Tanden served as Policy Director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign in 2008.
Here is what the Washington Post article says about Neera Tanden:
In her office at the Center for American Progress, where she is president, Tanden displays two framed photos behind her desk. One, of Clinton with her arm slung around Tanden, reads: “From the White House to the Senate and beyond . . . Thanks for all you do for me. I couldn’t have done it without you. Hillary.” The other shows Clinton’s former policy director laughing alongside Obama.
“On health care, on economic issues, she was the progressive voice in the presidential campaign,” said Tanden. She added, quietly, “We became the status quo campaign.”
Unlike many progressive Clinton alumni who had a hard time moving on after Clinton’s defeat and held a grudge against Obama, Tanden joined the Obama team and played a key role in the passage of health-care reform. During that time she occasionally exchanged e-mails with Clinton. Since leaving the administration, she has become a consistent thorn in the administration’s left side as a leading progressive voice.
She seems to enjoy the freedom of being unshackled from a campaign or candidate. She said that while her think tank would be a resource for progressive candidates, she had made a long-term commitment to her board and did not foresee herself being involved in a Clinton 2016 bid. “I’m not planning on working for her,” she said.
That said, Politico reports that Tanden would most likely play a significant, if informal role in any Clinton campaign.
Center for American Progress (CAP) was recently ranked as the 30th best think tank in the world by the annual University of Pennsylvania think tank rankings. It was ranked as the 11th best think tank in the US. It was also ranked as the 2nd best think tank in the world in terms of best use of the Internet or social media.
