President-elect Barack Obama has selected Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff:
In his first major move as president-elect, Barack Obama has asked Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), a tough-minded tactician with West Wing experience, to serve his White House chief of staff, Democratic sources tell Politico.
Emanuel has said to friends that he wants and will take the job, but it was not a done deal as of early this morning. Obama plans to move swiftly with his transition announcement and could name Emanuel this week, the sources said. He then plans rapid-fire announcements on his economic and national-security teams.
This does not bode well for those hoping for bipartisanship in the in Obama administration. Emanuel, who represents Chicago’s north side, is a hard core Democrat who “once famously sent a rotting fish to a pollster who he felt had given him bad numbers.”
By the way, Emanuel was a player in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (pdf):
My home city of Chicago has succeeded in developing affordable housing programs because of the commitment of the city government agencies, Mayor Daley’s office, private sector entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and many other state and local organizations. Programs like City Mortgage, New Homes for Chicago, HouseChicago and the Chicago Homeowners Assistance Program have been successful because of the commitment of public and private sector entities to community building.
This is not the beginning of a bipartisan administration.
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