Rahm Emanuel Leaving White House To Run For Mayor Of Chicago
Politically a smart move for Emanuel. Other White House officials are already leaving the administration, and with the midterms not likely to go well for Democrats and Obama’s popularity continuing to suffer Emanuel’s choices were to either hang around for another couple of years in the White House only to be sent home after what is looking likely to be a one-term administration or run for mayor.
Two people close to Rahm Emanuel said Thursday he will resign as White House chief of staff on Friday, and will begin his campaign for Chicago mayor by meeting with voters in the city on Monday.
The two people familiar with his plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to pre-empt Emanuel’s announcement, said he will return to Chicago over the weekend and begin touring neighborhoods on Monday. …
The choice for Emanuel suddenly became whether he would make a dash for the political job he has openly coveted, at a cost of uprooting his family again and quitting his post of national influence sooner than he thought.
They’re playing this up to make it sound like a tough decision for Emanuel, but I think that’s spin. They don’t want to make it look like Emanuel is the proverbial rat fleeing a sinking ship, but in reality that’s exactly what it is.
Apparently Obama’s chief of staff from his days in the Senate, Peter Rouse, will be taking over. I’d expect that Rouse’s interim job would become permanent. He’s got capital hill experience, he’s got experience working in this capacity for Obama before, and he’s not likely to be a controversial choice (like Tom Daschle, whose name was floated for this position previously) that would be a distraction going forward.
Tags: Barack Obama, chicago, rahm emanuel
