As His Tenure Winds Down, Obama Turns Focus to Executive Branch

The New York Times: WASHINGTON — John Podesta got a brief burst of attention from his hiring in a White House “shake-up,” Sylvia Mathews Burwell will be in sharp focus in coming confirmation hearings to be health and human services secretary and the cameras loved Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, during the debt-ceiling wars.

Yet the three of them can perform more valuable services for the Obama administration out of the spotlight than in. All three are considered competent, low-key managers, which is why they are in their jobs. For the remainder of President Obama’s term, what matters most to his success is what Washington watches least: competent governmental management.

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