Just as I thought that things might be duller now that the election is over, Obama goes and appoints Rahm Emanuel. Excuse the Rahm overload, but there are so many good stories about him. This is from 2006 after the Democrats win a resounding victory in the congressional elections, in part thanks to Rahm's leadership in the House:
As the returns come in, I ask Rahm what he
will say tonight when it’s his turn to address the cameras. “I’m
working on it right now,” he says, pointing to some papers. He offers
to read it to me... “It’s been said,” he starts haltingly, “that Washington’s often the
last place in America to get the news. So let me tell you tonight, the
news has arrived. From every corner of our country, the American people
have sent a resounding, unmistakable message of change. We accept your
votes, not as a victory for our party but as an opportunity for our
country. And we humbly accept your challenge.” It is almost a poignant
moment, a flash of the sensitive guy that Rahm’s aides have been
telling me lurks beneath the Chicago tough-guy exterior.
But then it is gone in a flash, and with it the peacemaking pretensions. A little later, when CNN projects that Democrats will take back the House, Rahm climbs onto a desk and addresses his staff¬. “The Republicans,” he yells, “can go fuck themselves!"
And he used to be a ballet dancer.
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