Rahm Less Partisan, More Powerful

As big ticket failures abound, Emanuel's practicality could have helped

(NEWSER) - From health care reform to unemployment to Guantanamo Bay, many Washington insiders think President Obama would be much better off today had he listened to his brash-but-practical chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Top staffers like David Axelrod have a “strong view of the historic character Obama is supposed to be,” a supporter tells the Washington Post . But Emanuel “knows the geography better,” and is willing to do “the small, marginal things a White House could do to mitigate the problems on the Hill.” More»

Obama's chief of staff personally calls Special Olympics CEO

(NEWSER) - Rahm Emanuel says he's sorry he called liberals “retarded” in August, and he has personally apologized to the CEO of the Special Olympics. "The apology was accepted,” a White House aide tells the Washington Post . The comment has drawn fire since it came to light, and it prompted Sarah Palin to demand that Emanuel be fired . More»

Jarrett poised to take over for chief of staff who can't make nice

(NEWSER) - Rahm Emanuel’s frustration with the legislative process may lead him out of the White House, but it's not clear whether the president's volatile chief of staff will jump or be pushed. Emanuel, a former congressman, has a famously explosive temper that isn't going over well in the West Wing. Insiders tell the New York Post 's Page Six that top Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett is likely to succeed him. More»

Emanuel takes time for individual concerns in Congress

(NEWSER) - Rahm Emanuel has a tough-guy reputation, but it’s his openness that’s making a difference to the Obama administration, the Washington Post reports. The president’s chief of staff is ready to listen and respond to concerns from countless individual lawmakers—and their appreciation is helping to build consensus for Obama’s agenda. “I know these guys; I know what makes them tick,” Emanuel says. More»

Bill Daley says Congress won't let Obama be a chief executive

(NEWSER) - Roger Simon of Politico has an entertaining interview with White House chief of staff Bill Daley. Some highlights:

• How it's going: “It’s been a brutal three years. It’s been a very, very difficult three years, an incredible three years. And we are doing all this under the overhang of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. F--k! It wasn’t like all this was happening in good times."
• On 'we can't wait': "Both Democrats and Republicans have really made it very difficult for the president to be anything like a chief executive. This has led to a kind of frustration," and to the president's push for the executive branch to do as much as it can without Congress.