Having left the nation in shambles, polarization in DC and class warfare inflamed, Rahm Emanuel heads to Chicago as Obama loses his lifeline to reality

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One thing you must admit about the little man with the mighty bark from Illinois, his influence over Barack Obama was dominating and it will take years for historians to figure out whether Obama or Emanuel was more responsible for the wreck of the Obama ship of state after two years in office.

A second thing you must admit is how this former Goldman Sachs executive and Wall Street money machine was able to silence the liberal left as he made the Democrats under Obama the beneficiaries of Wall Street special interest money while making certain nothing of any substance happened to the fat cats as a result of their destruction of the American economy.

Liberal groups and the liberal media, supposedly protectors of human rights and defenders of America from corporate crooks, were silent as Wall Street destroyed the economy, were silent as Wall Street got bailed out by Obama, and were silent as Wall Street and the banks got rich at our expense.

We have raised questions since 2007 about the Obama relationship to Goldman Sachs, what Goldman had to do with two leading opponents of Obama withdrawing from his campaign for the US Senate, about the role Goldman played as the top giver and pied piper for Wall Street money flowing to Obama and fellow Democrats, and on and on.

As a Goldman alumni and Obama's top aide Rahm was in a position to answer questions or block the answers and with his departure maybe some answers will finally be forthcoming.

There is no doubt he dominated the West Wing of the White House and much of the domestic and foreign policy offered by his inexperienced president and boss. It will take years before enough records will be declassified to discover the true extent of his role.



Still Emanuel will be missed because he was the only person in the White House who seemed to do anything, and never failed to follow his own advice and take advantage of every crisis. Chicago is much more suited to Rahm than Washington. I mean Chicago had Al Capone.
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Did Senator Evan Bayh Retire to Replace Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff?

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The Associated Press said in yesterday's stunning announcement that:

"Two-term Sen. Evan Bayh says ever-shriller partisanship and the frustrations of gridlock made it time for him to leave Congress. Republicans aren't buying it, saying he and fellow Democrats sense that voters will be after their heads this fall.

The Indiana Democrat, a moderate who twice came close to being added to his party's national ticket, said Monday he will not seek re-election this November. The announcement gives Republicans a strong chance of capturing his seat and makes it likelier that the 59 votes that give Democrats command of the 100-seat Senate will dwindle.

Bayh, 54, said his passion for helping people is "not highly valued in Congress." He said he did not love the institution in which his father, Birch Bayh, had also represented Indiana."



Well I for one don't really believe his explanation. Bayh was a potential powerhouse among moderate Democrats with a history of working for bi-partisan government. His credentials were everything the American people are looking for in leaders of the new America.

There are several reasons I think he retired and having watched his career, I do not doubt the veracity of what he said. His Midwest background and father's influence are indeed significant causes for him to express frustration with liberal Democrats and the inertia of Congress. His acute awareness of the unfair need for elected officials to spend much of their time raising money for the next campaign is exactly why I got out of politics so I am encouraged he pointed out the huge flaw in our political system.



Yet there is more I suspect beneath the surface because a person like Bayh is needed now more than ever. To explain let me first outline what else happened yesterday when he announced he was retiring at the end of the year. The most powerful person in the Senate, Democratic leader Harry Reid, did not find out about this dramatic development until after Bayh made the announcement. It is unheard of that a party boss would be left out in the cold on such an important matter impacting on the future control of the US Senate by the Democrats.

Yet immediately after he made the announcement the President and White House praised Bayh and said they were aware of his decision beforehand. Why would he consult the president and not the leader of the Senate where he is a member? Let me give you a clue.

The White House has demonstrated how to mismanage the presidency to a degree not often seen before with tactics that infuriated both the Democrats controlling the House and Senate as well as the public and the Republicans. Since before Obama took office I pointed out how they were making one of the first sins of government, expecting the hard nosed opportunists from the campaign to be able to run the nation's government.



No newly elected president has done that because they know the campaign people have neither the experience nor the ability to work with all elected officials, Democrats and Republicans, once elected. By nature the campaign people are paranoid, living in constant fear the other politicians will undermine their efforts. To compensate they use heavy handed tactics to force loyalty from their own party, Democrats, and use intimidation and threats to try and control the opposition party, the Republicans.

It never works. All new administrations make a series of staff mistakes that take one to two years to correct. Obama made these mistakes throughout his fledgling administration loading his staff with friends and associates, campaign contributors and lobbyists. Time after time his own people have been his biggest burden and their actions have upset those who know what makes the government tick.



To be successful a president must surround himself with people who are not paranoid and who know they must govern for all the people, not just those throwing money at them. Thus the White House staff is a sea of turmoil when they have no policy, executive nor practical experience in a bi-partisan world.

Such appointments are not necessarily a sign of weakness but a sign of inexperience. In time the polls and the inability of the president to govern make these mistakes obvious. Perhaps Obama has finally seen the light and realizes his strident and petty staff are his own worst enemy.



Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been the most striking example of how a staff member can get a president in trouble. Every major failure of the Obama administration can be laid at the doorstep of the Chief of Staff from secret deals with the pharmaceutical companies and unions (SEIU) to interfering in local elections (New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts).

When your key aide is the cause of your failure to govern the key aide becomes an untenable liability and now many people are questioning the judgment of Obama's Little Napoleon. I suspect the reason Obama knew about the Bayh resignation in advance is that Obama may have talked to Bayh about taking over as his new Chief of Staff. It was necessary for Bayh to clear the way to move to the White House and take over.

By announcing his retirement when he did, the day before the filing deadline for someone to run for his Senate seat, it left no one time to file as the Democratic candidate for Senate from Indiana. Since no one expected Bayh to leave no one was prepared to file the next day. This means the State Democratic party in Indiana can select the next candidate for the people, giving them time to recruit the best possible candidate for the race.

It is all too convenient for Bayh to end up taking over as Chief of Staff for Obama and solving one of the biggest headaches for the president, how to get Emanuel out of there. Bayh could resign at any time and his seat would be filled by governor's appointment. The governor is a Republican in Indiana but Bayh could make a deal with him on his replacement, appointing a Democrat who will not run for office in the fall. The Indiana governor is a weak form of state organization so he may very well make a deal to get the seat open and to get a friend (Bayh) in the White House.



If Obama does not make moves to fix his White House staff there will be a series of resignations by cabinet members like Hillary Clinton who are sick and tired of the backroom politics of Emanuel and the other staff members and see their ability to represent the United States being undermined by the politics in the White House. Bayh would be in a great position to help the president and smooth over the ruffled feathers on Capitol Hill.

Remember, President Reagan was successful because he had former Congressman and moderate James Baker as his Chief of Staff. Obama could learn from Reagan's experience. It was Baker who helped make Reagan one of the most popular presidents of all time. Oh yes, as an early supporter of Hillary in her campaign for president Bayh would go a long ways toward healing the deep wounds between Obama and the Clintons.

Stay tuned...

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The President's Palace Guard - Nixon had Haldeman, Obama has Emanuel - the Elite Puppet Masters

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When a new administration comes to office, especially one in which the leader, Barack Obama, has had no comparable executive experience, key staff often form a wall around the president that in time serves as a Palace Guard. In Obama's case his operation is controlled by his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, the only insider with previous experience in the White House from the Clinton years.

Because Emmanuel also has had experience as a congressman, a board member of a major housing mortgage firm, an investment banker with extensive Wall Street contacts, a major political fund raiser and a liaison with special interest groups he pretty much serves as the de facto president where policy, press, congressional relations and political affairs are consolidated under his ironclad control.



It is an extraordinary concentration of power in one individual who is not the president. One must reach back to the Nixon presidency to find a comparable concentration of power under Nixon Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman though Emanuel exercises much more control over Treasury and foreign affairs than Haldeman was ever able to acquire.



No one gets to Obama without getting through Emmanuel and nothing gets done by the White House without his personal approval. The Obama White House is centered around Emanuel and the many Chicago cronies surrounding him on the president's staff. The Nixon White House was controlled by the California cronies of Haldeman.



Masters of remote power such as Emanuel use the power and resources of the White House to control the agenda of the president. Politically, he calls all the shots. From fund raising to political appearances of the president Obama does what Emanuel tells him to do. The reform of Wall Street, perhaps the largest single issue that could impact on the Wall Street mess, is the responsibility of Emanuel, not the Treasury or Commerce secretaries.

Health care reform is controlled by Emanuel, not experts in health and insurance. If a deal is to be made with the large pharmaceutical companies it is made by Emanuel, not Obama. Any negotiations with Wall Street flow through Emanuel because of his long association with Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street powerbrokers.



Middle east foreign policy flows through Emanuel because of his background as a Zionist and experience as a volunteer in the Israeli army, not through traditional channels such as the Secretary of State.



No where is the control more pronounced than in the political arena where all contact with special interests including Wall Street, health care, banks and unions all come calling to Emanuel to get their favors from Obama. White House records indicated that SEIU leader Andy Stern was in the White House 22 times since Obama took office. That might explain who coordinated the SEUI involvement in trying to control health care town hall meetings or how SEIU will get their payback for sinking $60.7 million into the Obama campaign. Watch for SEIU to have a clear field to organize the health care industry.



Even the resignation in the 23rd Congressional District seat in NY currently being contested is supposed to be the handiwork of Emanuel where he got Obama to appoint GOP Congressman John McHugh to the Secretary of the Army position in September, thus resigning the seat, then tried to get a Democrat elected to the seat in a clever manipulation of the New York election laws.

When Sarah Palin blew a giant hole in his plan by endorsing a third party conservative and leading a charge that forced out the weak GOP candidate, it is rumored the White House (Emanuel) got the GOP candidate who dropped out to endorse the Democratic candidate for the seat. The election Tuesday will decide whether Emanuel or Palin had the most power influencing the NY election.



As Emanuel continues to use the White House as his political playground and Obama continues to do his bidding it remains to be seen if Emanuel can avoid the temptation to increase control like proved to be Haldeman's undoing when he ordered the break in at Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate, a staff power grab that brought down the Nixon presidency.



Emanuel nearly made a similar error when he tried to get the Decennial Census put under the control of the White House thus giving him the power to control the reapportionment of the nation's congressional seats by controlling the census results. It was a move stopped by Congress. The Democrats in control of Congress may be unwilling to give up any more control to the Emanuel White House gang.

Still, his current control on behalf of the president of the Wall Street reforms and the health care reform makes the Democratic leadership in Congress pawns in Emanuel's master plans. His personnel decisions to load up the White House staff with czars tainted by radical backgrounds and his pit bull approach to managing the president will not make friends in Washington and can only hurt the young and beholden president who pledged transparency and openness, a far cry from what we got.



In the end the economy will be his undoing as he tries to protect the Wall Street executives with their bailouts and bonuses while trying to make it look like the president cares for "Main Street" and the traditional Democratic special interests. We have seen how that works. Emanuel slams through the auto bailout for the Michigan unions and the first new plant by the government owned auto companies is in Delaware, the home of VP Joe Biden, not Michigan or Ohio. Playing such political games will one day get exposed.

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