Rahm-bo, Obama's Bulldog

Rahm Emanuel, Democratic Representative from north side of Chicago, will evidently be President Obama's Chief of Staff. (He hasn't actually accepted yet.) Frankly, I think I admire this guy — loves the arts, driven, confident, accomplished, and capable — but I don't think this Obama choice bodes well for a liberal, much less a progressive, administration. No surprise. Beyond the rhetoric, Obama shows little evidence of being a liberal, despite McCain efforts to label him such.

(And, yes, I am now playing Devil's Advocate.)

Beyond the name, rank and serial number kind of details, here are some of Emanuel’s highlights:

• Above all, a fundraising God.

• Driven, exceptionally loyal, energetic — probably very likeable if you're on his good side.

• Alone among Illinois congressional Democrats in supporting the Iraq war resolution

• Studied ballet but chose not to join the Joffrey Ballet (he was that good).

• A Clintonian, like many of the people advising Obama (Robert Rubin, Austan Goolsbee, Jeffrey Liebman, David Cutler)

• Architect of NAFTA, like the Clinton crowd, an advocate of 'free markets' and 'privatization'

• Major advocate of Israeli interests

• Father Benjamin Emanuel, now a pediatrician, was a medic for Irgun, the Zionist terrorist group in pre-Israel Palestine, responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel and, with the Stern Gang, the Deir Yassin massacre. (He was a medic, but does membership make Benjamin Emanuel a terrorist? Official American and Israeli standards would say 'yes'.)

• From 1999 to 2002, worked in investment banking at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, earning $18 million. Schmoozes easily with Wall Streeters.
  

• nicknamed Rahm-bo

• Advocates privatizing border security and denying undocumented immigrants any path to citizenship.

• Prior to Tony Blair’s first public meeting with Clinton, reportedly told Blair “This is important. Don’t fuck it up.”

• According to Rolling Stone, “Emanuel was so angry at the president's [Clinton’s] enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting 'Dead! ... Dead! ... Dead!' and plunging the knife into the table after every name.”

• During 1991 Gulf War, was a civilian volunteer in Israel. Never served in Israeli military, does not have dual nationality, contrary to some rumors.

• Director of Finance of Clinton’s 1991 presidential primary campaign. Proved his genius for fundraising then.

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By the way, I take the term "Obama's Bulldog" from that used to refer to Thomas Henry Huxley, called "Darwin's bulldog" — by himself among others — for his role in advocating Darwin's theories. Darwin himself was notoriously averse to public speaking.

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References

Joshua Green. “The Enforcer” in Rolling Stone

Nina Easton. "Rahm Emanuel, Pitbull politician" in Fortune

Orly Azoulay. YNet News.

Eli Kintisch. United Jewish Communities and JTA.