Jon Favreau only wants liberals to have nice things. The former Obama speechwriter is just beside himself at the thought of Trump allies getting cushy post-White House gigs.
Harvard fellowships, Emmy appearances, huge speaking fees: there’s just gonna be no penalty for working in Trump’s White House, huh?
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 18, 2017
Favreau must not be in touch with other Obama alumni. For making the Iran nuclear deal palatable by lying to the press, Ben Rhodes landed a seat on the Holocaust Memorial Council. After her stint at the State Department, Hillary Clinton raised her speaking fees exorbitantly.
That, of course, is to be expected. Administration jobs are always about deferred benefit. Service in the White House opens up dozens of career opportunities.
By attacking Sean Spicer for his Emmy appearance and Corey Lewandowski for his Harvard fellowship, Favreau is signaling a new, much nastier sort of political campaign. It’s not enough to defeat an argument or to win an election anymore. Instead, the politically “wrong” should be forced out of the academy and shunned from the social circles because they associated with the wrong White House.
Apparently Favreau never listened when Obama read the words he wrote about hope and change and transcending the normal partisan political order. Those were just words that sounded good strung together, not something that the speechwriter actually believed. Not everyone walked out of the Obama White House so cynical.
After winning Obama re-election, David Axelrod checked out of Washington to help found the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Though far to the Left by any account, Axelrod hasn’t become bitter. He actively engages with ideas he opposes.
Look through the archives of the interviews Axelrod has done with flacks, hacks, and politicians. Normal Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi along with the expected Republicans like Gov. Mitt Romney make appearances. But there are also serious interviews with Corey Lewandowski and Sean Spicer, the very same people Favreau wants exiled for life.
Rather than focusing on blind revenge then, perhaps something like bipartisanship is better than bitterness. Given a choice between Obama alumni, the country would certainly prefer the approach of Axelrod over that of Favreau.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
