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Rahm Emanuel Expected to Quit White House
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, is expected to leave his job later this year after growing tired of the "idealism" of Barack Obama's inner circle.
Washington insiders say he will quit within six to eight months in frustration at their unwillingness to "bang heads together" to get policy pushed through.
Rahm Emanuel expected to quit White House. Mr Emanuel, 50, enjoys a good working relationship with Mr Obama but they are understood to have reached an understanding that differences over style mean he will serve only half the full four-year term.
Friends say he is also worried about burnout and losing touch with his young family due to the pressure of one of most high profile jobs in US politics.
"I would bet he will go after the midterms," said a leading Democratic consultant in Washington. "Nobody thinks it's working but they can't get rid of him - that would look awful. He needs the right sort of job to go to but the consensus is he'll go."
An official from the Bill Clinton era said that "no one will be surprised" if Mr Emanuel left after the midterm elections in November, when the Democratic party will battle to save its majorities in the house of representatives and the senate.
It is well known in Washington that arguments have developed between pragmatic Mr Emanuel, a veteran in Congress where he was known for driving through compromises, and the idealistic inner circle who followed Mr Obama to the White House.
His abrasive style has rubbed some people the wrong way, while there has been frustration among Mr Obama's closest advisers that he failed to deliver a smooth ride for the president's legislative programme that his background promised.
"It might not be his fault, but the perception is there," said the consultant, who asked not to be named. "Every vote has been tough, from health care to energy to financial reform.
"Democrats have not stood behind the president in the way Republicans did for George W Bush, and that was meant to be Rahm's job."
There were sharp differences over health care reform, with Mr Emanuel arguing that public hostility about cost should have forced them into producing a scaled down package. Mr Obama and advisers including David Axelrod, the chief strategist, and Valerie Jarrett, a businesswoman and mentor from Chicago, decided to push through with grander legislation anyway.
Mr Emanuel has reportedly told friends that his role as White House chief of staff was "only an eighteen month job" because of its intensity.
Regarded as the most demanding after president, it involves controlling the president's agenda, enforcing White House message discipline as well as liaising with Congress.
His departure would regarded as another sign of how Mr Obama's presidency has been far more troubled than expected.
Mr Emanuel has privately expressed a readiness to run for mayor of Chicago, which is also his home town though he was never part of the Obama set and did not endorse the then senator in the Democratic primary in 2008.
That would however depend on Mayor Richard Daley stepping down when he is up for re-election in 2011.
The chief obstacle to taking the White House job originally was doubts about moving his three children from Chicago. According to another former Clinton official, he has let friends know that he is "very sensitive to the idea that he is not a good father for having done this".
One of Washington's more colourful characters, Mr Emanuel is the son of Jewish immigrants and was an accomplished ballet dancer at school. He served as a civilian volunteer with the Israeli Defence Force in the 1991 Gulf War.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
78 Comments so far
Show AllWOW! Sounds too good to be true. Hope it's not bait and switch. Why not leave before the midterms? The bait - Rahm's leaving. The switch - he will be replaced by an ideological clone.
SJRyan, I`m afraid you`re right, though the replacement will probably be `more` than an ideological clone (ie: Rahm 2.0). I have a sneaking suspicion Rahm is actually being `replaced` because he wasn`t doing enough for Israel. He`ll be removed for someone more sensitive to Israel`s...`plight`. The U.S. is so `owned`, it would be comical if it wasn`t so disturbing. And what bothers me most is that virtually no one in Obama`s circle (let alone Congress) seems to be loyal to America first, because if they were, they would see what is happening to `their country` and promptly send all the leeches to the gallows. Nothing but parasitic Zionists scurrying about and jostling for position. One Zionist is merely replaced by another, while the U.S. burns...
Good riddance!
Why, Why later this year. Why not now? We need action on everything immediately as the disasters only grow worse each day. Close Guantanamo, Out of Iraq, Out of Afghanistan, Out of the other 737 bases around the world. Stop being the major arms supplier to the world - now. Stop permitting any offshore drilling including in shallow areas - now. Start funding domestic priorities now. Give the undocumented people in the U.S. amnesty and due process now. Close down ICE - now. We need things done today not tomorrow. Rahm should pack up now and move to Israel where his true loyalties lie.
Hallelujah!!!!! The Witch is dead!!!
Rahm Emanuel Expected to Quit White House
Good. Fantastic. Goodbye, ganef. Move to Israel and join the Likkud.
Yes and take Obama with you.
I like the ganef part.
I don't know what it means!
Thief. More often transliterated "gonif"
Too late, too late, too late.
Assuming there were ANY truth at all to some "divide" between Rahm pushing for deeper sell-outs and Obama's "inner circle" pushing for stronger stands, it is far far far too late to make any effective move toward more forthright positions.
This is really just an acknowledgment that the Dems are getting clobbered in November. No actual shift in strategy or tactics will ensue.
Or maybe O will appoint Nader as Commerce Secretary, bring in Chomsky as special adviser on Middle East affairs, invite Amy Goodman to be press secretary...
Let's all get very excited about the implications of this move. Yawn...
Yes, Rahm will be the token head that rolls out of the white house after Congressional Dems get clobbered on November 2.
This should be on the comics page ...
He clashed with an "idealistic" White House! Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, ......ad infinitum ....
god, no kidding. I about lost my lunch. All the idealism flowing out of the WH right now is overwhelming. What does that say about a pig like RE? Maybe he finds Kissinger and Nixon to be too idealistic as well. What an amoral freak show this guy is.
Well Rahm is leaking out the agreed upon propaganda, that Obama has left leaning idealists in his inner circle. God that's funny.
Yep. Just another propaganda move to refresh the "hope for change" delusion.
Those creatures are disgusting.
Good riddance. It won't change anything at the White House.
Maybe he's quitting so he can rejoin the IDF and hop aboard those warships headed through the Suez.
Impossible. He's one of the ruling elite. Those guys never put themselves in danger. Danger is for the poor people. The poor get the medals. The elite get the profit.
Somehow, I get a bad hunch that someone worse is ready to take his place. That is not to say that I want him there either.
I doubt you could find someone worse.
The Corporate Party has dozens of WORSE waiting in the wings! Don't kid yourself, they have been planning the takeover of our government for a long time now.
Why don't you just take a hit of cyanide to relieve that headache, which is in a large part of your making. Would bet this 'above the law' cretin is deserving of some heavy investigations and severe jail time, just as kkkrove does.
And o, don't worry he may go ahead and rehire kkkrove for the position. Be fittingly in line with his appointment agenda since his election. (I don't say president as o has in my eyes done nothing I would think a president should do considering what he inherited from the the w & dick treason and illegal terms, and how o has performed on his 'change to believe in' rigamarole and 'yes we can', which they did, demonstrated how easy it is to fool the dumbstream of america, p.t. barnum would be proud of o's performance.
Another attribute is o's penchant to going after anyone who criticizes or blows whistles for illegal or wrong behavior. I just hope someone will challenge o in the democrat primary as I don't won't another conservative taking charge. And that is even as I will still vote 3rd party once again. But the primary is where the voter fraud and heavily laden smear tactics will be used to re-up o for another 4 years of his willingness to kiss his masters feet.
The god awful Centrist (read right-wing) Democrats are outnumbered, by more left of center Democrats in the Senate for instance. Rahm, who used to head the DLC, is a Centrist Democrat. Obama is a bloody Centrist. Rahm, and Obama set out to block any truly progressive agenda, by seeking "bipartisanship" with Republicans, and by not pressuring the Centrists to move left, but by making the Centrists deal makers who pointed to the false 60 vote threshold. Obama, and Rahm, along with puppy dog Harry Reid, essentially expanded the power of the Centrists who were in line with Republicans, by pointing to the need for 60 votes to prevent a filibuster. Yet this was complete bullhockey, because Harry Reid, nor any other Democrat called on Republicans to actually filibuster, rather it was just an agreed upon procedural move.
If for instance Obama truly wanted a "public option", or a Medicare for all buy in, he would have sent Rahm down to pressure Centrists to move to the left, since there were just a few of them opposed, and then forced the Republicans to actually filibuster a Medicare for All bill on camera.
But, Oilbama isn't left of center, or even center. He has more in common with George W. Bush, than say, a JFK.
I wonder if Obama is considering Karl Rove. He might as well just fully come out of the closet.
Why would Rove stoop to associate with these losers? Seriously...whatever you think of Rove, Cheney, and Bush...at least those bozos had a backbone. My God.
Wow... after taking credit for Howard Dean's strategy and then driving him out of position... just wow. At least he did what he could for the Great State of Israel. Now they need a J-Street brand of Zionist.
To much o idealism..........oh shit.
"Idealism" was a strange word, but to someone like Rahm how far-fetched is it for him to see Obama and his cronies as idealists? If Obama was full of idealism I would assume that now with Rahm leaving Obama can tweak the atrocious health insurance bill to push for Medicare for All. No, I don't believe for a second that's going to happen, anymore than meaningful financial reform, ending the wars, renditions, and rescinding the idea of destroying Social Security and Medicare, etc., etc. (my God, the list just gets longer everyday, doesn't it?).
Hey, maybe Rubin has ended his "in-the-background" rehab stint at the WH and he'll be the new Chief of Staff. One thing is for sure it won't be a progressive or anyone who sees ordinary Americans as a priority. Yes, of course, I'm happy to see Rahm leaving -- always good news.
Well at least the wheels are starting to come off this phony presidency. I really don't care how it breaks up as long as it crumbles apart. We've lost more liberty and justice under this Son-of-an-Oilman than we did even with the bushmonkey.
At least with shrub, you were on guard to get plundered. With Obomber's smooth chain smoking government con-man act (ex CIA), everyone is in shock, like it can't be happening.....everybody is in denial..... half of the country fell for his stealth embezzlement and doublethink, and the other half of the country is still under his race-card spell.
Adios Rahm's head (with horns). Hit the road E-man. The sooner, the better, you prick. Your infamy is assured for kicking off the bloodiest and darkest century we've ever known. GWB/Rove drove us off the cliff and you pushed the self-destruct button to finish us off.
Go back to Is-Hell where you can shoot kids in the "Settlements" like you did in the good old days.
TJ
It can not be too soon. he was big mistake--- now -- Obama needs to peel off his horrible economic Iago's and get a personal trainer in how to be assertive and use muscle! start using the law not subverting it. get some honest persons who understand PUBLIC SERVICE. not the "ah ha i am 1st to the slop I can get rich and richer".
Although I think much of the article is BS spin to add an air of cordiality to his departure, and the anxiety of what will come next indeed looms, taking Rahmburger off the White House menu is the BEST news I've heard from Obama TO DATE.
Like so many others I was duped by the hope and change thing that Brand Obama's campaign came up with. After 8 years of the most appalling "president" in U.S. history I was feeling desperate that that we could actually elect a man who could combine at least some of the qualities that FDR had and begin to take our country away from the abyss. I remember the speech that Obama gave in Grant Park the night of the election and I remember the many people with tears in their eyes that he had won.
And then... Obama's first appointment was Rahmbo to be the Chief of Staff and I wondered what he would be doing appointing this Zionist DLC whore to such a powerful position. Then more appointments followed and I saw the same pattern of Business as Usual. There were some good ones like Lisa Jackson at EPA and Stephen Chu at Energy. But the endless sellouts to Wall Street and the so-called "reform" bills since have convinced me that Obama is not even close to the man I voted for. He is carrying on Bush's policies as if they were best buds. Expanding "wars" in the Middle East and now Africa with a new CentComm there for whatever resources we are lusting for on that continent. Guantanamo is still open, the policy of executing American citizens aboard if deemed appropriate, the sellout on oil and gas drilling (his pathetic speech about oil wells being safe just weeks before our greatest natural catastrophe ever and his subsequent do-little attitude while having BP ignore his orders to stop spraying the Gulf with toxic dispersant are indicative of this man). Drones killing innocent people in Afghanistan, bigger and bigger military budgets while our country's infrastructure, schools, and healthcare deteriorate. The continued use of Blackwater mercenaries (they were just awarded a big new contract by the Pentagon), we remain the largest seller of arms around the world and our endless militarism.
And, Obama's support for this behind closed doors committee of 18 who are trying to figure out how to steal our Social Security money from us. The committee just had Mr. Evil, Grover Norquist himself, address them. If you had told me the night of the election that Obama would be part of all these things I would not have believed it.
These and many more are what I voted for Obama to at least start to get rid of. I had naively hoped that he would be some kind of turning point for the country. I found out after the election that Obama's biggest campaign contributor was Goldman Sachs. Timothy Geithner reputedly had them on speed dial at Treasury. It could be said that Congress isn't just influenced by Goldman Sachs they are owned by them. I believe one of our congressmen said words to that effect.
After all of this deep disappointment, this article tells me that Rahmbo is leaving the WH because he can't deal with the "idealism"!! If this is idealism, then we are all screwed. Corporations (thanks to the Gang of 5 at the Supreme Court) now have the power to spend any amount of money they choose for a political campaign. The Rethugs are gearing up for significant wins this November and will be even more anti-bipartisan than before. The "Party of NO!" has made Obama's belief in working together a joke and he still persists in being Mr. Nice Guy. By the way, did Obama end up "kicking somebod's ass". He should have. He should have done what Robert Reich said - put BP in temporary receivership and make them pay. But he won't.
I remember defenders of Obama during the first year of letdowns telling us that we just had to be more patient, he would come around and begin to live up to the hope of his campaign message. I've given up waiting and if this is the best that the Democrats can do after 8 interminable years of "The Decider" then I will not throw my vote away on them again. I would rather vote for someone who can't win based on my principles than play this 2 party game and always end up feeling betrayed.
Don't you know that there has to be pay-backs for all things ,the pay-backs are maybe now (hopefully)been paid,and just maybe the policies that "everyone thought" might filter through,but the signals are not good because politics in America is a slow business and the pay-backs just might last the full 4 years,and with that thought,Obama might have been sold a dud term.
Maritimus,
Thanks for sharing your lamentations---worthy of an Old Testament psalmist or Prophet Jeremiah. Many of us are with you. And commenters are unanimous: good riddance to Rahmbo, but it doesn't signal any new hope for change.
Obama's earliest apppointments were indeed a shot through the heart (remember say-it-ain't-so Judd Gregg?!)---and sadly all that followed signaled complete fealty to Israel, Wall Street, war profiteers, and Earth's rapist-despoilers (incl. Ken Salazar-oil-czar, supposed to cleanup the literal whoring at MMS). For such despicable deception, Obama, now aided and abetted by the absurd dissonance of tea-bag theatre and briar-patch protests of wing nut congressmen/women, is considerably worse than Bush, because, through pretense and cynical stealth, he is able to do far more damage to progressive goals (as you note, Social Security is next on the block)---until more of us are awakened.
Wiser commenters, who saw through this Chicago machinist's machinations from the start have fairly-enough branded us Obama voters as fools. Still, I think life is better as a hopeful (if wiser) fool than a defeatist cynic. So let's remember luminairies like MLK who never gave up his vision of the promised land (and made measurable progress), or Einstein who clearly defined insanity for us but also proved to us with clarity that "imagination is more important than knowledge", especially now, cursed as we are by our painful "knowledge of good and evil".
Doug Terpstra -
Excellent comments. I forgot to mention Salazar as well. I am an ardent environmentalist and his appointment was very disappointing. I wish that I, too, had seen through Obama's BS but I was so hopeful that my country could turn away from it's apparent self-destruction. You are also correct that in some ways Obama is WORSE than Bush. At least with Bush you knew what you were getting. With this probable one-term president we are seeing the same policies wrapped in smooth rhetoric AND he is setting up the Demos for defeats in 2010 and 2012. I am thoroughly sick of his triangulating and capitulation on every issue.
I deeply respect the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and it is important to realize that he was a genuine progressive toward the last part of his life with speeches that elaborated on that vision which were rarely reported in the MSM. As to Einstein he is a lifelong hero. Not only a great and original physicist but a great human being who once turned down the presidency of Israel, an offer made by David Ben-Gurion. In fact, Einstein was opposed to the creation of the state of Israel. I believe that he could forsee the eventual difficulties and was sensitive to the injustice of stealing other people's lands to create a Jewish homeland. I will always remember his elegant summation that "You cannot solve a problem by using the same level of thinking that created it." That is one of our biggest problems and I am deeply sorry that the change in thinking that I was hoping Obama represented is nowhere to be found.
Martimus:
So much for the "change we can believe in!" Thanks for the excellent synopsis describing ecactly why Obama should follow Emmanuel right out the door as soon as his term is over!!!
He is definitely a one-term President!!!
To be replaced by whom?
A serious third-party candidate who will side with American citizens and not the corporatocracy - like Ralph Nader!
I could not have capsulized Obama better. He has a real talent for screwing his victims without benefit of kiss.
I, too, voted for Obama and the Democrats. Will I do it again? Not likely. Given the alternative of such intellectual giants as Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and the other distinguished members of the "Party of No," I think I will just sit the next one out. My paltry vote certainly will not deter the insiders who are hell-bent on raping this country of what little remains. Meanwhile, Middle Class America continues to slide into oblivion!
Our so-called two-party system is a joke.
"If you had told me the night of the election that Obama would be part of all these things I would not have believed it."
Actually, we did tell you and, yes, you didn't believe a thing we said. But you were in love with a TV idol. Everyone was. It was like living in the Twilight Zone.
For one thing, it's the empire who runs things, not Rham or Obama or any politician. They're HIRED to do a job. They know exactly what the job entails long before the first day. The PR, the psyops department, propagates the BS: "Yes! We Can!" "Hope and Change!" "Obama's idealistic inner circle!" All BS .... but they know sheople thrive on BS.
I can say one thing for sure. The empire's minions are far ahead of us. They know us better than we know ourselves.
Stay tuned for more grand theater.
rvrwalker
In my own defense I was never in love with Obama and I didn't discount "everything you said". You didn't have to be head over heels for someone to believe that they were a better choice than Geezer and Gidget. I wrote to someone before the election and said that I was "lukewarm" about Obama but that I would vote for him and hope for the best. I admit now that I made a mistake. One last time I played the system's game and accepted the 2 party choice. As I said in my initial post I will never do that again. You are correct in that the system represents an empire and these people are hired to do a job. It is painfully obvious that Obama, while he may be a little better than Bush in some ways, will never do anything to change this system but only to give us the illusion that he will. I have already started looking for alternative local candidates than the usual Blue Dogs here in Indiana and I find it highly unlikely that I ever seriously consider a mainstream Demo for president again. It would appear that, in order to garner the nomination for President, you have to make so many compromises and owe so much money that you are useless for the kind of reform that our country desperately needs.
Maritimus,
As one of those who was jumping up and down and yelling, before the election, about this guy, I'd like to crow "I told you so", but I won't, for the simple reason that I, too, have made some serious mistakes in my life, considerably worse than your vote for Obama.
What I think is quite fine is that you admit you got fooled. Most people refuse to admit being fooled, it's too embarrassing and so they simply dig themselves in deeper defending their choices. As, they say, more is learned from mistakes than successes, or rather CAN be learned if we admit a mistake.
Don't know how old you are and how long you've been voting. I think the young folks got fooled the worst. Us oldsters have been around the block a few times and got, hopefully, most of our voting mistakes out of the way a while ago.
A few clues for the future;
Check out opensecrets.org to find out who's funding the critters, and follow the money.
Check out who their campaign advisors are, e.g. Obama's flaunted econ. advisor before the election was Rubin, BIG CLUE
See what stands they modify or abandon or adopt during their campaigns, e.g. when Obama abandoned single payer, I knew where he was going.
Check out their voting records and compare them to their speeches, e.g. Obama's vote on the telecom bill giving the big companies immunity.
Listen to what they are ACTUALLY saying, as opposed to what someone else is telling you they are saying; Obama said he would escalate in Afghanistan.
Notice where they go and what they say when they get there, Obama's visit to AIPAC the first thing after he got the nomination, said volumes.
You don't have to wait until AFTER the election to figure these guys/gals out. You do have to pay attention, but for your, and our country's, nay, the world's sake, its worth it.
Sorry if this sounds patronizing, but when you said you didn't know about Goldman Sachs, i figured maybe you didn't know where to look ....
Folks often have said "He's not the man I voted for", but he IS the man they voted for, just not the man they THOUGHT they voted for. Big difference.
The Israelites in control of the democratic party are trying to keep a lower profile until the attack on Iran is underway leaving it up to non-jewish neocons like Hillary Clinton to carry the ball with the help of the media. Rahm is totally dedicated to Israel even if it means sacrificing US interests. He is like Sarcozy in France who was also a proud young zionist.
There may be nothing political here - just cashing out to cash in. Cha-ching.
Won't be the first time he's done that. I guess it's time to replenish the millions.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Thats all anyone needs to know about this article. We can only hope its true this time.
He couldn't leave fast enough. Guess Obama isn't doing enough for Israel. Wasn't that his real purpose in the job, according to his father?
Great news!
FREE AMERICA
REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY
If "idealistic" means "wishing to reach across the aisle" then Rahm Emmanuel's departure will not help at all. If "idealistic" means "not willing to compromise ones principles" than it will help, especially if geithner, summers, and salazar quit too. And Gates.
By the way, you can assume any reason top level gov appointees give for quitting is BS.
Rahm's long term political goal has been Speaker of the House. When he went to Washington he told Chicago pols to keep his 5th District seat warm. This is step 1 of the final phase.