Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Some Are Understandably Curious About Where Alexi Giannoulias Goes From Here

People seem curious about what the next move for defeated candidate Alexi Giannoulias is. We speculated after the election that:

[I]f Obama really misses Alexi that much, he can give Alexi a job in his administration somewhere, which I bet is a good possibility, since Alexi needs something to do, and to get some age on him, before he comes back to make a run for something else here in Illinois.

Others are also curious, and seem to be on the same page with us:

At 34, Giannoulias is likely to have options, said friends and strategists. He is young, wealthy and has an important ally in the White House.

A job in Washington does not seem out of the question, several political strategists said. If he chooses to pursue a political career, the analysts said, Giannoulias needs to broaden his resume, perhaps with fresh public and private sector experience.

President Obama, who befriended Giannnoulias in pickup games on Chicago basketball courts and repeatedly campaigned for him, could help.


What do you all think? Will we be seeing Alexi again soon here in Illinois, or is his best bet to go out and burnish his credentials and then return?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well TA, is there a Basketball Czar? Not sure what Alexi can contribute to the current crew in DC but knowing how our president and his buddies, including Alexi, like to play games, being the Czar of Basketball or Games or something similar might fit. On the serious side, I'm sure we have seen or heard the last of young Alexi. He'll return in some form or other as do most who run and lose. What's your bet on Dan Seals? I'm hearing that he does want to stay in the run for something. Hard to imagine, but knowing him, not out of the question.

Anonymous said...

Most countries have sports ministers-we don't, so that's out of the question for alexi. I used to think he'd get some job in dc which is usually what they give failed senate/congressional candidates. But to get a job in the federal government even for political appointments you undergo a background check and there's no way alexi would pass given the mob stuff, which is pretty incredible. they also ask about work history, and he would fail that too-i'm not kidding.

My guess is that alexi gets some job with john rogers or one of the president's big donors, they name him to some commission or federal task force to give him some more policy experience and then he gets a big role as deputy national finance director for the obama re-election which will help him get a bigger donor base.

Dan has kids and I'm sure a very bad financial situation right now after being unemployed for 6 years so I'm thinking he ends up in whatever pays him the most money. He couldn't afford to live in the district so I doubt he can afford to move to dc to take a government job for 2 years.

FOKLAEAPS

Anonymous said...

Alexi can chair a high profile state agency to keep his name in the news rather than go to Washington.

Or he can go to Brooklyn, NY and work in his brother's bank.

Louis G. Atsaves

Anonymous said...

King Louis,

Good points. I am struggling whether to dump the alexi and pup from the name because they've been slayed and it's annoying to type all of that.

Alexi seems to enjoy the nightlife and I don't really think the guy wants to live in springfield. He's not a career politician like hamos. I think he would get crushed in brooklyn.

I also think the screenshot from the kirk victory speech needs to go on the front page of the blog. If democrats are going to comment on this blog, the least team america can do is remind them what happened in the 2010 senate race.

FOKLAES

Team America said...

Well, technically, I think we took care of Ellen pretty well, too.

If you want to just use "Shore" that's fine to.

But if we don't sit down soon for coffee with Baxter & Beau's Mom, she's gonna go nuts.

Blue Wind said...

Alexi will be at some point senator in IL. Maybe he will beat Kirk 6 years from now. Who knows? But I think he is smart and he has a lot of potential in politics.

Seals is out of politics for ever. I only wish he would have gone out of politics after his first loss in 2006.

Now, I have one more prediction. Obama will be soft to the extreme right republicans of today. Things will get worse. If Obama compromises with the republicans and the tea partiers (and I think he will because he is not a strong leader), the economy will get worse and worse. What is happening in this country is really pathetic.

Anonymous said...

ellen still exists, diminished, but breathing, sadly. Alexi is awful. the tribune in a story this morning talks about congressional candidates who pay their relatives but sadly ignores how the pup paid himself. apparently they don't read this blog.


BW, If you look at obama's career he's never faced a governing test. His whole career has been about promoting him not on accomplishment but on "promise" people saw in him. Clinton came back after 1994 because he had spent a dozen years in the governors mansion in arkansas and had learned how to govern. Obama was a back bencher in springfield and then dc and never had to lead or govern. It's a much different ballgame under the klieg lights when your head is on the line than it is as a back bencher out giving speeches getting great press.

He's not going to get help from republicans who are scared out of their ellens of facing tea party challenges and if he sells out someone like dean or feingold will primary him and all modern presidents who have been primaried have lost (carter, bush 1).

FOKLAES