Obama's Power Players: Emanuel's Relationship With Obama Gives Him Clout
The president has said no one is better at getting things done than Emanuel
When Obama announced his choice for chief of staff, he bluntly reasoned, "No one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel."
Emanuel was serving his third term as a congressman for Chicago's North Side and was a power broker and rising force within the Democratic Party, arguably positioned for a turn, one day, as speaker of the House.
Obama sensed he would need an aggressive right-hand man to help get his agenda through Congress, so he courted Emanuel and persuaded him to join his administration. "[Obama] knew what he was doing when he hired me," Emanuel has said. "I mean, he knew what he was getting."
As the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Emanuel was widely credited for his party's success in the midterm elections in 2006. But the man Obama recruited, in fact, was not just a politician known for his intensity and savvy but also a close friend with whom the president has much in common. Both men learned much of what they know about politics in Chicago; both speak of themselves as the children of immigrants.
Emanuel has described his personal relationship with Obama as built upon loyalty, not in the knee-jerk, hopelessly-devoted-to-you way but rather in the sense of wanting to ensure that his boss's ideas are forcefully challenged by opposing viewpoints and, once tested, successfully implemented.
One of Emanuel's sayings is that "you never allow a serious crisis to go to waste." Dubbed the Rahm Doctrine, it has quickly gained traction within the Obama administration.
Emanuel's political touch lies behind many of the administration's major policy efforts, including the stimulus package, the budget, and the ongoing efforts to reform healthcare and energy. He is a negotiator, a major Capitol Hill presence, an intermediary between the president and members of Congress from both parties, sometimes conducting business over the phone, sometimes face to face. Observers also say he played a critical role in assembling Obama's cabinet, suggesting names and recruiting favored candidates.
advertisement
