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Emanuel's Media Blitz Goes 'Relentlessly' 24/7

'Aggressive,' 'relentless' Rahm 'in constant touch'

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 23, 2009 2:34 PM CDT

(Newser) – Rahm Emanuel is “in constant touch” with journalists, offering a “round-the-clock offensive” on behalf of the White House, writes Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post. “He calls, drops a few F-bombs, makes his point and hangs up,” says one commentator. Brief he may be, but “perhaps no White House chief of staff in modern history has worked the media as aggressively and relentlessly as Emanuel,” Kurtz notes.

Emanuel is an expert at working the media, which he sees as a “constituency group.” He’s ready with “on-the-record quotes, background spin and the sort of capital gossip that lubricates relationships.” And he doesn’t hesitate to get personal, often hosting press gatherings or taking opponents out for a meal. Says colleague David Axelrod: “He thinks like a journalist.”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel listens off to the side as President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the White House, June, 12, 2009. (AP Photo)

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is shown at Sarah Lawrence College before addressing the class of 2009 on May 22. (AP Photo)

Rahm Emanuel is seen in a 2008 file photo. (AP Photo)

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He's always trying to extract as much information as he's trying to give. - Chuck Todd, NBC

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Emanuel's Media Blitz Goes 'Relentlessly' 24/7