"The chief" is sometimes known as the second most powerful person in Washington. The job has vast authority, as the boss of the hundreds of aides who work directly for the president, a public face of the administration on television, and a negotiator and salesman on Capitol Hill.
The appointment was the first Obama offered after his election, and Emanuel pondered the opportunity for about 24 hours. Friends said Emanuel accepted the job because he thought it was important to serve this historic administration despite the potential strain on his wife, Amy Rule, and their three children, who live in the Chicago area.
It's pretty disingenuous of some Republicans to gripe that Rahm's selection is somehow antithetical to Obama's intention to change the political climate. The COS is not a negotiator, but the President's representative and advocate for his policies, and so needs to be a forceful and assertive voice. Plus, Obama is signaling that he will maintain order and discipline in his Administration staff by choosing Rahm, which will be very good for leak control. This is a supremely competent pick for the role.
And of course, it has the added bonus of making some conspiracy theorists' heads explode:
So the President-elect who the Internet and my uncle say is a closet Muslim madrasa alumnus is poised to name a Congressman who the Internet and my uncle says is a top Mossad double agent as his White House Chief of Staff.
heh.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
I like your conspiracy theory.
Unfortunately when conspiracy theorists' heads explode, it does no real damage as their brains are in a different part of their anatomy.
Yeah, but it's a sign of the reality of America that while Obama is not even any kind of Muslim, Rahm Emanuel is in fact openly a staunch Zionist (but so is Obama) whose father was in the Irgun, a paramilitary organization that worked for the establishment of the state of Israel through violence, including terrorist violence. No one feels the need to deny or hide this in his case, because that is of course perfectly ok.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.