Sam Stein dropped by the "Rachel Maddow" show on Tuesday to talk with guest host Chris Hayes about a hot prospect for Barack Obama's next chief of staff.
According to Stein, Bill Daley could be the best choice help lead the administration -- at least with respect to the 2012 elections, if not the White House itself. The current Wall Street executive and former high-level Democratic operative brings some pragmatic benefits.
"He is sort of that key person who will know all the key players in the Obama orbit," Stein explained. "You want someone at chief of staff -- while you're running for reelect -- who knows the Chicago team and who knows what it's like to be in an election campaign."
On the other hand, Stein warned, Daley's strong ties to the finance world could have some repercussions. "To cozy up like this and appoint someone who worked at J.P. Morgan ... who fought regulations ... that's problematic and that sends a really bad message for the president in terms of the idea that he's too beholden to banks."
While that makes some uneasy in Democratic circles, Stein also pointed out that Obama has shown no hesitation to be his own man, moving in a different direction on certain policy issues than former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Vice President Joe Biden wanted him to go.
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