The Chicago Machine Goes To Washington?

MS:
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You can also accurately interpret Obama's choice as a pointed message that he is not interested in anything the far right has to offer.
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He's going to work with the moderates...

Couldn't be that Emanuel is smart, talented and absolutely driven to achieve his goals. Putting him in charge of guarding the new president time and keeping Democrats focused on Obama's agenda makes sense and all this talk about being a jerk is not only beside the point it sounds too much like a GOP meme to be your thoughts MS.

And the tire swing just keeps on a swingin'
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Mike Sherer now that you are not under McCain's thumb are you going to consider contrasting the story you linked with the press release that Lindsey Graham put out yesterday saying all manner of great things about Rahm Emmanuel and congratulating Obama on picking him to be his Chief of Staff?
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Yeah that was a rhetorical question. We already know where you and AMC stand

Emanuel to Republicans: I drink your milkshake!

Michael,
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Don't forget that this is the last day to apply for a TPM internship.
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(Now that was just mean…)

"(Now that was just mean…)"
Delightfully mean...

I think Rahm is an excellent choice for Chief of Staff. He's strong, organized, disciplined, and really knows how to get things done. Fearless, loyal. Connected. He can build coalitions. I'd rather have him as CoS than in the House leadership.
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Not surprised that the knives are out for him by the likes of rightwing pundits like Michael Scherer and Joe Scarborough, but then they have both been so laughably, grievously wrong throughout the campaign season that, in the words of George W. Bush, "Who cares what you think?"

Time to go to Fox, Michael

Yeah we should be worried about what the GOP thinks of Obama hiring Rahm because they REALLY hold him in such high regard. Please listen to what Saxby Chambliss's supporters said after it was announced that Barack Obama is our president elect
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/07/chambliss-releases-anothe_n_142036.html

Good thing we have a track record to consider as we read and listen to the media.
Who has largely been right? Who wrong? Who honest? Who dishonest?
With a new administration and the same media it's good to keep score.

Michael Scherer puts out his first hit piece on the Obama Administration, before the inauguration. Way to stay relevant, Michael!

Sounds good to me. All of those qualities and those mentioned by the commentors will help him to better serve President Obama. Obama will need somebody to get down in the weeds while he attends to larger matters.
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What separates Emmanuel from the likes of GOP scum like Rove is that Rove is a criminal. He violated many laws in his quest to politicize the institutions of government and turn this nation into a banana republic. There is no indication that Emmanuel has such ambitions despite Scherer's attempt to lay the groundwork for that meme.

I happened to see a Politico piece on Emanuel yesterday. How can someone with so many friends and contacts be a jerk? A little abrasive, sure, but clearly he can also be nice.
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And remember: He's not Jeremy Piven. Some people seem to be making that mistake. He actually seems to genuinely care about policy. He's DLC, so his policies may be more to the right than we'd like, but nonetheless it's not fair to suggest Emanuel is all about humiliating Republicans.

I can't honestly say that I read this as a slam against Obama. My impression was that Scherer and others love all these different political styles.
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Remember, MS has never really made a judgement call on the politics of the McCain campaign vs. the Obama campaign. Calling McCain an old man was just as bad as riling up the xenophobes.
So to call Rahm a ruthless, opportunistic jerk isn't an insult, in Scherer's book, and I'm guessing it doesn't reflect all that poorly on Obama.

You know who would be nice to have around if we are going to clutch our pearls about the "Chicago Machine"?
Studs and Royko.
Oh well.

Sounds great. Good cop, bad@ss cop.

He's not Jeremy Piven. Some people seem to be making that mistake. He actually seems to genuinely care about policy.
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No, he's Bradley Whitford.
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Both Ari (as in the real Ari Emanauel) and Rahm are giant pains in the @ss, which is why they're also both exceptionally good at their jobs.

Is it possible that there is not a simple label that can be slapped on Emanuel that makes it possible to swiftly judge and dismiss him? Are we going to have to evaluate him by his behavior day-in, day-out as the Administration unfolds? Are you kidding me? I'm tired just thinking about it. I had hoped we could instantly characterize everyone before they even took office and be ready by January with entrenched judgments. Disappointing.

Hmm. Per the Washington Post:
Incredibly intelligent, knowledgable, connected, sure to be candid with Obama and protective of him. Not an ideologue.
Even those who don't like his calculated abruptness have gone to ballgames with him and admit he's got a great sense of humor.
Sounds like a great choice to me.
Now, Larry Summers has some of the same get-it-done characteristics, but not the redeeming ones. I would not be so accpeting of him at Treasury.

For those who didn't follow the links all the way through, This is an even better Emanuel article by the same author:

https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Archive/abridged2.bat?path=2002/020215/EMANUEL&search=%22joravsky%22%20%22rahm%20emanuel%22

Well I think that this gets to the heart of what both parties talk about. I feel it was a smart choice for Obama to select Rahm Emanuell as his chief of staff because I am sure he is going to need a pit bull.

He made a lot of promises during his campaign that he cannot possibly deliver. He is now very beholden to the far left for giving him the support, moderates, and some of the conservative principles that got him elected.

If some are curious by what I mean by conservative principles, I mean cutting taxes for 95% of the people, tougher militarily moving to Afghanistan, cutting spending in Washington going line by line, reigning in earmark spending. I mean I would find it hard to dispute these are not what attracted many moderate voters. The top issue for moderates was healthcare but, many of these others that I presented are the swing.

It is all up in the air and it will be interesting to see if most in Congress will allow this to happen when it is opposed by Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Reid and the majority wanting to tack farther to the left. If this isn't supported by president Obama I am wondering how that is going to go over.

He will need a serious blocker and I think that is what he selected, however being in the minority side I can see the selection of Rahmbo who said about the republicans to "go *uck themselves" doesn't instill much faith that Obama will like Pelosi said strive for bi-partisan governance. I mean Pelosi gave basically said the same thing and then denied republican votes to even be let on the floor on offshore drilling. Is this the same kind of bi-partisan governance that we can expect from Obama?

So there is a lot of contradiction and only time will tell how he chooses to juggle these tough issues he has to deal with.

I heartily reccomend for those who didn't see this link.

https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Archive/abridged2.bat?path=2002/020215/EMANUEL&search=%22joravsky%22%20%22rahm%20emanuel%22

It's a better Emanuel article by the same author

Am I banned...?

https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Archive/abridged2.bat?path=2002/020215/EMANUEL&search=%22joravsky%22%20%22rahm%20emanuel%22

I've tried three times to post a link.
At the bottom of the aricle MS links to is an even better article about Emanuel's Congressional run!

Last try:
https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Archive/abridged2.bat?path=2002/020215/EMANUEL&search=%22joravsky%22%20%22rahm%20emanuel%22