Presidential scholars see recent White House job offers as nothing new
The White House job offers that led to charges the administration is practicing Chicago-style politics are nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to Washington, according to presidential scholars.
Offering someone a position to get him out of the way goes back at least as far as the 1824 presidential election of John Quincy Adams.
“This kind of jockeying happens all the time in politics,” says David Greenberg, professor of history, journalism and media studies at Rutgers University. “Politicians are always trying to get people in and out of races, and they will use offers, inducements and even threats to do that.”
Obama’s White House is under fire for discussions that included talks of posts in the administration with Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) and Colorado state Senate President Andrew Romanoff (D). In both cases, the White House — acting through former President Bill Clinton in the case of Sestak — sought to clear Democratic Senate primaries for its favored incumbents, and has said no formal positions were offered.
Adams allegedly offered Speaker Henry Clay a job as secretary of State to get him to drop his bid for the presidency.
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Offering someone a position to get him out of the way goes back at least as far as the 1824 presidential election of John Quincy Adams.
“This kind of jockeying happens all the time in politics,” says David Greenberg, professor of history, journalism and media studies at Rutgers University. “Politicians are always trying to get people in and out of races, and they will use offers, inducements and even threats to do that.”
Obama’s White House is under fire for discussions that included talks of posts in the administration with Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) and Colorado state Senate President Andrew Romanoff (D). In both cases, the White House — acting through former President Bill Clinton in the case of Sestak — sought to clear Democratic Senate primaries for its favored incumbents, and has said no formal positions were offered.
Adams allegedly offered Speaker Henry Clay a job as secretary of State to get him to drop his bid for the presidency.