In an article written by Nina Easton for Fortune 9/25/06 entitled “Rahm Emanuel, Pitbull politician” Easton states: “He's a killer strategist and nonstop fundraiser, with a style one ally likens to a "toothache." I guess you are really tough if your ally calls you a toothache…wonder what his enemies call him? He has also earned the nickname “Rambo.”
By now you’ve probably heard that Emanuel has accepted the job as Obama’s Chief of Staff. When I heard he was nominated I decided to do a little reading. There is much written about Emanuel…he has been in the political spotlight for a number of years.
In her article Easton says: “…Emanuel is hard-wired to go for the jugular: Politics Chicago-style are part of his DNA.” When it comes to slicing and dicing his Republican foes, Emanuel applies a Chicago pol's sensibility that recalls that famous Untouchables line: "He pulls a knife, you pull a gun; he sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue." Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro describes Emanuel as a "reflection of Chicago politics, ward politics. It's local, ethnic. You're not in a tea party." http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/17/magazines/fortune/politics.fortune/index.htm
Chicago-style politics seems to pop up a lot whenever I read about Obama and his advisors.
Emanuel’s father is a pediatrician born in Israel who served as a medic in a war in 1948. His mother was a civil rights activist whose father was a union organizer. Emanuel was born in 1959.
Emanuel has years of political experience including being a political advisor for President Clinton (1993-1998). In 1988 he was a senior advisor and chief fundraiser for Mayor Daly of Chicago. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2003 where he represents the north side of Chicago and parts of Cook County. It appears that there is no question that he is smart, tough, and politically well-connected.
However, he did take a break from politics when in 1998 he went to work for Dresdner, Kleinwort, Wasserstein investment bank in Chicago. Things went very well for Emanuel during his 2-3 years at Dresdner. According to financial disclosures he earned over $18 million dollars!
During that same period he was on the Board of Freddie Mac (2000-2002) which was investigated by the SEC for misreporting its net income by 30-43% during 2000-2002. Freddie Mac agreed to a settlement and fines without admitting or denying the allegations. I don’t know about you but this gives me pause.
Another source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel
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