He is reaching across the aisle with this very move... reaching across the aisle to knock some heads together.
US policy since 1967 has been completely Pro-Israeli whether a democrat or republican has been in power so I'm not sure what you mean by less biased. I voted for Obama, but his non-stop support for Israel (which I understand is something any candidate has to do to be viable) and apparent continuation of failed US policy in the region, which this pick of Rahm Israel Emanuel is indicative of, is disturbing. Chalk one up for those who say Obama's talk of change is just going to be rhetoric.
Yeah, he's going to get a Republican to be his chief of staff. This has been the conservative meme of the day. "Oh, how is it CHANGE if he's hired a Democrat to be his chief of staff blah blah nonsense blah blah..." Sheesh, can't you guys wait until the Cabinet fills out before you criticize it?
This article sheds a lot of light on Emanuel's life and political career. I find it disturbing that he volunteered to help the Israeli military and that his father had ties to a terrorist organization. This campaign was supposed to be about change we can believe in not recycling completely pro-Israeli ex-Clinton officials. ----------------------------------------------- Obama picks pro-Israel hardliner for top post Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 5 November 2008 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9939.shtml During the United States election campaign, racists and pro-Israel hardliners tried to make an issue out of President-elect Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Such people might take comfort in another middle name, that of Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Israel Emanuel. Emanuel is Obama's first high-level appointment and it's one likely to disappointment those who hoped the president-elect would break with the George W. Bush Administration's pro-Israel policies. White House Chief of Staff is often considered the most powerful office in the executive branch, next to the president. Obama has offered Emanuel the position according to Democratic party sources cited by media including Reuters and The New York Times. While Emanuel is expected to accept the post, that had not been confirmed by Wednesday evening the day after the election. Rahm Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1959, the son of Benjamin Emanuel, a pediatrician who helped smuggle weapons to the Irgun, the Zionist militia of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, in the 1940s. The Irgun carried out numerous terrorist attacks on Palestinian civilians including the bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel in 1946. Emanuel continued his father's tradition of active support for Israel; during the 1991 Gulf War he volunteered to help maintain Israeli army vehicles near the Lebanon border when southern Lebanon was still occupied by Israeli forces. As White House political director in the first Clinton administration, Emanuel orchestrated the famous 1993 signing ceremony of the "Declaration of Principles" between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Emanuel was elected to Congress representing a north Chicago district in 2002 and he is credited with a key role in delivering a Democratic majority in the 2006 mid-term elections. He has been a prominent supporter of neoliberal economic policies on free trade and welfare reform. One of the most influential politicians and fundraisers in his party, Emanuel accompanied Obama to a meeting of AIPAC's executive board just after the Illinois senator had addressed the pro-Israel lobby's conference last June. In Congress, Emanuel has been a consistent and vocal pro-Israel hardliner, sometimes more so than President Bush. In June 2003, for example, he signed a letter criticizing Bush for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. "We were deeply dismayed to hear your criticism of Israel for fighting acts of terror," Emanuel, along with 33 other Democrats wrote to Bush. The letter said that Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian political leaders "was clearly justified as an application of Israel's right to self-defense" ("Pelosi supports Israel's attacks on Hamas group," San Francisco Chronicle, 14 June 2003). In July 2006, Emanuel was one of several members who called for the cancellation of a speech to Congress by visiting Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki because al-Maliki had criticized Israel's bombing of Lebanon. Emanuel called the Lebanese and Palestinian governments "totalitarian entities with militias and terrorists acting as democracies" in a 19 July 2006 speech supporting a House resolution backing Israel's bombing of both countries that caused thousands of civilian victims. Emanuel has sometimes posed as a defender of Palestinian lives, though never from the constant Israeli violence that is responsible for the vast majority of deaths and injuries. On 14 June 2007 he wrote to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "on behalf of students in the Gaza Strip whose future is threatened by the ongoing fighting there" which he blamed on "the violence and militancy of their elders." In fact, the fighting between members of Hamas and Fatah, which claimed dozens of lives, was the result of a failed scheme by US-backed militias to violently overthrow the elected Hamas-led national unity government. Emanuel's letter urged Rice "to work with allies in the region, such as Egypt and Jordan, to either find a secure location in Gaza for these students, or to transport them to a neighboring country where they can study and take their exams in peace." Palestinians often view such proposals as a pretext to permanently "transfer" them from their country, as many Israeli leaders have threatened. Emanuel has never said anything in support of millions of Palestinian children whose education has been disrupted by Israeli occupation, closures and blockades. Emanuel has also used his position to explicitly push Israel's interests in normalizing relations with Arab states and isolating Hamas. In 2006 he initiated a letter to President Bush opposing United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Dubai Ports World's attempt to buy the management business of six US seaports. The letter, signed by dozens of other lawmakers, stated that "The UAE has pledged to provide financial support to the Hamas-led government of the Palestinian Authority and openly participates in the Arab League boycott against Israel." It argued that allowing the deal to go through "not only could place the safety and security of US ports at risk, but enhance the ability of the UAE to bolster the Hamas regime and its efforts to promote terrorism and violence against Israel" ("Dems Tie Israel, Ports," Forward, 10 March 2006). Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told Fox News that picking Emanuel is "just another indication that despite the attempts to imply that Obama would somehow appoint the wrong person or listen to the wrong people when it comes to the US-Israel relationship ... that was never true." Over the course of the campaign, Obama publicly distanced himself from friends and advisers suspected or accused of having "pro-Palestinian" sympathies. There are no early indications of a more balanced course. Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah is author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli- Palestinian Impasse (Metropolitan Books, 2006).
I didn't say a republican should be chief of staff. But the guy he picked is about as left as they come. I also said "I know it's early"...so there's still time for change.
Clinton is far less biased toward Isreal compared to Bush Jr. They are all pro Isreal but the degree varies greatly.
Wait a sec... the Muslim guy picked a Jew and you guys are saying he's not reaching across the aisle? Seriously though, a President is allowed to put whoever he wants into that slot. If Obama thinks it will make the WH run better, more power to him. Folks complaining about RE need to remember that we're talking Chief of Staff here, not State. How many people can name the last 5 Chiefs of Staff? Repubs need to chill and remember that elections have consequences and this one is just a few hours old. Obama will do the right thing.
People will SPINNNNNNN the news however they want. Staunch conservatives hate it. Jews love it. Arabs/Muslims hate it (eg: Kwame's incoherent rambling)... so on and so forth. From what we know... Obama is a closet muslim who has a crazy christian pastor and he appoints a jew as his right hand man that is going to make Obama a puppet for Israel, and while your at it... he pals around with domestic terrorists.... As my people love to say: "oy vey!"
He's partisan, but he's not left at all. He's as moderate as they come, and a member of both the DLC and the New Democrat Coalition (the pro-business Dem group). Lindsey Graham had great things to say about this as a pick: http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/11/lindsey_graham_praises_emanuel.php "This is a wise choice by President-elect Obama. "Rahm knows Capitol Hill and has great political skills. He can be a tough partisan but also understands the need to work together. He is well-suited for the position of White House Chief of Staff. "I worked closely with him during the presidential debate negotiations which were completed in record time. When we hit a rough spot, he always looked for a path forward. I consider Rahm to be a friend and colleague. He's tough but fair. Honest, direct, and candid. These qualities will serve President-elect Obama well. "Rahm understands the challenges facing our nation and will, consistent with the agenda set by President-elect Obama, work to find common ground where it exists. I look forward to working with him in his new position and will continue to do everything I can to help find a pathway forward on the difficult problems facing our nation."
Major, you should know better than to quote a prominent Republican praising the choice of Emanuel as Chief of Staff. Are you trying to ruin Graham's career?? Seriously, that's a terrific quote from Graham and right on the money. He must have read my earlier post.
I never said I hate the decision...I said it was disturbing and not consistent with "change we can believe in." Please explain how and why my posts were "incoherent" and "rambling"?
I'm not crazy about Rahm as Chief of Staff because he is a middle of the road/corporate leaning Democrat, but Obama has more than earned the benefit of the doubt in making the moves he needs to make to move his agenda forward.
Faos, I know this is going to sound patronizing, but I don't mean it that way. If you took the time to research basic political facts, you'd be able to make a better case for your side. Rahm is not even close to "as left as they come". The "left" wing of the party, progressive activists can't stand this guy. He is certainly partisan, but that's not the same thing.
via TPM -- Truly Radical As you may know the Obama's transition has now set up change.gov as the new transition website. And as TPM Reader SB points out there's already signs of the radicalism McCain and Palin warned the country about. I've clipped out this section of their organization chart of the US government, which you can find linked on this page. And as you can see, not only has the president been demoted to a position under the constitution. But the vice-president (as shown by the red arrow) has had his own fourth branch revoked and been reassigned to the executive branch ...
LOL at MCMark... Rahm Emanuel is a good choice for Chief of Staff. He's a real pitbull, unlike Ms. Palin. He gets things done. This pick will also alleviate the "Now that Obama has been elected, Israel is doomed" train of idiotic thought.
As far left as they come? Don't people like you ever get tired of repeating that line over and over and over again? 2004: John Kerry, "the most liberal...". 2008: Obama, "the most liberal...". Now a guy like Rahm Emanuel and the same old blather. Are you programmed to spit that out instinctively even when it's complete nonsense? Do you expect anyone to believe it? If you want to question Emanuel's style, go for it. That's legit. BTW, your reply in the other thread was awesome. LOL!
