Musical Chairs in the East Wing as First Lady Michelle Obama Replaces her Chief of Staff Jackie Norris with Longtime Friend Attorney Susan Sher

Musical chairs in the White House. First Lady Michelle Obama has replaced her chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with White House lawyer Susan Sher. My first thought is to ask, who cares, but I guess it is worthy of some discussion since this happened four months into the Obama administration. It's also funny how this flew under the mainstream media radar, since they hang on to every word from the Obamas. The news release offered no explanation as to the reason for Norris' whirlwind tenure, but I guess being a longtime friend of Michelle Obama trumps the relatively new friendship with Norris, who she met in Iowa during the early days of caucuses. Norris is a mother of three young boys and I guess an argument could be made about the lack of family time with her kids that this position calls for.

In yesterday's announcement, Obama noted that Norris had "built a strong organization in the East Wing and made tremendous progress on issues that are important to me and the President, particularly in the area of national service."

Don't cry for Jackie Norris because she has managed to get a new job, despite the challenging economic climate. She will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service, which provides grants to service organizations and promotes volunteerism. It also oversees programs such as AmeriCorps and Senior Corps.

Sher, on the other hand, seems to be Michelle Obama's home girl. She worked in both the East and West wings on legal issues and health care reform. According to the Washington Post, she has known the first lady for more than a decade, as their career paths have been intertwined. Sher was a vice president at the University of Chicago Medical Center; Obama worked there, too. Sher also served as corporation counsel for then-Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, for whom Obama and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett both worked.