IT'S ALWAYS FUN...:

Rahm takes heat over Milbank column (Glenn Thrush, February 22, 2010, Politico)

[E]manuel couldn’t have mounted a more articulate defense than if he had penned the Milbank column – bluntly titled “Why Obama needs Rahm at the top” – himself.

The key paragraph contained high praise for Emanuel – at the expense of his boss: “Obama’s first year fell apart in large part because he didn’t follow his chief of staff’s advice on crucial matters. Arguably, Emanuel is the only person keeping Obama from becoming Jimmy Carter.”

In the piece, the longtime Post politics watcher portrays a White House filled with Obama’s Chicagoland sycophants, and idealists veering the White House dangerously off to the left – with Emanuel the only forceful voice of pragmatism and moderation.

Milbank, who has written about Emanuel for years, is particularly tough on senior advisers Jarrett and David Axelrod, and Gibbs, the press secretary.

“Contrast Emanuel's wisdom with that of Jarrett, in charge of "intergovernmental affairs and public engagement" -- two areas of conspicuous failure, Milbank writes. “Jarrett also brought in Desiree Rogers as White House social secretary; the Salahi embarrassment ensued. Then there's Gibbs. It's hard to make the case that you're a post-partisan president when your on-camera spokesman is a hyper-partisan former campaign flack.

Milbank also offered some personnel advice to those who call for Emanuel’s scalp as compensation for the derailing of reform efforts.

“No wonder Emanuel has set up his own small press operation and outreach function to circumvent the dysfunctional ones that Jarrett and Gibbs run,” he wrote. “Obama needs an old Washington hand to replace Jarrett and somebody with gravitas on the podium to step in for Gibbs.

...whenm the staffers are more worried about themselves than the boss.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 24, 2010 1:09 PM