Few things show the hollowness of Barack Obama’s campaign commitment to a new kind of politics which seeks, through transparency and civil discourse, to overcome partisan divisions in the national interest than his appointment of the hyperpartisan gunslinger Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff, his top administrative aide.
Perhaps if the president had more regular contact with someone less adept at partisan warfare, he would quit bellyaching about the mess he “inherited” and instead roll up his sleeves and fill those vacant positions in the Treasury Department so he could have a full stable of advisers who could help him develop solutions to fix it.
Instead of blaming Republicans, he might take heed to the fact that the deficit spiked only after Democrats took control of Congress. He was a part of their majority. Realizing his own responsibility for the mess, he might tone down his rhetoric. But, with Emanuel advising him, he is more likely to see others, namely Republicans, as the responsible party.
Thus, replacing Rahm Emanuel with a less partisan aide, the president would lack that sounding board reinforcing his partisan instincts. He put the nation’s interests ahead of his party. That’s why I believe Rahm must go.