Could Rahm Emanuel fit in as Chicago mayor? Obama thinks so.
Chicago and Rahm Emanuel: would they be a good fit?
As the city adjusts to the idea of life without a Daley as mayor, the speculation is growing about who will replace him.
And the person who has generated the most buzz is President Obama鈥檚 chief of staff.
Emanuel has some of the same qualities that have served Richard M. Daley well: He鈥檚 in love with the city, has a reputation for being ruthless, and he鈥檚 a fierce power-wielder who is more known for his use of four-letter invectives than his eloquence.
In one famous story, he and several colleagues to a political enemy.
Unlike Daley, he鈥檚 a Northsider and a Cub鈥檚 fan, and he doesn鈥檛 have the same sort of citywide power base that Daley built up. His career has been in national politics; he has less experience with the cutthroat, machine-driven dynamics that can drive local elections.
Still, his brash personality may mesh well with what Carl Sandburg dubbed the 鈥溾�� city, which has largely thrived under the dictatorial style of Daley.
Emanuel is still weighing his options, but he鈥檚 already received one powerful endorsement from his current boss. Emanuel would be 鈥渁n excellent mayor,鈥� Obama told ABC鈥檚 on Thursday. He added that he expects Emanuel will not make a decision until after the midterm elections 鈥� perhaps revealing his own feelings about what his chief of staff needs to be focused on for the next few months? 鈥� but it鈥檚 doubtful that would leave him enough time to run.
Chicago's primary is Feb. 22, and the filing deadline for candidates is Nov. 22. Emanuel has a head start due to his strong name recognition and powerful connections, but it is still certain to be a crowded, tough field of candidates.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs didn鈥檛 do much to quell rumors of Emanuel's departure either, telling reporters Wednesday that 鈥渟omething like [the mayor opportunity] doesn鈥檛 come around a lot鈥� and that 鈥渋t鈥檚 no surprise that鈥檚 a job he鈥檚 been interested in.鈥�
Emanuel has indicated he will likely make up his mind in the next week or two. If he does run, it鈥檚 no certainty he鈥檒l be elected, despite his clout.
South Side doyen and Congressman Bobby Rush has talked about the importance of having a strong African-American contender, and told the Sun-Times that the media鈥檚 focus on Emanuel is 鈥渃hildish鈥� and that Emanuel鈥檚 skills are 鈥�.鈥� Richard Mell, the powerful alderman and estranged father-in-law to ex-governor Rod Blagojevich, told the press that any winning candidate would need to be a 鈥渦nifier鈥� who has a lot of money and can mount 鈥渁 full-scale, ward-by-ward operation.鈥�
One endorsement Emanuel won鈥檛 get if he runs, despite a long-standing friendship: the current mayor鈥檚. Daley has said he intends to stay out of the next race, telling reporters, 鈥淚t can be the people of the city of Chicago that make that decision.鈥�
