Tag: Blood

Former president Barack Obama said over the weekend that the country’s political leadership is in need of “new blood.” America has “a deficit of leadership, and we need new blood,” Obama said during a keynote speech at a private reception for his charitable foundation. “People cling to power instead of seeing the power in other people.” As in his other recent speeches, Obama did not name President Trump directly, and he avoided touching on the continuing partial government shutdown, which marked its 17th day Monday. “I have no shortage of causes that I want to work on,” Obama said. “The single most important thing we could do was to make sure that we were helping the next generations to make the changes that this world needs.” Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, hope the foundation will encourage new leaders as well as be a vehicle for the couple’s work on issues such as the environment, income inequality, and education. “We are, once again, going to change the world for the better,” Obama said.

Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has reached beyond the sometimes stifling boundaries of inside political baseball in Toledo to find a new chief of staff. The mayor introduced Katy Crosby last week, having resisted the temptation to pick a chief of staff from among his own, or the usual, circle of political operatives and hacks. She now works in Dayton. She hails from Cleveland. Her appointment is almost revolutionary. Click here to view more Blade editorials | Check out the Behind The Editorial series Mr. Kapszukiewicz doesn’t have to satisfy the political needs and yearnings of a huge circle of political hangers on because he ran without the backing of a political party. He ran mostly against — rather than with — the many people who might otherwise be seeking political rewards on the 22nd floor. She has the sort of policy chops the new mayor likes and can employ. Ms. Crosby is not your father’s, or grandfather’s, chief of staff. Ms. Crosby brings something else, something new and fresh, and it is welcome.