Comment by Shaft on Friday, Apr 25 at 07:18 PM

Rahm is doing what he does best, talking political language. He should know better that in May 6 we will have a nominee. Sen. Obama is a leader while Sen. Clinton is a follower. She followed wrong direction and false information while Sen. Obama said NO! to false information and wrong direction, that is the definition of a leader. A leader sorts and filters out the right information from wrong information in the middle of chaotic times, while a follower does not go thru that mental process. I would trust Sen. Obama to protect me ten times over Sen. Clinton. Rahm should talk to me the morning of May 7, 2008 and I will laugh loud on the telephone. lol

Comment by Kyle on Friday, Apr 25 at 04:32 AM

I personally thought Congressman Emanuel was inarticulate and temperamental in this interview. Maybe he was having a bad day, but he cut himself off several times and didn't really seem to answer a lot of the questions. He also threw around cliches, for example "any stretch of the imagination," which he used three times. As a liberally minded person, it is terribly frustrating to think our government representatives can't better articulate our ideas.

Comment by Tabs on Thursday, Apr 24 at 11:26 PM

Rep Rahm Emanuel has a higher calling than to engage in the petty intraparty squabling that is currently taking place. His mandate is to ensure that the Democratic Party "wins elections" that often entails countering the Crazy Secularist Liberals from demanding that each and every candidate have impeccable Liberal credentials. To that end Rahm made his appearance on the Charlie Rose interview program to allay the fear that the current WWF tag team death match between Obama and Hillary will not stop the inevitable reclaiming of the White House for the Democrats in November. However his maniac insistence on the plausibility of that scenario sounded more like Barney Fife trying to calm the passengers on the deck of the Titanic.

Comment by TABS on Thursday, Apr 24 at 08:06 PM

Rep Emanuel's' appearance on Charlie Rose was to reassure the civilians that even through the Democratic Party is busy snatching defeat from victory with the prolonged contest between Obama and Hillary, all is well and the Party will unify against the bad Republicans in November. To this end Rep Emanuel should remember how long the fall out lasted after the Florida debacle in 2000. If one recalls it was Rep Daly of Illinois that was standing by Albert Gores side while he proclaimed "EVERY VOTE SHOULD COUNT." How ironic it is the same people standing by Obamas side who are saying you can't change the rules in the middle of the primary season. In other words "every vote" DOESN"T COUNT when it serves their purpose. Don't the Liberals feel foolish now?

Comment by Donnelley on Thursday, Apr 24 at 05:39 PM

Charlie, it was another fine interview, Rahm's penchant shared with so many in his profession for filling airtime and crowding out ticklish follow-up questions notwithstanding. His twofold message couldn't have been clearer-1) the Democratic standard bearer must capture a meaningful number of votes in areas apart from his or her support base, and 2) the candidates cannot rely on conventional metrics such as delegate counts to ensure victory. Oddly, this message seems targeted at the Obama campaign, which has, in fact, created a very substantial base of Democratic support within the coveted independent voter ranks, but has not put much of a dent in Clinton strongholds within rural America. It's a formulation that favors Hillary though she, because of high personal negatives, has shown very little capability of widening the party's appeal beyond traditional Democratic constituencies that would likely remain loyal regardless of the nominee. I suspect Rahm's biases are showing. Though you closed with a affirmation of his friendship to both Barack and Hillary, you did not mention that his is the lone holdout vote among Illinois superdelegates. All except Rahm are already committed to backing Barack. Rahm's PAC, Our Common Values, is not known to be especially devoted to the support of progressive candidates, perhaps because the common values of its donor roles have largely been forged in the banking and investment banking arenas. Rahm might have finally tipped his hand with his suggestion that the loser of the race would have a significant role in determining whether the Democrats succeed. His mention of Ted Kennedy's pallid support for Carter in 1976 might be a gentle admonishment to Mr. Kennedy, a prominent Obama supporter, if he's considering such behavior again should Hillary be selected. My hunch is that Rahm remains formally uncommitted to the end, but behind the scenes pushes as hard for Hillary as he once did when serving in the Little Rock "War Room" as political director for husband Bill. Charlie, you were probably a follow-up question away from asking about that.

Comment by ME on Thursday, Apr 24 at 05:16 PM

Charlie, Your final comment about how Rahm is friends of both Clinton and Obama at the end of this interview was ridiculous. Rahm is NOT a friend of Obama; he is enamored of himself first of all (ego-maniacally so), and his devotion to and friendship with the Clintons is well documented. Additionally, he is a hard-core neo-con, and his first allegiance is to Israel, not to the U.S. The fact that Hillary will obliterate Iran is something Rahm would not only endorse, but wishes for. This is the most biased commentator, and his repetition about how he will not endorse anyone made me laugh out loudly, laughter of derision. The man is frightening, not only in his blood-thirsty approach to the Middle East, but also in his obvious grandiose sense of self.

Comment by Amy on Thursday, Apr 24 at 03:12 AM

Love ya Rahm, but I've got Dr. Kervorkian on speed dial, in case Hillary gets the nomination.

Comment by measured takes on Thursday, Apr 24 at 12:33 AM

Taking Hillary's measure vis-a-vis Barack's, hers is in the toilet flushed by her jingoism re NUKING Iran and under fantasia-fire in Bosnia. Psychopathic! Pathelogical! Cheneyesque!