Obama's Partisan, Profane Confidant Reins It In

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January 25, 2009 Obama's Partisan, Profane Confidant Reins ItIn

BvMARKLEIBOVICH

WASHINGTON —Early this month, Barack Obama was meeting with the House speaker, Nancv Pelosi. and other lawmakers when Rahm Emanuel. his chief ofstaff, began nervously cracking a knuckle.

Mr. Obama then turned to complain to Mr. Emanuel about his noisy habit.

At which point, Mr. Emanuel held the offending knuckle up to Mr. Obama's left ear and, like an annoying little brother, snapped off a few special cracks.

The episode, confirmed by Mr. Emanuel's office, underscores some essential truths about Mr. Emanuel: He is brash, has a deep comfort level with his new boss, and hasbeen ever-present at Mr. Obama's side of late, in meetings, on podiums and in photographs.

There he was, standing at President Obama's desk in one of the first Oval Office pictures; and again, playfully, thumbing his nose at his former House colleagues during the inauguration; there he was, accompanying the president to a meeting with Congressional leaders on Friday.

Mr. Emanuel is arguably the second most powerful man in the country and, just a few days into his tenure, already one ofthe highest-profile chiefs ofstaffin recent memory. He starred in his own Mad magazine cartoon, won the 'Tfour New Obama Hottie" contest on Gawker.com and has become something of a paparazzi icon around Washington.

In recent months, he has played a crucial role in the selection and courtship of nearly every cabinet member and key White House staffmember.

Renowned as a fierce partisan, he has been an ardent ambassador to RepubHcans, including Mr. Obama's defeated rival, SenatorJohn McCain ofArizona. He has exerted influence on countless decisions; in meetings, administration officials say, Mr. Obama often allows him to speak first and last.

"You can see how he listens and reacts to Rahm," said Ron Klain. the chiefof staffto Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. "You can see thathis opinion is being shaped."

A reason Mr. Emanuel, 49, has drawn so much attention is thathe seems to be in a kind ofrecalihration mode.

How will the feisty, bombastic and at times impulsive former congressman blend with the cool, collegial and deliberate culture of Obama World? And one that is trying to foster bipartisanship? This is someone who once wrote in Campaign and Elections magazine that "the untainted Republican has not yet been invented" and who two years ago —according to a book about Mr. Emanuel ("The Thumpin'" by NaftaU Bendavid) — announced to his staffthat Republicans are "bad people who deserve a two-by-four upside their heads."

Efforts at a New Aura It is clear to friends and colleagues that Mr. Emanuel is trying to rein himself in, lower his voice, even cut down on his use of profanity.

"Aschief of staff,you take on the aura and image and, in some instance, the politicalvalues of the person you work for," said former Representative Rav LaHood. an Hlinois Republican who is now transportation secretary. "I think he's beginning to morph himself into the Obama image."

Mr. Emanuel acknowledged in an interview Friday that a stereotype of him as a relentless hothead has some factual basis. But it is an exaggerated or outdated picture, he said.

"I'm not yelling at people; I'm not jumping on tables," he said. "That's a campaign. Beingthe chief of staff of a government is different. You have different tools in your toolbox."

Still,his high profile and temperament are at odds with that ofsome past WhiteHouse chiefsof staff:they were often low-key types who put the "staff part of theirjob titles before "chief —as Andrew H. Card Jr.. the longtime chief of staffto former President George W. Bush, suggested to Mr. Emanuel last month.

Mr. Emanuel, who had hopes of becoming House speaker, has stepped into a job characterized by short tenures —just under two and a halfyears, on average —high burnout rates and the need to subjugate personal ambitions to the service of the president.

He is not accustomed to fading discreetly into the background. As a staff member in the CHntonWhite House, a three-term House member from Chicago and the chairman ofthe Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,he was viewedby many as a consummate purveyor of a crass, kneecappingbrand of politics.

Mr. Obamaacknowledged as much at a 2005 roast for Mr. Emanuel,whois a former ballet dancer, during which Mr. Obama credited him with being "the first to adapt Machiavelli's The Prince' for dance" (a number that included "a lot of kicksbelowthe waist"). When Mr. Emanuel lost part of his middle finger whilecutting meat at an Arby's as a teenager, Mr. Obama joked, the accident "rendered him practically mute."

The video of that roast has become a recent sensation on the Internet and buttressed a viewamong some Republicans that Mr. Emanuel's appointment was, in the words of the House minorityleader. Representative John A.Boehner of Ohio,"an ironic choicefor a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil."

While acknowledging that he can be something of a showman, friends say Mr. Emanuel has calmed considerably.

"He's more temperate now,"said DavidAxelrod.a senior White House adviser and longtime Emanuel fiiend who dismissed much of his flamboyant reputation as "pure myth." Mr. Axelrodadded, "Alot of it is a reputation he earned as a younger guy."

On the Go Before Sunrise

Late Friday afternoon, at the end of his first week in the WhiteHouse, Mr. Emanuel was sitting in his comer office, sickwith a cold,baggy-eyed and looking tired. "Everyone keeps saying, 'Areyou havingfun?'" he said. "Fun is not the first adjective that comes to mind." He woke as usual at 5 a.m., swam a mile at the Y, read papers and was in the office at 7 for the senior staff meeting at 7:30. There was a meeting in the Situation Room about Afghanistan; a leadership meeting; a conversation with the Senate majority leader, Harrv Reid. Democrat ofNevada; a meeting with Senator Orrin G. Hatch. Republican of Utah; budget meetings; several conversations with the president.

Mr. Emanuel, in the interview, rejected any notion that he was reinventing himselffor his new job. But he is mindful, he said, that he must fit into a culture that was forged over two years on a campaign, "a group that was part of a journey together."

Mr. Obama had settled on his fellow Chicagoan to be his chiefofstaffwell before he was elected. He was drawn to Mr. Emanuel's experience in both the White House and Congress and called him "the whole package" of political acumen, policy chops and pragmatism. He is also a skilled compromiser. "He knows there is a time in this business to drop the switchblades and make a deal," said Representative Adam H. Putnam. Republican ofFlorida.

Mr. Emanuel initially resisted taking the job. He came around after Mr. Obama insisted, saying these were momentous times and that the awesome tasks he faced required Mr. Emanuel's help. The president-elect also assured Mr. Emanuel that the position would be the functional equivalent of"a No. 2" or "right-hand man," according to a person familiar with their exchanges.

After taking the job, Mr. Emanuel spent endless hours reaching out to lawmakers. Mr. Reid gave out Mr. Emanuel's personal cellphone number, with Mr. Emanuel's blessing, at a caucus meeting of about 40 Senate Democrats this month. ("He seems to speak to every senator every day," said Senator Charles E. Schumer. Democrat ofNew York.)

Mr. Emanuel hasbeen equally solicitous of Republicans in Congress (who also have been given access to Mr. Emanuel's private contact information). On days he does not swim, he works out, and conducts business, at the House gjmi: 25 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes on the elliptical, 120 situps, 55 push-ups and many sweaty conversations with his former colleagues. In a recent encounter there, for instance, with Representative Peter Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, Mr. Emanuel secured his support for Leon E. Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mr. Emanuel has endured, or caused, some early distractions —his conversations with Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich ofIllinois about Mr. Obama's then-vacant Senate seat; his failure to alert Senator Dianne Feinstein. a California Democrat who is chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to Mr. Panetta's appointment.

So far, Mr. Emanuel has been more chief than staff in performing his job, according to several officials.He advocated fiercely for posts for fellow Clinton administration alums like Hillarv Rodham Clinton and Mr. Panetta; not so much for the outgoing Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean, with whom he had clashed while at the Congressional Campaign Committee. ("He was never negative about Dean," said the Obama transition head, John D. Podesta. who added, "I wouldn't characterize it as the other way,either.")

Mr. Emanuel has also served as the administration's chief headhunter. When the Officeof Management and Budget director, Peter R. Orszag. had doubts about taking the job, Mr. Emanuel went into his default mode — jackhammering away at him, tracking him down in Hong Kong."Youcan't sit on the sidelines; you've got to come inside," Mr. Emanuel told him. Asked if "relentless" would be a fair characterization of Mr. Emanuel's recruitment method, Mr. Orszagsaid, simply: "He's Rahm. Come on."

The selection of Mr. LaHood demonstrates Mr. Emanuel's sway with Mr. Obama. After Mr. Emanuel sounded out Mr. LaHood about his interest in joining the administration, he was summoned to a meeting in Chicago with the president-elect.

The interview lasted 30 minutes, just Mr. Obama and Mr. LaHood.

"Look, Rahm Emanuel lovesyou,"Mr. Obama told Mr. LaHoodas he prepared to leave."He is really pressing me and pushing me. And it's not that I don't want to do it, but...."

A few days later, Mr. LaHood was selected to be transportation secretary.

Banter With the Boss

At a White House gathering with Mr. Obama and a bipartisan team of lawmakers on Friday, the House majority leader, Stenv H. Hover. Democrat of Maryland, joked that Mr. Emanuel was too busy to talk to him, so he called the president instead. Mr. Obama said he was always happy to take calls for his chiefof staff —a reference to an incident a few weeks ago when Mr. Hoyer called Mr. Emanuel, who was in the back of a car and claimed he was too busy to talk, so he handed the phone to Mr. Obama.

In meetings, it is not uncommon for Mr. Obama and Mr. Emanuel to engage in teasing banter. One White House official recalls an exchange last week in which Mr. Obama said something to the effect of, "Well, I was going to do that, but I didn't want Rahm to mope for a half-hour."

But it will not always be so pleasant for Mr. Emanuel. "He's going to be blamed for a lot of things," Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, said of his former colleague.

Sa5dng no is a big part of being chiefofstaff. Infighting is inevitable; so are enemies and rivalries.

In addition to cabinet officials —and the vice president —a cadre of "senior advisers" who have long and varied histories with Mr. Obama will be seeking his attention. They include Pete Rouse (Mr. Obama's chiefof staff in the Senate), Valerie Jarrett (a close Obama family friend) and Mr. Axelrod, whose office is a few feet closer to the Oval Office than is Mr. Emanuel's. The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs. one of the Mr. Obama's closest Senate and campaign aides, will also enjoy walk-in access to the president.

Mr. Emanuel has been in the job four days —and, by day's end Friday, it looked more like four years.

He is slumped deep in his couch, periodically swatting at a giant fly that keeps orbiting his office. He is hoping to get out of the office to meet some friends for the Jewish Sabbath dinner. He has a physical therapy appointment for a pinched nerve in his neck. He missed his children —8,10 and 11 —who are visiting this week but are soon headed back to Chicago, where they are remaining for now. "For me to be the parent I want to be, I think it's very hard," he said, referring to the demands of his currentjob.

Just then, Mr. Orszag arrived at his door.

"Orz, what's wrong?" Mr. Emanuel said. "Canyou give me a minute, or do you need something?" He needed something.

Mr. Emanuel left, returned and started talking about how his staffs tended to be loyal. "I drive people as hard as I drive myself," he said.

Then Mr. Obama came to his door.

"Mr. President!" Mr. Emanuel said, jumping from his couch to his feet in something that resembled a dance move, and they walked out together.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February i, 2009 An article last Sunday about Rahm Emanuel, the White House chiefof staff, misspelled the surname of the then-governor of Illinois who talked with Mr. Emanuel about the vacant Senate seat in his state. He is Rod R. Blagojevich, not Blogojevich.