Let's not forget the close social and professional ties between the Obamas and Mayor Daley. The notion that Rahm Emanuel might run as a successor to Daley has probably been part of a series of conversations.
Thinking about how President Obama could have become so inattentive to the American people when it comes to explaining economic goals, it's not hard to imagine that his powerful, and his cocksure and arrogant economic team, could have been responsible for that inattentiveness. Undoubtedly Rahm Emanuel (not that far from Karl Rove in the arrogance stakes) was part of the problem. It would be good to see some changes there. Rahm Emanuel as mayor of Chicago? Go for it!
Meanwhile, there have been some big changes in the politics of the situation. The Republicans are changing their tune.
Mr. Obama again called on Congress to pass legislation that would make more credit available to small businesses — legislation that Senate Republicans, for all their claims of concern for small businesses, have delayed passing.
If there is any good news from Mr. Boehner and other Republicans it is that they suddenly want to seem eager to shed their reputation as the Party of No. This week, they suggested that they might be open to some of Mr. Obama’s ideas, which include a $50 billion initial investment to create jobs improving roads, rail lines and airports — as long as those projects were not paid for by taxing billionaires, oil companies and other wealthy corporations. That, of course, is just how Mr. Obama intends to pay for them — and just how he should.
Mr. Obama’s speeches were a robust effort by the president to rally Democrats for the election. It has been a long time coming. And we wish that Democratic leaders in Congress could show the same clear thinking and the same willingness to go head to head with the Republicans. Some commentators are likely to say that Mr. Obama should not have given a national stage to Mr. Boehner, a relative unknown despite his immense power in Congress and his ambition to be the next speaker of the House. But that is just what he needed to do.
For far too long, Mr. Boehner and others have been dominating the political debate with insincere sound bites, Jedi mind games and plain bad economics. How can they claim to care about the deficit and insist on more tax cuts?
The answer, unfortunately, is that they can, and they have, because Mr. Obama has sat on the sidelines and most Congressional Democrats have run for the hills. We are glad to see Mr. Obama fully in the fight. ...NYT
As for Rahm, he really may take the leap.
Mr. Emanuel was born and raised in Chicago, but he has never been seen as one of the city’s towering figures. And that, his friends say, is one reason why being mayor of Chicago has long been among his biggest political ambitions.
But is it better than being chief of staff to the first president from Chicago?
To those who know Mr. Emanuel well, the answer is unquestionably yes, which is why they believe he is seriously weighing leaving the White House in the wake of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s abrupt announcement on Tuesday that he intends to step down next year.
“Something like that doesn’t come around a lot,” said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, doing little to douse speculation about Mr. Emanuel. “It’s no surprise that’s a job he’s been interested in.”...NYT
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Ed Henry assumes that Rahm will take off for Chicago. Not immediately, but soon. He speculates about who will replace Emanuel in the White House.
Two White House aides -- Tom Donilon and Ron Klain -- are the clear front-runners to take over Emanuel's office just steps from the Oval Office.
But also pay close attention to a name you have not heard much about yet, but that could end up being the surprise pick: Phil Schiliro. Schiliro doesn't grab a lot of headlines but has a huge fan in the president himself and could wind up shocking the political world by snagging the top job.
There are other big names in the running as well, from Chicago intimates like Valerie Jarrett to Washington insiders like CIA chief Leon Panetta and former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta. Other candidates with more outsider credentials could emerge if the president ultimately decides he wants to shake things up a bit more to signal a fresh start. But the betting among top Democrats is that the ultimate choice will be an insider.
"I don't think they are going to go very far out of their orbit," said one top Democratic strategist who's in close touch with the White House.
A second top Democrat with close ties to the West Wing said flatly: "I've heard three names: Donilon, Schiliro, and Klain." ...CNN
