Out of America: Barack Obama may have to jettison his doughty Chief of Staff to get through the present storm
By Rupert Cornwell
The Independent
"....Others would make the case for the man who currently works out of a corner room in the west wing, a couple of doors away from the Oval Office. That man is Rahm Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff.....
Initially, the choice was praised as a masterstroke; the bulldozing and legendarily profane Emanuel, it was argued, had been a senior White House adviser under Bill Clinton, became a Congressman for a Chicago district, and was widely seen as a future Speaker of the House. As such, he would be a perfect foil for a green and rather cerebral president-elect. Unlike Obama, Emanuel was a creature of Washington, who knew how both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue worked. But the lustre has worn off. Far sooner than expected, there is talk that Emanuel's days are numbered, that he won't even make the two-and-a-half-year average......
Last weekend saw stage two: an article by a respected Washington Post columnist, seemingly planted by Emanuel supporters, maintaining that Obama veered off track because he ignored his Chief of Staff's advice in several specified instances. When feuding in the White House goes public, stage three invariably follows and heads roll. The question is, will Rahm Emanuel's be one of them. And if so, when?"
In an interview with Ma'ariv, Emanuel's father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son's appointment would be good for Israel. "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel," he was quoted as saying. "Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."
By Rupert Cornwell
The Independent
"....Others would make the case for the man who currently works out of a corner room in the west wing, a couple of doors away from the Oval Office. That man is Rahm Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff.....
Initially, the choice was praised as a masterstroke; the bulldozing and legendarily profane Emanuel, it was argued, had been a senior White House adviser under Bill Clinton, became a Congressman for a Chicago district, and was widely seen as a future Speaker of the House. As such, he would be a perfect foil for a green and rather cerebral president-elect. Unlike Obama, Emanuel was a creature of Washington, who knew how both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue worked. But the lustre has worn off. Far sooner than expected, there is talk that Emanuel's days are numbered, that he won't even make the two-and-a-half-year average......
Last weekend saw stage two: an article by a respected Washington Post columnist, seemingly planted by Emanuel supporters, maintaining that Obama veered off track because he ignored his Chief of Staff's advice in several specified instances. When feuding in the White House goes public, stage three invariably follows and heads roll. The question is, will Rahm Emanuel's be one of them. And if so, when?"
In an interview with Ma'ariv, Emanuel's father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son's appointment would be good for Israel. "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel," he was quoted as saying. "Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."
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