The reitred CEO of Exelon Nuclear Corporation, John Rowe, is publicly on the record opposing new reactor construction. "Let me also state unequivocably that new [reactors] don’t make any sense right now,” he said in Chicago this week where Exelon is headquartered. "It just isn’t economic, and it’s not economic within a foreseeable time frame," he said.The question remains whether Rowe's remarks will influence the Obama White House policy of supporting new reactor projects. One of the original creators of Exelon was Obama's influential former Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, now mayor of Chicago. Rowe made several trips to the White House during Emanuel's tenure. David Axelrod, Obama's political advisor, has been a lobbyist for Exelon.