White House Calms Post-Rahm

Reporters may be chagrined about the flamboyant Rahm Emanuel’s departure from the White House, but staff members are delighted. Since William Daley and David Plouffe replaced Emanuel and David Axelrod as chief of staff and senior adviser, the Obama administration is a stabler, quieter place to work, aides say. Plouffe doesn’t even turn on his television, tuning out the daily grind of cable news. Staffers say the two new arrivals take a hands-off, low-adrenaline approach, but it’s not just about workplace environment. Daley and Plouffe are tasked with facing a divided House and a much less ambitious legislative agenda than their hard-charging predecessors.