Republicans urge more "business-friendly" successor to Summers

By Caren Bohan Caren Bohan – 26 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans on Wednesday urged President Barack Obama to pick a more business-friendly successor to economic adviser Larry Summers, a move that would signal a shift to the center.

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"We'd like to see someone who had good understanding of what it takes to create private-sector jobs," Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said in an interview at the Reuters Washington Summit.

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With the personnel decisions he is weighing, Obama faces a choice of either going toe to toe with Republicans and facing policy gridlock or signaling a move to the center, said William Galston, a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton.

"In recent days there have been indications that the White House is contemplating the beginnings of the second option, with a new economic approach focused on reducing the long-term budget deficit and getting private capital off the sidelines," Galston wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times.

"If so, the president needs a senior economic advisor who can help him execute this strategy," he said.

Such a candidate would be someone with a reputation for advocating fiscal restraint and would have strong ties to the business community, he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100922/pl_nm/us_obama_economy_summers