now leads Kerry’s issues team and would move to the White House as a domestic-policy adviser. Bianchi, whose father is headmaster of a private school in Atlanta, got her start in politics by being Karenna Gore’s college roommate at Harvard. That led to a job in the Clinton White House, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Gene Sperling. Bill Clinton’s economic adviser would seem headed for a top Kerry economic job, either director of OMB or Secretary of the Treasury. He currently is senior fellow with a group called Center for American Progress, headed by former Clinton aide John Podesta.
Robert Rubin. The star of the Clinton administration has Kerry’s ear on monetary and fiscal policy. He’s the most likely candidate to replace Alan Greenspan as head of the powerful Federal Reserve.
Rand Beers. A former national-security adviser in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, he is said to have access to Kerry on foreign policy, especially now that Sandy Berger, under fire for taking classified documents home, has dropped out of the picture.
Joseph Biden. Kerry’s closest friend in the Senate, Biden makes no secret of the fact that he would like to be Secretary of State. Biden says that only if the Democrats retake the Senate would he stay to become head of the Foreign Relations committee. He speaks with Kerry at least three times a week.
Lael Brainard. One of several Kerry advisers from the Brookings Institution, Brainard is a PhD from Harvard who is an expert on poverty, AIDS, and Third World issues. Another Brookings fellow believed to have Kerry’s attention is Peter R. Orszag, who advises on tax policy and Social Security.
Robert Weiner. Currently at Arnold & Porter, Weiner worked in the White House Counsel’s Office under Clinton. He would be on the short list to serve as Kerry’s White House counsel.
Ivan Schlager. Now a partner at the DC office of Skadden Arps, Schlager was chief counsel to the Democratic side on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee for ten years, where he became close to Kerry. Just 43, he has maintained a close relationship and is said to have raised considerable money for Kerry’s campaign. He has links to both Hollywood and Wall Street through his representation of movie studios. A Kerry victory would stamp the ambitious 1989 Georgetown Law grad as a White House player.
Vernon Jordan. The power player’s exodus to New York might end with a Kerry election. Jordan has been named Kerry’s negotiator for the upcoming presidential debates.
Jeffrey Liss. He’s chief operating officer of the fast-growing law firm Piper Rudnick; his wife, Susan, is a domestic-policy adviser to the Kerry campaign. Jeffrey Liss, 53, has been a fundraiser and organizer and has gotten young associates placed in Kerry campaign positions. Liss might be the kind of manager Kerry would look for to organize and run the White House.
