Rahm Emanuel Chicago Mayor Run Still Possible, But Not Against Daley

Two months ago, it seemed like the speculation about Rahm Emanuel running for Chicago mayor had been put to bed once and for all.

Not so fast.

A profile on Emanuel in Sunday's New York Times Magazine once again has people talking about the White House Chief of Staff's political future.

"Does he want to run for mayor of Chicago someday?" writes Peter Baker in the magazine. "Of course."

Baker continues, saying Emanuel "openly communicates that [desire] to people, including his friend Richard Daley, the incumbent mayor."

This is a different tune than the one Rahm was singing in January, when speculation first arose about a possible mayoral run. At the time, a Sally Quinn piece in the Washington Post had a passing mention of the possibility, which generated a good deal of media attention. So much, in fact, that Rahm denied the reports in his interview as the inaugural guest of MSNBC's "The Rundown." (Watch his denial here.)

In that video, Emanuel said that he would not be running for Chicago mayor in the upcoming 2011 elections. And the New York Times Magazine profile agrees; according to the story, Rahm would not run against Daley--but the door may be open for a future run.

In the March 8 issue of The New Yorker, Evan Osnos wrote an in-depth profile of Daley--including his history with Emanuel. While Emanuel again dismissed the rumors of a mayoral run this time around, and said he wanted Daley to run again, he told Osnos of Chicago: "I can't wait to get back."

So, Emanuel could be looking at a 2015 run for mayor, but as Mayor Daley's brother William Daley told NBC Chicago reporter Mary Ann Ahern, for now, Emanuel has to "get in line."

Comments

[busterbrownthefirst]

09:26 AM on 03/22/2010

This is terrible news. Not that I want to inflict him on Chicago either--I love that city way too much to . be that crazy. But I just want to get rid of him because he's bad for the country, and for all I know, he may be the entire explanatio­n for Obama's reputation as being nothing but business as usual and just another political hack. (Not that I'm letting Obama off the hook on that one, mind you--I'm just saying someone appears to be giving him genuinely reprehensi­ble advice on an almost continual basis, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that person may be Rahm Emanuel.)

[Eagleman]

12:54 PM on 03/20/2010

Rahm F'in Emmanuel
Mayor of F'in Chicago
No F'in Way

[westreal]

12:29 PM on 03/16/2010

Everyone I know, family, friends, co-workers­, don't like the guy so I don't see how he can win a mayoral race. I will NOT vote for him that's for sure.

[REGONE]

09:35 AM on 03/16/2010

He has a terrible attitude, worse than the clown we have now. Please stay in Washington with your guy Obama.

[OneConservative]

11:10 PM on 03/15/2010

Rot Emanuel needs to be booted from ALL political offices.

[Balzac]

06:38 PM on 03/15/2010

I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibilit­y that Rahm could win a mayoral race there.

[Lakesideboy]

02:36 PM on 03/15/2010

If Rahm is friends with Daley then he's not the right candidate for Chicago. We desperatel­y need a new mayor with a practical focus on the citys budget and transparen­t spending, however, a viable candidate has not stepped up to the plate yet. I seriously question if people are concerned over their own personal safety in running against his highness Daley. This city is more corupt than it was back in the 30's & 40's......­.

[mratcheson]

04:09 PM on 03/15/2010

"This city is more corupt than it was back in the 30's & 40's......­."

You are joking, right?

[bajamary]

11:44 AM on 03/15/2010

God help us if he ever becomes the Mayor of Chicago. Sadly, he was my Congresspe­rson who did nothing for our district.

He's a angry man afflicted with the shortman syndrome of a huge ego with smoke and mirrors instead of talent, wisdom and grace.

Rahm has made an very wealthy living claiming that "he did it" - regardless of what the "it" is...(only victories of course) Did you know he alone created the Exelon corporatio­n !

A perfect example of "The World According to Rahm" is how he kept taking full credit for the Democratic victory in 2006 when, in fact, he did everything he could to block the efforts of the Progressiv­e Democrats lead by Howard Dean.

[JajeProduce]

07:10 PM on 03/15/2010

You are so right! Rahm did make $7 plus million as an "investmen­t banker" part of which involved the government­al fix that allowed Exelon and otehr regulated utilities to merge and enrich their own officers even more at the expense of rate payers. A true DLC democrat whose claim to fame in the Clinton White House was pushing welfare reform in order to triangulat­e Clinton into a second term in office.

Rahm is an operator with little evidence of a heart and soul. One thing about the Daleys, they seem to truly love Chicago even if they get all sticky with questionab­le friends who live off the teat of government­.

[47th]

11:09 PM on 03/15/2010

My property taxes are six times higher than they were the year Daley took office! He may love Chicago (or certain parts of Chicago) but he has no use for the average citizen.

[HC32]

12:04 PM on 03/16/2010

I believe it was closer to $18 million