Obama's Muscle-Rahm Emanuel will bring discipline to the White House. And lots of profanity.

[babylonsister]

http://www.slate.com/id/2204046/

Obama's Muscle-Rahm Emanuel will bring discipline to the White House. And lots of profanity.
By Christopher Beam
Posted Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, at 6:18 PM ET


Rahm Emanuel's first task upon becoming Barack Obama's chief of staff will be to track down and fire whoever the fuck leaked word that he was offered the job. Even if that means he has to fire himself.


It wasn't a promising start for the president-elect's transition team. Job offers are supposed to happen behind the scenes. But Obama's courtship of Emanuel was made public nearly a week before Election Day. It's unclear who leaked the news, but Emanuel, not known for his reticence, had been talking to reporters even before the latest wave of speculation. Luckily for Obama, Emanuel accepted—but only after days of what looked like dallying. (Emanuel told a TV station he needed to consider his family, which would have to move from Chicago to D.C.; he would also have to shelve ambitions to become speaker of the House.) Maybe he just didn't want to jinx Obama's victory. Regardless, the impression was that Emanuel wasn't sure he wanted the job.

Whatever his reservations, Emanuel fits the mold of the ruthlessly efficient underlings Obama tends to hire. (Without David Plouffe's intensity, Obama would never be able to remain so stoic.) He's also opinionated. In interviews and debates and even in his books, Obama comes off as the Vishnu of decision-making—one the one hand, on the other hand, on the other hand, etc. Emanuel is unlikely to take "maybe" for an answer. And while the cantankerous former ballet dancer is known best for engineering the Democratic takeover of Congress in 2006, he knows more than fundraising. He's also a shameless wonk who co-authored a blueprint for future Democratic administrations. And in the three year before his congressional run, Emanuel made $16 million on Wall Street (something the RNC will be delighted to tell you more about).

Also, as a veteran of the Clinton administration, Emanuel knows what not to do. During his tense first 100 days, President Bill Clinton was poorly served by his well-intentioned but ineffective chief of staff, Mack McLarty, whose nickname was "Mack the Nice" and who often tried to smile his way to compromise. Emanuel's nickname is "Rahmbo," and he is known for mowing down his opponents. Coming out of Chicago, both he and Obama know the value of muscle.

Of course, steamrolling doesn't win you friends. But making friends isn't Emanuel's job. The chief of staff is tasked with making sure the trains run on time. Taskmaster is Emanuel's middle name. (Imagine Ari Gold—the Entourage character based on Rahm's brother—with an even fouler mouth and a weakness for polls.) He must also frame policy questions in a way that helps the president make decisions. Emanuel knows policy: During the Clinton years, he helped lead (successful) efforts to pass NAFTA and the administration's (less successful) efforts on universal health care. Plus, it's the most demanding job around, and Emanuel is known for sleepless nights and dervishlike energy.

snip//

But whatever else it says about the Obama administration, Emanuel's appointment suggests that it will be just as tightly run as the Obama campaign. Discipline is the quality that carried Obama to victory over sloppier opponents, and it's a quality sorely missed in many past Democratic administrations. With expectations for Obama as high as they are, he could do worse than having a human cudgel at his side.

[SE_Ohio_Dem]

1. Rham - Pitbull without the Lipstick !

[dhpgetsit]

2. I bet Obama lectures him about cussing around the family. n/t

[Recursion]

3. Wasn't Josh on the West Wing modeled on Rahm? NT