Torsella dropped out of the senate race after U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter - at the urging of Rendell and President Obama - switched from Republican to Democrat in what became a failed bid for re-election.
Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., donated $1,608 to Torsella's Senate campaign last year and later got a refund after he dropped out.
Rice and Torsella were Rhodes Scholars together at Oxford University, in England, in 1986.
Rendell, through a spokesman, this week said that he had not heard about the U.N. job but has "recommended Joe to the White House for a number of positions."
Torsella and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
And we think we know why.
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak stirred up controversy during his successful challenge to Specter in the May 18 Democratic primary election by announcing that the White House tried to lure him out of the race with a job offer. The White House, after weeks of refusing to explain, finally said that it had former President Clinton offer Sestak an unpaid post on an intelligence advisory board if he would remain in the U.S. House.
We're sure that some Republicans will claim a United Nations job is payback for Torsella dropping out of the Senate race last year.
The post-Rendell job hunt
There may be no Philadelphia homecoming in the near future for
Donna Cooper after serving two long terms as Rendell's secretary of policy and planning.
PhillyClout hears that Cooper may be headed for the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C. run by Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta.
Cooper, known for her direct approach to all things, surprised us with coy answers. She said that she doesn't currently have a new job and has been talking for some time to many people about her next step, not just the Center for American Progress.
