The basic logic behind Barack Obama’s first major decision as president-elect, his selection of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff, makes sense... But that doesn’t necessarily mean Obama is making a wise choice. In vesting Emanuel with such authority – he’ll essentially run the White House and serve as the gatekeeper to the president – he is also assuming some very significant risks. Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala
The lack of sourcing aside, this is a critical counterpoint to a lot of the other Emanuel coverage in the press that hasn't discussed specifics of his abrasiveness. The anecdotes are telling, but without multiple named sources, this piece needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
A remarkably detailed analysis of the character of Rahm Emanuel. Very thorough, and very fair. By the end of the article, the reader emerges with a clear impression of a man who, as chief of staff, will be instrumental in setting the tone at the Obama White House.
One has to wonder about the advisability of appointing a self-acknowledged SOB to the chief of staff position. By all accounts, Emanuel is a man who takes real pride in his abrasiveness.
While it does suffer from a lack of named sources, I also heard the stories about the rift between the DCCC and DNC in 2006. I was on staff with two congressional campaigns that year, and the stories were pretty well known among Party insiders. Also, one of those campaigns was in the district next to Emanuel's. He played very heavy-handed kingmaker in that race and the candidate he backed with money and big-name support lost. However, for folks without this inside knowledge, this piece could easily read as gossip.
Rahm Emanuels reputation from the Clinton years onward is legendary if you've spent ANY time in DC or Chicago. Vicious and brutal as they come, Clinton needed him..so will President Obama, he will be the steel backbone Biden mentioned, this is Washington after all.
“I still believe that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do, okay?” he added. More »
It’s not that I want to rain on anyone’s parade; but you see Mr. Obama is cut from the same cloth as that inner circle which surrounds him and will also make up the lion’s share of his administration. That inner circle is personified in the appointment of Congressman Rahm Emanuel as Obama’s Chief-of-Staff. Emanuel is a member of the New Democrat Coalition (NDC). Now the NDC is a group of center-right pro-business Congressional Democrats affiliated with the Democratic ... More »
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