Obama Tells Mayors He Understands Tough Challenges of Their Jobs

Vice President Biden quoted Walt Whitman's famous line about cities -- "A great city is that which has the greatest men and women" -- as he greeted a delegation of the nation's mayors to the White House on Thursday for a session with President Obama.

They were in town for the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and, like officials all over, have been hurt by the recession. Biden reminded the group that this president is a man who understands their problems, "who came from a big city himself," as he acknowledged Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, sitting in the front.

Obama also gave a hat tip to Daley, after a salute to Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann "because he was such a great host for me and my family when we were there in Honolulu. So thank you, Mufi," said Obama, who spent the holidays in his native state.

Turning to the mayor of his adopted hometown, Obama said, "I have to say, Rich, the weather was a lot better -- in Honolulu. I just wanted to let you know."

"Now, I always enjoyed meeting with mayors, because it reminds me of where I got my start: working with folks at the local level, doing our best to make a real impact on the lives of ordinary Americans," said Obama, who moved to the South Side of Chicago to be a community organizer in 1985.

"And that's what each of you does every single day. You're the first interaction citizens have with their government when they step outside every morning, the things that make our cities work and our people go -- transit and public safety, safe housing, sanitation, parks, recreation -- all these tasks fall to you.

"It was President Johnson who once said, 'When the burdens of the presidency seem unusually heavy, I always remind myself it could be worse. I could be a mayor.' So I -- that's why we organized this meeting today. . . . I look at all of you and I say, 'I'm doing fine.'

"It's just not easy being a mayor. But rarely, if ever, has it been more difficult than it is today. Your constituents are feeling the pain of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, not to mention an economy that wasn't working for a lot of them long before this particular crisis hit. Many have lost jobs. Many have lost their health care. Some maybe even lost their homes. And they're looking to you and all of us to regain some sense of economic security."

George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter were governors -- of Texas, Arkansas, California and Georgia. Before he was the 41^st president, George Herbert Walker Bush was a vice president, an ambassador to the U.N. and China, a CIA director and a member of Congress.

Obama, a former Illinois senator who lived in a big city, is in a unique position to comment on the job of mayors. Though he never toiled in a City Hall, key figures in his White House inner circle did. What they have in common is a stint in Mayor Daley's City Hall or serving as an appointee. Daley was first elected mayor in 1989 and in December he will become the city's longest-serving mayor, passing the 21 years his father occupied the mayor's office on the fifth floor.

White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett -- who oversees administration relations with governors, mayors and county officials -- was Daley's deputy chief of staff in 1991 when one Michelle Robinson interviewed with her for a job. Before she would accept, she wanted her fiancé, one Barack Obama, to meet Jarrett. Mrs. Obama went to work for Jarrett, and when Jarrett was promoted to head the city's Planning Department, Mrs. Obama went with her.

When Jarrett left City Hall for the private sector, she remained connected to City Hall; Daley appointed her chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority and later to the committee organized to foster Chicago's 2016 summer Olympics bid.

Earlier in his career, White House chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was a fundraiser for Daley's first mayoral campaign. After years in the Clinton White House, Emanuel returned to Chicago when Daley tapped him in 1999 to be the vice chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority. Emanuel's close friend, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod, served as Daley's media consultant. Before he was education secretary, Arne Duncan was Daley's choice to run the Chicago public schools.

Susan Sher, now the chief of staff for First Lady Michelle Obama, joined Daley's law department in 1989 and became the corporation counsel for the city in 1993, serving until 1997. It was Sher who had passed on to Jarrett the resume of Michelle Robinson.

Mrs. Obama noted her time in Daley's City Hall when she delivered a speech Wednesday to the U.S. Conference of Mayors about the administration initiative she is leading against childhood obesity. Said Mrs. Obama, "As some of you may know, one of my first jobs was in a mayor's office – working for Mayor Daley out in Chicago."

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In talking to the mayors, Obama previewed what the administration has in mind for cities in his new budget, unveiled next month.

"My staff has traveled around the country to see the fresh ideas and successful solutions that you've devised. And we've learned a great deal about what we can do and shouldn't do, to help rebuild and revitalize our cities and metropolitan areas for the future," Obama said.

"So the budget that I'll present next month will begin to back up this urban vision, by putting an end to throwing money after what doesn't work and by investing responsibly in what does.

"Our strategy: to build economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, opportunity-rich communities that serve as the backbone for our long-term growth and prosperity. "

Obama highlighted three items in his address:

"First, we'll build strong regional backbones for our economy by coordinating federal investment in economic and workforce development, because today's metropolitan areas don't stop at downtown. . . .

"Second, we'll focus on creating more livable and environmentally sustainable communities, because when it comes to development it's time to throw out old policies that encouraged sprawl and congestion, pollution, and ended up isolating our communities in the process. . . .

"Third, we'll focus on creating neighborhoods of opportunity. Many of our neighborhoods have been economically distressed long before this crisis hit -- for as long as many of us can remember. And while the underlying causes may be deeply rooted and complicated, there are some needs that are simple: access to good jobs, affordable housing, convenient transportation that connects both, quality schools and health services, safe streets and parks, and access to a fresh, healthy food supply. "