Barack Obama's campaign has approached Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel about possibly serving as White House chief of staff, officials said Thursday, looking ahead as the marathon presidential race entered its final, frenzied stretch with a Democratic tilt.Well, I confess I've heard the same thing from Democrats who are in a position to speak to Emanuel about these things. But Emanuel's spokesperson, Sarah Feinberg, tells me what she tells Espo: "He has not been contacted to take a position in an administration that does not exist. Everyone is focused on Election Day, as they should be."
The Democrats who described the contact with Emanuel spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to be quoted by name.
It's true that the chief of staff is likely to be the first position that Obama, if he's elected, would fill, and the identity of that person will set the tone for many other staffing decisions. One can glean this by looking at past transitions and by taking the measure of the man who is heading up the pre-transition -- John Podesta.
For that position, Tom Daschle and Rahm Emanuel are names that one hears if one asks around, but "around" in this case has no way of really knowning. It's logical that Daschle would be a candidate for the position, if he wanted it, and he certainly is playing a key role in Obama's Washington, D.C. political operation today....
... but if Obama has the made decision, he wouldn't tell anyone on his campaign, he would tell people on his transition team -- and they're not speaking to the press. People on the campaign say that Obama hasn't had a free hour to concentrate about this stuff -- which they would say, of course, but the sources are genuinely reliable. Surely he has an idea or two in mind, and maybe it would make sense to give the people he's thinking about asking to serve a heads up. It's hard to say no to a president.
Emanuel has been a regular behind-the-scenes adviser to Obama, knows everyone in Washington, is one of the better communicators in the party, and certainly is qualified for the post. But he's ... got a very strong personality that doesn't exactly jibe with the tone Obama likes to set for his endeavors. (David Plouffe and Rahm Emanuel could not be more different in temperament.) He also has a young family, and he has not moved them to Washington, and his hours as chief of staff would be hellish.
Incidentally: nothing would be more devastating to Emanuel's chances than a public story like this, one that could allow Republicans to use Emanuel's brass-knuckle reputation against Obama a few days before the election.
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Na ga happen.
Daschle is a terrible choice. The Oval doesn't need two temperaments like that. Podesta would be a better choice. Much better at getting legislative agendas passed.
Rahm will be the Senator from Illinois.
Posted by Casey Morris | October 30, 2008 8:32 PM