Raaaaaaaaahm!

Barack Obama has been President-Elect for all of 15 hours — but it only took about three for news to spread that Rahm Emanuel been offered the job of Obama's White House Chief of Staff — and that he was taking it. Last night on MSNBC at around 2 a.m., Howard Fineman said he'd gotten a call from Josh Marshall who said that he'd spoken to Rahm who said he'd said yes. Somewhere around that time, Emanuel's Wikipedia page was updated to reflect this development. God love the speed of information travel in this brave new world. And people are chiding the networks for being too careful in their election calls! Sheesh.

But back to Rahm. I'm just gonna say it: This may be the sexiest White House ever. (And yes, I do remember the Clinton-Stephanopoulos White House, and I'm still sayin' it. Ballet + Army + Delivering the House = Sexy) (Although rotting fish + steak knife would be scary without the aforementioned; now it's just sexy-dangerous.) But that's not the point of this piece, either, though as my pal Glynnis MacNicol wrote from the DNC: "I have yet to encounter a woman here who doesn't immediately remark on his presence, or her desire to be in it." (I, um, spend a lot of time with Glynnis.)

What was I saying? Oh yes, Rahm, whose name appropriately contains both "Rah!" and "Aaaaaaah," depending how you say it. Apparently on "Morning Joe" this a.m. such an appointment was taken to be a "drop dead" to Republicans, but come on: If Obama has a mandate, how better to shepherd it through? Rahm Emanuel means business — he keeps his goals in sight and he gets things done. That's the kind of guy needed to handle the fierce urgency of now. I'm sure he does fiercely urgent reeeaaaally well.

What was I saying? Oh right: It's also an added bonus to those 78% of Jews! Emanuel not only personally directed the famous 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony for the Oslo Peace Accord, he also served as a civilian volunteer in the Israeli Defence Force. See? Obama really is good for the Jews!

There are those who might argue that Rahm's appointment might (a) send too pugilistic a message, (b) overload the White House with Illinois pols or (c) take him away from the House where he is sorely needed (sure he helped usher in that Dem "thumpin'" back in 2006, but what did they really do with it?). I disagree on all fronts, with (a) as stated above, (b) on the basis of quality and also the diversity of Obama's advisors already, and (c) eh, I can't see why he wouldn't be as outspoken to Congressional Dems as he once was to Tony Blair.

One final reason in favor of Rahm: It's yet one more link between The West Wing and the eerily similar story of the Obama campaign. As many of you no doubt know, the character of Josh Lyman in The West Wing, played by Bradley Whitford, was based on — you guessed it! — Emanuel. Lyman toiled as Deputy Chief of Staff under President Bartlett, but ascended to Chief of Staff under the Obama-like President Santos. (His brother, Ari Emanuel, was the basis for Entourage's Ari Gold. Hooray for Hollywood Liberals!) Anyway, for those of you who watched The West Wing during the Bush years wishing it was real, well, this is a pretty decent approximation.

Anyway: Now it's official — Rahm is the Mahn. But of course, we already knew that.

Rahm Emanuel: Obama's Chief Of Staff [HuffPo]
Obama Offers Chief of Staff to Rahm Emanuel [ABC]

Related:
Denver: Rahm Emanuel Off the Record [Playboy Politics Blog]

NB: This post is obviously not meant to show disrespect to Emanuel or his family — actually, I sort of know his rabbi and it's not meant to show disrespect to him, either.

Comments

[dlo2]

This is a choice and maybe has something to do with bipartisanship, even though he's a bipartisan dem. Maybe the dynamic will work however seemingly improbably..

[Nxtthyme]

Three words. . . DLC, DLC, DLC!
Good god, why did he pick this guy and why is no one noting that a supposed progressive, that we progressives supported for two years with sweat and dollars, is going back to the same old drivel-gang that gave us triangulation, Smokin' Joe Lieberman, Hillary. . .etc, for his Chief of Staff.
This is not a great start.

[pbziegler]

I am afraid this isn't a great sign. Emanuel is a total hawk on Israel--he has Israeli citizenship, his father was part of an Israeli terrorist group. If he and Obama agree on Emanual's views on the Israeli/Palestinian situation that's unfortunate. Also Emanuel's political strategy in "06 was to find Blue Dog Democrats who didn't oppose the Iraq war even though Americans wanted to elect people who would bring it to a close. Even his brother doesn't trust him.

[Takae]

Hahaha. A friend said today, "Rahm's in? Oh, wow. That's so cool. Big apologies to his wife and kids, but it's about f------ time we have something to feast our eyes on."

[rwymss]

I find this oft-reproduced picture of Rahm whispering into Obama's ear a little troubling. Is it only me, or does the photograph not conjure race related anxieties, of Shakespeare's Judaicized Iago (the modern Orthodox, "king-making", "profane" Mr. Rahm) whisperinging poisonous advice into Othello's ear (Obama being characterized, variantly, as exotic, naive, out of his league and wielding power disproportionate to his "racially" predetermined "station")? And we all know (or should know) what disastrous effects that relationship wrought for the "noble Moor." Practical accounts of Mr. Rahm's abilities as a political "pit-bull" to balance Mr. Obama's by-now storied penchant for collaborative solutions to our nation's many challenges may make good political sense. But the innuendo of the photograph reprises archetypal fears and speaks volumes of the work that remains to be done to eliminate the hate that persists along "racial" and religious lines in the U.S. electorate .

[Rachel Sklar - Huffpost Blogger]

I think it's only you. I just liked it because it was a good pic of them both. I think it's oft-reproduced because there aren't that many options.

[AmeriGus]

Rahm is a DC insider, and so very partisan, some would say a partisan brawler.

My worst knock on Rahm is that he's a Bush/neocon appeaser, he backed down over the "support for troops" spin job, voting to fund the Iraq war when the electorate clearly turned out in 2006 to bring the war to a close. Even more snakey was Rahm's email blast ahead of the news that the brand new 2006 Democratic majority voted YES for more war funding, saying "we did it, we won!" referring to minor concessions from Bush.

I was hoping Obama would go outside the establishment a bit more. Where do we contact Obama - he's listening right?

[aphid]

I totally agree. Picking Rahm Emanuel for any post is a bad idea.

[AJH]

Another benefit the house feels like they owe him for his efforts to get the majority in 2006 and ergo pelosi her speakership and that could be invaluable in keeping the dems on obama's agenda not their own when priority disagreements occur after the honeymoon.

[Plowboy]

No Rahm! He is merely a slightly smarter Lieberman! We need someone for America: someonne like Howard Dean!

[Jelperman]

Where did Emanuel get this reputation for being tough? The Rahm Emanuel I remember couldn't stand up to Dubya over S-CHIP and FISA.

[castrochavez08]

Right Jel. But he is very tough when it comes to standing up to people like Dennis Kucinich, and other Democrats who work for peace. The sad truth is that he is probably the most pro war Democrat in the House or Senate......I'm not including Lieberman as a D.

Google this guy and see just how much vitriol he has for Iran and Pakistan, and how he was almost always on the Bush side of any issue.

[JamesA1102]

"This may be the sexiest White House ever."

That will only be true if Rachel is named White House Press Secretary.

[AnalyzeIT]

LOL........that's too funny. Many won't get it....... Gotta love Rachel though.

Rahm is HOTT!!! BUT married. Sheeeesh!!! GOSH DARN IT!!!!!

[Jelperman]

Exactly! Rachel the Radiant would OWN the Press Room.

[mbryanaz]

Rahm generaled NAFTA through Congress for Clinton. He's deeply DLC and has proven himself disrepectful of grassroots politics in his handling of the DCCC in the 2006 cycle. He's the worst of what Democrats have become.

Obama is not doing progressives, nor his own Administration any favors by naming him Chief of Staff. He'll be effective, but he'll run the White House in the same timid and corporatist manner as the Democratic Congressional caucus has been run for the past two years. With Congressional Democrats' approval ratings rivaling Bush's, this is not a promising track record.

[Russycle]

So Joe Scarboro's whining that this appointment is a "drop dead" to Republicans? News flash Joe, the W. H. Chief of Staff really does Serve at the Pleasure of the President! How many times have we heard THAT in the past four years?

[goosie29]

Take a cold shower Rach! (he IS hot though:)

[rockerdelight]

Definitely sexy

[shockwave11]

I know it.

[emariejon]

When I worked with Rahm back in 1992, he was arrogant, abrasive, and a general a**h*le unless you had something he needed. Then he was all cynical charm. I hope he has learned to be a bit more appreciative and diplomatic to those who support him.