Gore Veteran Named Biden Chief of Staff

Joe Biden has picked Al Gore's former chief of staff to be his own chief of staff, highlighting the Obama team's reliance on Washington insiders, Marc Ambinder writes in the Atlantic. Some Democrats question how Beltway vets like Ron Klain could possibly represent change—but the truth is that the president-elect needs these insiders to make his outsider plans a reality, Ambinder argues. Klain has accepted the job, Politico reports.

Obama has been surrounded by insiders like Caroline Kennedy throughout his campaign, making it no surprise that his administration-to-be looks set to be full of familiar faces, says Ambinder, Obama is being pragmatic as ever with his choices, "turning to people who know how power flows in Washington" in order to effectively transform the capital, Ambinder writes.
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