The Waking Giant
written by Staff
October 9, 2010
Barack Obama appointed Tom Donilon as National Security Advisor, chief advisor to the POTUS on national security issues. This is the position held in the past by Kissinger, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. An important position indeed – frequently a stepping stone to Secretary of State.
So who is Tom Donilon? He was a registered lobbyist from 1999 through 2005, and his sole client was Fannie Mae. He was a consultant to financial giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. A General is leaving this position. The person appointed is a lobbyist who has also spent much of his time working on Democratic campaigns.
For a long time, Donilon lived his life from presidential campaign to campaign.
The Democratic operative worked on his first Democratic National Convention at 24, and he’s been helping elect candidates ever since. He has worked for Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Joseph R. Biden.
In 1988, Donilon served as one of then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden’s (D-Del.) closest advisers during his presidential campaign. Biden was fresh off a stint as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, where he presided over the most controversial Supreme Court nomination ever by considering Reagan’s nomination.
As informal campaign adviser, Donilon played a key role in successfully convincing the Senate to defeat Bork’s nomination.Rosenthal, Andrew, “Washington Talk: Campaign ’88: The Courting of a Consultant,” New York Times, Aug. 24, 1987 Rosenthal, Andrew, “Washington Talk: Campaign ’88: The Courting of a Consultant,” New York Times, Aug. 24, 1987
When Biden lost his presidential bid after being accused of plagiarism, Donilon became a senior adviser to Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis’ presidential campaign.
In 1991, Donilon joined O’Melveny & Meyers law firm as a partner. He was on the firm’s governing committee and headed its strategic counseling practice. Additionally, he led the firm’s effort to increase its pro-bono work.Business Week Website Business Week Website
He was a senior counsel to President Bill Clinton’s 1992 transition effort.
Clinton Administration
Donilon formally entered a presidential administration in 1993, when he was named chief of staff to secretary of State Warren Christopher. In 1996, he became assistant secretary of state for public affairs. He visited over 50 countries in those positions and worked on several major foreign policy initiatives, including the Balkans peace negotiation, the expansion of NATO and the relationship between the U.S. and China.
Fannie Mae
In 1999, Donilon accepted an executive vice president position at Fannie Mae. He has been accused of painting an unrealistically rosy picture of how the company was doing and of supervising an “aggressive backdoor lobbying campaign … to undermine the credibility of a probe into the firm’s accounting irregularities,” according to ABC News.Schwartz, Emma, “Obama Transition Member Oversaw Fannie’s Lobbying,” ABC News, Nov. 17, 2008 Schwartz, Emma, “Obama Transition Member Oversaw Fannie’s Lobbying,” ABC News, Nov. 17, 2008
Donilon left Fannie Mae in 2005 and returned to O’Melveny. At the same time, he was chosen as a member of the House and Senate Majority’s National Security Advisory Group, which was designed to assess U.S. performance on national security issues and to propose ways to improve it.
Donilon could have worked for the 2008 presidential campaign of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), but instead signed on with Biden’s presidential effort, advising him on Iraq. When Biden dropped out of the 2008 race, Donilon endorsed Obama.
He and Wendy Sherman led the Obama transition team’s State Department efforts. Donilon’s wife, Catherine Russell, was named Jill Biden’s chief of staff.Abramowitz, Michael, et al, “Obama Close to Choosing Clinton, Jones for Key Posts,” Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2008 Abramowitz, Michael, et al, “Obama Close to Choosing Clinton, Jones for Key Posts,” Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2008
Donilon moved into the White House (his office “can charitably be described as a broom closet, according to Al Kamen of The Washington Post) on inauguration day.Kamen, Al, “A Who’s Who Of Who’s Where,” Washington Post, Jan. 20, 2009 Kamen, Al, “A Who’s Who Of Who’s Where,” Washington Post, Jan. 20, 2009 He has been a the “lynchpin of the interagency process,” according to Foreign Policy’s Laura Rozen. He runs the deputies meetings, where the real policies get drafted.Rozen, Laura, “The NSC’s Invisible Hand,” Foreign Policy, April 14, 2009 Rozen, Laura, “The NSC’s Invisible Hand,” Foreign Policy, April 14, 2009
Donilon’s specialty, he says, is political conventions. He helped manage the Carter campaign activities at the 1980 Democratic convention, managed Democratic Party activities at the 1984 convention and was the top legal officer for the DNC’s convention selection committee in 1985.
Donilon admits an interest in the unusual minutia of conference planning. “You’ve got to be off just a few degrees to be interested in telephone systems at national conventions,” he told the New York Times.Toner, Robin, “Race Is On For 1988′s Brightest and Brashest Consultants,” New York Times, May 31, 1987
As a perennial campaigner, Donilon has built a wide network of Democratic connections over the course of staffing eight presidential campaigns. Donilon worked on Biden’s 2008 campaign with fellow operatives Patrick Caddell, John Martilla and David Doak.Toner, Robin, “Race Is On For 1988′s Brightest and Brashest Consultants,” New York Times, May 31, 1987
Toner, Robin, “Race Is On For 1988′s Brightest and Brashest Consultants,” New York Times, May 31, 1987
He served on the National Security Advisory Group with Madeleine Albright, Gen. Wesley Clark, John Podesta, Samuel Berger, James Steinberg and Susan Rice. Many of those people went on to top positions in Obama’s administration. Reid, Pelosi, Former Defense Secretary Perry Announce New Review of Post-9/11 National Security Record,” U.S. Newswire, March 28, 2007 Reid, Pelosi, Former Defense Secretary Perry Announce New Review of Post-9/11 National Security Record,” U.S. Newswire, March 28, 2007
Donilon was part of the tight-knit group that ran Biden’s presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008, along with Larry Rasky, Valerie Biden Owens, Sen. Edward M. Kaufman (D-Del.), John Marttila, Mark Gittenstein and Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain.Murray, Shailagh, “Familiar Faces at Biden’s Side,” Washington Post, July 21, 2007 Murray, Shailagh, “Familiar Faces at Biden’s Side,” Washington Post, July 21, 2007
Donilon’s brother has worked for Biden since 1981. He travelled with the senator during his vice presidential campaign and helped him prepare for the vice presidential debate before moving into the White House.Mulligan, John, “R.I. Native Tom Donilon is part of Obama’s Team,” Providence Journal, Nov. 13, 2008 Mulligan, John, “R.I. Native Tom Donilon is part of Obama’s Team,” Providence Journal, Nov. 13, 2008
His wife, Cathy Russell, is Jill Biden’s chief of staff.
Don’t you now feel more secure as you go to bed each night?
Don’t you now feel more secure as you go to bed each night?
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