Staffing shifts continue at the New York Times. The paper's chief economics writer David Leonhardt will be the paper's next Washington bureau chief as of Labor Day, a move confirmed by Times' media reporter Jeremy Peters Friday morning [1]. Leonhardt will replace Dean Baquet, who is moving to New York to be managing editor under Executive Editor-in-waiting Jill Abramson.
Leonhardt's columns in defense of Obama's 'stimulus' package and Obama-care health 'reform' made him a very popular man at the White House and among congressional Democrats [2], who passed around his pieces via email and Twitter.
In 2009 he demonstrated 'the upside of paying more taxes [3]' and has twice claimed the big-spending Obama was in fact a 'fiscal conservative [4].'
In May 2010 Leonhardt called on Obama to break his promise [5] not to raise taxes on those making under $250,000 a year, since he considers high taxes necessary in a modern society. As he wrote in October 2009 [6], 'taxes are supposed to rise as a country grows richer.' He followed up in April 2011 [7]: 'In reality, finding a way to raise taxes may well be the central political problem facing the United States.'