Austan Goolsbee

Goolsbee became Barack Obama's economic advisor for Obama's successful 2004 U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois. He was also the senior economic advisor to the 2008 Obama presidential campaign.[17][18]

At one point during the primary of Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, Goolsbee was alleged to have told Canadian consular officials in Chicago that Obama's political position on the North American Free Trade Agreement was "more reflective of political maneuvering than policy."[19][20] The allegation was denied by Goolsbee, the Obama campaign, and the Canadian government.[21] Goolsbee remained Obama's senior economic adviser through the rest of the primary and the general election including many television debates with John McCain's economic advisers.

Goolsbee was nominated by Obama to serve on the Council of Economic Advisers on his first day in office. Goolsbee was confirmed by the Senate on March 10, 2009.[22] He concurrently served as chief economist at the Economic Recovery Advisory Board. He was designated chair of the Council on September 10, 2010 succeeding Christina Romer.[23]

In these capacities, Goolsbee served as a media surrogate for the Obama Administration and his skill on television was noted in the media.[24][25]

Goolsbee was interviewed by Jon Stewart for The Daily Show on August 11, 2009;[26] February 1, 2010;[27] October 25, 2010; February 24, 2011; August 3, 2011; and September 6, 2012.

He also appeared in Daily Show segments on November 11, 2009,[28] where he was interviewed by Josh Gad about whether the Cash for Clunkers program had ruined demolition derby and on March 17, 2009[29] where he said that executives at American International Group (AIG) deserved the "Nobel prize for evil" ) for their role in the 2008 financial crisis. Jon Stewart described him as "Eliot Ness meets Milton Friedman".

In 2009, he was voted the Funniest Celebrity in Washington. One practical joke was giving a dead fish to the departing White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who has been known to give dead fish to political opponents.[30]

On June 15, 2009, he appeared as a guest on The Colbert Report.

He made a second appearance on The Colbert Report on October 13, 2010, where he defended Obama's tax cut policies which would allow tax breaks to expire for Americans earning more than $250,000 per year. Goolsbee's main arguments were that 98% of Americans would still receive a tax break under the Obama proposal and that the country would have to borrow money to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans if all tax breaks were extended. In November 2010, however, the House of Representatives swung to a Republican majority who threatened that they would not extend the expiring tax cuts on that 98% without extending the cuts for the wealthiest 2% as well, and in December Obama signed a compromise deal to extend the cuts for all.

In January 2011, Goolsbee expressed the administration's confidence that the U.S. debt limit would be raised, noting that rhetoric from some members of Congress, who suggested the routine increase should be opposed, "[appear] to reflect a deep misunderstanding of the consequences of default".[31][32] Goolsbee agreed with Tim Geithner and numerous conservative commentators "that the debt ceiling must be allowed to rise", commenting that "playing chicken" with a default of government liabilities could have a catastrophic impact on the U.S. economy.[33][34] He noted that the Obama administration sought to fuel economic growth during the continuing gradual recovery by "focusing on spurring investment and improving U.S. exports and innovation" but noted that "in the medium run, a series of tough choices" would need to be made and that the president's budget would indicate his willingness to make budget cuts a part of the long-term plan.[35]

On June 6, 2011, Goolsbee announced that he would return to the University of Chicago, saying that the economy was "a million miles from where it started". [4] He was expected to play an informal role from Chicago in Obama's 2012 campaign.[36]