Rahm Emanuel is about to be the first New Trier graduate to work in the White House as the Chief of Staff for the President of the United States. Emanuel, who’s from Wilmette, was the first cabinet member selected by President-Elect Barack Obama. He served as an assistant to the Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton, and is a Congressman from Illinois. But Emanuel is best known for his toughness, and he has a track record of being a strong, liberal Democrat. Even Obama is well aware of Emanuel’s harsh personality, as shown in this “roast of Rahm Emanuel” at a charity event in 2005.
But many people wonder: if Emanuel is so well known for being a tough liberal, and Obama wants to unite the country and get conservatives on his side, wouldn’t the Wilmette native be the wrong cabinet pick? Wouldn’t this crazy Democrat drive Republicans away from Obama? The new Chief of Staff explained why he was the right man for the job in a Wall Street Journal article on Saturday. Emanuel explained that during Obama’s Presidential campaign, one thing that gave him an edge over John McCain was his focus on the big picture for his country and idealistic goals for America. As the article stated: “We have an energy crisis, a health-care crisis…Mr. McCain tried to make this about small things like Bill Ayers. Barack made it about health care. The American people penalized the candidate who talked about the small things and rewarded the candidate who talked about the big things.” Obama wants to continue to stay focused on the big, idealistic picture, but his job as President-Elect requires a pragmatic decision-maker behind the scenes.
That’s where Emanuel comes in. With his no-nonsense, pragmatic personality, Emanuel can be Obama’s reality check when it comes to shaping each day he spends in the White House. Emanuel can work quietly behind him, making tough decisions about who the President sees, and who he doesn’t. Obama, in the meantime, can maintain his image as an idealistic man with big dreams for America. It’s a good match. Obama the idealist is well-served by a man who believes, “The American people are unbelievably pragmatic. Have confidence in their pragmatism. It’s the operating philosophy of our country.”
1 comment:
Wow, another great post Linc! You're concise but bring up a ton of excellent points. I certainly agree that the key to a good presidency is a blend of idealism (a visionary) and pragmatism. I also believe that such a blend is much more important than having a blend of conservative and liberal figures; after all, if you have two idealist members from opposing political backgrounds, even if they find a middle ground in their goals and ideas, without a pragmatic member in the administration, their ideas cannot be implemented.
Also, its really cool that he's from New Trier.
(Btw minor editing detail: you said hes going to be the first New Trier Grad to be Chief of Staff for a President, and then you say he already was Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton.)
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