Last week, President Obama’s White House Chief of Staff for almost two years, Rahm Emanuel, resigned to move back to his hometown of Chicago in order to run for mayor next year.
In his place comes Washington insider and veteran (often known as the “101st senator”) and the first Asian American to hold this high profile role, Japanese American Peter Rouse. Emanuel and Rouse are complete opposites and The Washington Post sums up what I’ve read about Rouse:
While Emanuel spent nearly two years as a prominent public face of the Obama administration, Rouse sat just around the corner in the West Wing, fixing problems. A trusted adviser dating back to Obama’s first days in the Senate, Rouse helped guide Obama’s Washington rise. Obama once described Rouse as “completely ego-free.”
While I think Rouse is probably just what Obama needs after what will most likely be a Republican controlled House, this characterization of a behind-the-scenes quiet Asian American getting the work done and not getting the limelight and credit is exactly the opposite model to successfully break the bamboo ceiling not only in politics, but in the corporate world. And I’d be the first to admit myself of being guilty of shining away from the limelight.
The Daily Show did a nice bit contrasting between the Emanuel and Rouse while Saturday Night Live spoofed both men (mostly Rahm Emanuel). I hope Rouse makes a name for himself and for Asian Americans who can help run The White House, if not yet be elected president.
