In case you missed it, the Politico-BuzzFeed-Daily Beast Industrial Complex is all over rumors that Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago, former chief of staff, former member of Congress, has presidential ambitions. And maybe he does.
But his soon-to-be former chief of staff revealed a very, very telling tidbit that people should have in their minds on why he might well decide not to.
Theresa Mintle said this in a complimentary way, but she accidentally pulled back the curtain:
He's his own best policy person. He's his own best political person. He's his own best communications person. He is every idea that comes up here. ... [But], as driven, whip-smart and intuitive as he is, he’s a very, believe it or not, kind and gentle guy.
The first part is the meat: Rahm is Rahm's own best counsel on everything.
The rigor of a the modern presidential campaign, which basically goes full-time for four years, requires you to trust people. You have to have faith in their intelligence, smarts, and that if they mess up, it's okay, it's not the end of the world. You have to give yourself, your family, and your future over to people who you never met.
(If this reminds you of President Obama and his early frustrations as a candidate, you're not alone. Obama had a to learn to trust people before he could run.)
The pressure of trying to do it all yourself is too much, and that's not in Rahm's nature.
He drives the ship.
Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large, and writes The Compass blog. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.
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