National

The GOP and the intollerant are not happy. First the Dixiepulbicans. It did not take long in posting the following piece regarding the Emanuel nod, Obama’s Broken Promise. Some honeymoon. As for the fanantical, did you hear the one about the Black and the Jew in the White House? The rabid right are spinning here and here and here and . . .

Before I give you the Cliff Notes version of Emanuel, let me digress about the role of the Chief of Staff for the President of the United States. Well, it depends. The role and responsibilities of the Chief of Staff depend on the management style of the President as well as who the other senior staff advisers who surround the President. For instance, though Karl Rove was never the Chief of Staff in President Bush’s Administration, he ran the show.  While President Reagan had James Baker in the first term and Donald Regan in the second term as Chief of Staff; both of whom were very powerful. But after reading about Emanuel over the last few days, my impression is that he’ll be a strong Chief of Staff.