Speaking of political talk show hosts, I caught this last night:

CHRIS MATTHEWS:  “Let Me Finish” tonight with some very good news for the country, I think.

Word has it the president‘s about to name Bill Daley as his chief of staff.  I think this san excellent decision.  It brings together what now has the look, feel and connection to be a solid executive team.

Asking Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state was the first masterstroke.  Keeping Robert Gates as secretary of defense is a second shrewd move, keeping in place a strong, consistent chain of command.

Now comes word that the president is about to name William Daley, the former commerce secretary his own chief of staff.  This is what the Obama presidency is needed most.  I‘ve said so before many times—a chain of command in domestic policy like we‘ve seen in force with the foreign policy defense side.

With Daley on the West Wing, we will have it—someone who can walk before the cameras and say the president wants this done.  Someone who can go up to Capitol Hill, sit in a room with Speaker Boehner and say, this is what the president has in mind, we hope we can work through it for the good of the country.  If not, we will do our best from our end.

The president no longer controls both houses of congress, the voters saw to that.  The key now is for both side to accept, to make sure there is respect for the other side, and in that regard, a good chief of staff like Daley can work wonders.

More from Dean on Daley from The Ed Show for Thursday, Jan. 6th, 2011

....Governor Dean, great to you have with us tonight.  Thanks so much for joining us on THE ED SHOW.

HOWARD DEAN, FMR. CHAIRMAN, DNC:  Thanks for having me back, Ed. 

SCHULTZ:  You bet.

All right.  William Daley—the critics on the left are out and about tonight saying that this is a corporate boardroom hire.  What‘s your take now on Bill Daley now being the chief of staff?

DEAN:  I think that it‘s a good move.  It is true that he‘s more conservative.  Nobody would ever excuse Bill of being a progressive.  But he‘s a thoughtful guy, he‘s an adult.

He treats people respectfully.  I don‘t think you‘ll see snide comments.  I think you‘ll see a lot of organization, a lot of forward looking in terms of planning.

So I don‘t think it matters so much what somebody‘s ideology is in that office.  I think it does matter that they can relate to other parts of the party well.

You know, I don‘t know him very well, but I have met with him a lot over the last 10 or 15 years.  I like him a lot.  I think he‘s a good guy and I think he‘s going to do a good job.

SCHULTZ:  Do you think that he will represent the base to the p[resident?  I mean, there‘s a lot of liberals in this country, progressives, who worked hard for President Obama, that felt like their voice was never heard in the White House.

Would he be the one to be that voice for the president?

DEAN:  Probably not, but I think he would be willing to hear from progressives.  And I think he probably would seek some out, which would be good.
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You know, I think the president‘s not going to have any trouble understanding what it is that progressive Democrats believe we ought to have in this country.  What we don‘t want is to have what we‘ve had for the last two years, which is sort of a running, sniping battle going on between the progressive end of the party and the president.  That‘s not necessary.

The president, I think, is as hard as a reformer.  We‘ve just got to get the White House on track, and then lower the temperature.  And that can be best be done with somebody who really approaches people with a sense of respect and interest, even if that interest doesn‘t necessarily coincide with what they believe.

SCHULTZ:  Does it concern you that the Chamber of Commerce president, Mr.  Donohue, gives a ringing endorsement?  The Chamber spent millions trying to defeat Democrats in the last election cycle.

What do you make of that?

DEAN:  I think the Chamber is basically a funding arm of the Republican Party, so I really think they‘re kind of irrelevant in the debate.  They can spend a lot of money.

They haven‘t proved themselves to be positive contributors to the debate in any way.  There are a number of chambers around the country that are not paying dues to the American Chamber of Commerce anymore, a number of corporations have withdrawn.  So I don‘t really care what Tom Donohue thinks about Bill Daley, and I think it‘s irrelevant.

We‘ve got to run the White House.  The Chamber has no interest in running the White House or doing anything good for the country.

SCHULTZ:  Well, I mean, I think there are some that are  going to interpret an endorsement by Mr. Donohue as not a good hire by the president.

DEAN:  Well, I think that you‘ve got to—you know, that I would disagree with.  Look, I don‘t agree with Bill Daley on a lot of issues, but I do respect him.

SCHULTZ:  Yes.

DEAN:  And I think that that matters a lot.

And look, let me just say this—has Bill Daley worked for JPMorgan and some big banks that were involved in all the Wall Street mess?  Absolutely, he has.  But I don‘t think he was personally responsible for any of the decisions about the mortgages and the credit default swaps and all of those kinds of things.

I know him because he has an outside-the-belt way political career.  It is also true that he was Bill Clinton‘s secretary of Commerce.

I just don‘t see this as a recycling of a Clinton person.  I see this—I see Bill Daley as his own man from outside the beltway.

Principally, he thinks like an outside-the-beltway guy.  It is true that he‘s business-oriented.  I don‘t think that that‘s any great sin.

All I want in the White House from a progressive point of view is somebody who is willing to sit down, listen to us, talk to us, and be respectful.  And if we get that, I think that‘s going to help the president and I think it‘s going to help the country.  And I think that‘s what Bill Daley is.

SCHULTZ:  We‘ll have more with Governor Dean at the bottom of the hour when we‘re talking about health care, the bill that the Republicans want to repeal....