Fwd: FYI

EXCLUSIVE - RON KLAIN'S POST EBOLA JOB: Administration insiders say Ron Klain, who starts Wednesday as the White House Ebola czar, will be in line to succeed John Podesta as counselor to President Obama when Podesta leaves, likely to chair Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. "The president has been talking to Ron about different roles for a long time, and he wouldn't accept the Ebola job unless there was a promise of something bigger," said a longtime Klain colleague.

A senior Democrat who works closely with the White House said: "He's very good at seeing around corners. And they know they need someone who can do that." Klain also would be a candidate to succeed Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, although McDonough seems to love his job and may stay, the insiders said. The counselor job - which before Podesta was held by longtime Obama confidant Pete Rouse -- is a big-think, wise-man counterpart to the chief of staff, without the administrative responsibility.

The Ebola appointment for Klain, 53, has received mixed notices, with commentators wondering why Obama didn't choose a medical or military expert. But Democrats close to the White House said the choice of Klain - a former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, Vice President Al Gore and Attorney General Janet Reno - has a logic that has been overlooked by outsiders. Bringing Klain into the West Wing now would provide a smooth transition to Podesta's job when he departs - probably early next year, perhaps after the State of the Union address.

"Ron is part of the small circle that Obama is comfortable with and keeps going back to," the longtime colleague says. "He knows how to get ahead of problems and to use the levers of the federal government." Another friend said Klain - a non-leaker -- fits Obama's "no drama" model. "Rahm was able to work in Obamaworld DESPITE his personality; Ron works BECAUSE of his personality," the friend said. "Ron doesn't yell. He's affable but tough. He is easy to work with and worth for, but he's not a pushover. That's the combination that has worked well in the Obama White House." http://politi.co/1wlK9dH