Obama shows city roots, names urban-policy aides
WASHINGTON -- From the hip-hop on his iPod to the urban-policy aides he named Thursday, President Obama is demonstrating what it's like to have a chief executive who's city to his bones.
Since he arrived in town, Obama has visited a chili joint and trendy eateries, a charter school, a community center and the Kennedy Center. On break this month from his new job, he didn't chop brush on a ranch; he played basketball in Chicago.
White House priorities have also taken something of a U-turn. Last week, Obama signed a stimulus package that funnels tens of billions of dollars to programs long sought by metropolitan areas.
And on Thursday, he fulfilled a campaign promise to coordinate all federal urban policies at the White House. The idea, Obama said, is "to bring long overdue attention to the urban areas where 80% of the American people live and work."
The new point men are Adolfo Carrión, White House director of Urban Affairs, and Derek Douglas, special assistant to the president for urban affairs. Carrión, who will report directly to Obama, is president of the Bronx, a borough of New York, and president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Douglas is Washington counsel to New York Gov. David Paterson.
Since 1828, when Andrew Jackson made it from the Carolina backwoods to the presidency, politicians have worked hard to showcase whatever rural or small-town roots they can summon. That's never been an option for Obama, who spent his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, Indonesia, followed by college, law school and adulthood in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Chicago.
"Here's a guy who gets it, with no staff whispering in his ear," says Carol Coletta, president of the group CEOs for Cities. "He knows this stuff. He's lived this experience."
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, says Obama and his aides have been receptive to mayors' input. "There's a whole paradigm shift. We're talking the same language," says Diaz, an independent. He's among about 70 mayors meeting with Obama today.
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