The Daley Show With Rahm Emanuel: The Mediagasm (VIDEO)

When Richard M. Daley announced that he will not be seeking reelection as mayor of Chicago, the reaction of your cable teevee news heads was as swift as it was predictable.

Right away, someone remembered that time that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once said he'd be interested in running for mayor, should Daley step down. So everyone began exclaiming that news aloud, as often as possible. "LOOK AT YOU!" their colleagues exclaimed, "YOU HAVE MADE A CONNECTION." "Yes," they replied, "We truly are special little pretty ponies of the news business!" Then some producer said, "We should definitely shoehorn this into our predetermined campaign narrative!" And lo, everyone began yapping about how there was a "White House shake-up" coming! And that being Chief of Staff is a really, really hard and awful job! Somewhere, out in Chicago maybe, were one or two other people who might want to run for mayor, too, but never mind them!

Of course, the only two reported facts on hand were 1) that Daley was stepping down and 2) that Emanuel had, at one point, talked about running for mayor of Chicago. But now that the media's blowout preventer had failed and hot gas was rushing every which way, it was time to use their limited bandwidth to pepper David Axelrod with questions as to who would be the next chief of staff. Would it be Valerie Jarrett, maybe? Obviously, everyone should have had entirely realistic expectations that Axelrod would have been ready to answer that question that very minute!

"AAHHHHHH," said the media, adding, "LOUD NOISES!!" The Huffington Post's Ben Craw filed this report:

WATCH:

[Video produced by Ben Craw. With assistance from Jeremy Binckes.]

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to [e-mail] -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

Comments

[meko]

04:20 PM on 09/14/2010

If Rahm had worked for meaningful infrastructure spending in the stimulus bill, instead of tax cuts for cronies and attempts to hit an arbitrary number, I might think he might be remotely qualified for mayor, but as it is, his utter lack of respect for the basic functions of government make me think he would be the last person we need as mayor.

City government is about services: education, transportation, communications, sanitation, public health, public safety, environmental health, disaster preparedness, cultural affairs, parks and recreations, social services. There's also all that zoning and business stuff. And a lot of services tie directly to business growth - businesses benefit from a well-educated workforce that can get to a timely manner. A city that invests in transportation now, especially freight transportation will better serve the business community in the future. Better communications structure with a focus on IT will also serve business.

But none this matters to Rahm. He's just about the professional wrestling aspects of politics and the fundraising. Look what happened to Freddie Mac under his watch - political contribution scandal after scandal, while he got rich.

Under Daley, many neighborhoods were under-served. TIFs put an unfair burden on middle-class homeowners, but at least SOME aspects of civic governance were attended to. And the parking meter thing goes without saying.

But all of this would be worse under Rahm. And that's why he isn't fit to be our mayor, or even a Water Reclaimation District Commissioner.

[jakekutter99]

10:28 PM on 09/10/2010

The media has one purpose only... to distract the public from real issues facing real people. They are in bed with the banks and the large corporations who are pulling the strings of our powerless leaders. Turn off the TV and think freely!

[Geovan]

09:37 PM on 09/10/2010

I miss the days of newspapers.

[flossophy]

06:56 PM on 09/10/2010

Rahm needs to keep the c0rrupt Chicago machine running smoothly.

[Dustee]

11:35 AM on 09/11/2010

So you're saying that Fox 'News' and Chicago share something in common, both are corrupt? You should move there, you'd love it.

[babina]

04:53 PM on 09/10/2010

The media seems to be losing its mind about everything these days.

[maxfax]

03:40 PM on 09/10/2010

Please, send Emanuel back to Chicago, he's bad for the dwindling American middle class, the media keep up the good work.

[meko]

03:57 PM on 09/10/2010

No give-backs.

[StopMakingSense2]

01:53 PM on 09/10/2010

Rahm what a banty rooster... If you want to put a bull in a china shop you couldn't do better..

[esgabel]

01:50 PM on 09/10/2010

Let Rahm go back to Chicago...and let Chcago take care of its own...

[Arrech]

10:31 AM on 09/10/2010

The Sooner Rahm Leaves, the Better for Obama .

Rahm’s alleged biggest asset—his ties to Capitol Hill and intricate knowledge of Beltway politics—paid few dividends for Obama. The president’s legislative agenda has hit a brick wall in the Senate and the dysfunction of the Democratic Congress, which Emanuel has done little to tame, helps explain why voters are set to punish the party in power this November. “If picking the leading practitioner of the dark arts of the capital was a Faustian bargain for Obama in the name of getting things done, why haven’t things got done?” asked Peter Baker of the New York Times in a profile titled “The Limits of Rahmism.” In other words, if you sell your soul, you better get something good for it in return. Instead, Obama is facing the prospect of a Republican Congress and an uphill re-election bid. No wonder Rahm is so eager to get out of town.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/154566/sooner-rahm-leaves-better-obama?rel=emailNation

[imb4me]

09:08 AM on 09/10/2010

The media lost it's mind a long time ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nick Anthony]

07:50 AM on 09/10/2010

Rahm Emanuel is one s3xy m/f. :-)

[47th]

05:34 PM on 09/11/2010

Well, he is definitely an m/f.

[camnhuff]

06:27 AM on 09/10/2010

The media is simply responding to what Americans seem to enjoy- speculation without facts. People are discussing this topic as if Emanuel has actually made a statement since Daley's announcement.

[Imago]

09:15 PM on 09/10/2010

F&F for an actual ration thought! WooHOO! :-)

[oceanofconsciousness]

03:48 AM on 09/10/2010

Personally, I never thought he was the right pick to be chief-of-staff. I think he should move on to whatever. Time for new blood.

[holeybuybull]

02:23 PM on 09/10/2010

He belongs in the Knesset, or out of government completely.

[Greg Bell]

01:20 AM on 09/10/2010

A LOT of opinions here but precious little evidence to support any of them...just sayin'.

[Didderbops]

12:22 AM on 09/10/2010

I think you mean F&^%ing Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Retards.