Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the aggressive former Clinton administration aide and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, hasn't yet endorsed either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
But many have long assumed that he was privately favoring Clinton. He is the only member of the Illinois Democratic congressional delegation not to endorse Obama, and in 2006 (before it was clear that Obama would run), he declared, "I'm supporting Hillary Clinton. I'm public about it."
Yet in recent months, he has repeatedly dropped signals that many have interpreted as evidence of a tilt towards Obama. In January, shortly after the combative South Carolina primary, Newsweek reported that Emanuel had made a "heated" private call called Bill Clinton saying that "he needs to change his tone and stop attacking Sen. Barack Obama."
Emanuel has also said that he expects the Democratic race to end in May -- a time frame that arguably precludes the possibility of a Clinton victory.
And a New York Times article published Thursday afternoon includes this quote:
"The way the loser loses," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who is close to both candidates but has made no endorsement, "will determine whether the winner wins in November."
It's certainly a cryptic line -- where is Rahm leaning?