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WaPo’s Dana Milbank has peered into the soul of the Obama Administration and discovered the Obama Presidency would be an utter failure if it weren’t for the brilliance of Rahm Emanuel.
In Why Obama needs Rahmbo at the top, Milbank claims every misstep and failure attributed to Obama can be directly traced to Obama rejecting Rahm’s wise advice and instead following his own instincts or those of the cult fools that surround the President.
If only Obama had listened to Rahm, the President would have cured American’s health system with a popular, bipartisan health reform bill already, and the Republicans would be falling all over themselves to support climate change legislation, financial reform, education reform, fair treatment for detainees and a massive jobs/stimulus program.
I’m sure Milbank must have broken at least three No. 2 pencils trying furiously to keep up with all the points Rahm Emanuel handed him, but fortunately, we’ve retrieved the original notes:
0. Obama is a dreamy-eyed incompetent fool who would be doomed without Rahm’s guidance.
1. Everyone else around Obama is a fawning idiot.
2. Rahm has his own press unit — he gave me this story, but told me not to print points 0 and 1.
3. Obama’s Presidency would fail without Rahm calling everyone else f**g re**ds.
4. Since he’s a complete backstabbing jerk, Rahm would have been more successful in getting conservaDems and Republicans to agree with him.
5. All of the principled, popular measures Obama ran on made the Administration bills less popular, while all the shady, corrupt backroom deals everyone hates made the bills more popular; therefore, Obama should follow Rahm’s advice and do more shady corrupt deals with the people who ran the country into the ground, and that will allow Obama to succeed.
6. This all make sense because, I, Dana Milbank, am clueless. (Am I supposed to print that?)
Update: I suppose if you want to help Dana help the White House succeed, you can forward Dana’s column to the White House. They always appreciate Beltway advice, especially when it’s leaked from Rahm (h/t emptywheel).
73 Comments
What a tool!
It’s not fair to start off an early morning read with the thought of Rahm being prez. Not enough coffee in the world!
Rahmilbank’s claim that Obama’s failing because Obama’s not listening to him enough is not only contradicted by the facts (such as how Rahm’s hold on the veal pen kept the truth about his “f—ing retards” remarks from coming out for nearly half a year; that coverup wouldn’t have lasted five minutes if Rahm was the poor widdle powerless schlub he tells Milbank he is), but it’s a recycled variation on how he tried to escape the blame for torching another presidency in its first year — namely, Bill Clinton’s — when his ramming things like NAFTA and DADT down everyone’s throats helped cause the Democratic base to stay home in 1994:
no he didn’t!!!
I wonder how Rahm’s boss felt about seeing this in the WaPo this morning?
Or does Rahm let Barack read the paper anymore? I mean, who is the boss here?
Were I the Executive, Rahm’s desk would be cleaned out by sundown. And “press unit” Milbank’s little cubicle in the West Wing as well.
If Rahm had a chance of being elected himself, he would have run. His time as COS assures that his best shot at returning to elected office, other than dog catcher, is via appointment to an open senate seat mysteriously vacated after he becomes a resident voter of the applicable state.
Milbank, of course, is an arse.
Ah, so you think he’ll follow a game plan similar to how he spent his time after running Bill Clinton’s presidency aground on the rocks of NAFTA and other triangulation sellouts? It might be a bit harder for him this time out — too many people understand now that following Rahm’s prescriptions, such as for health care, is tantamount to political suicide.
Boy, I hope you’re right about that. Perhaps there is some hope for averting disaster after all.
I’m thinking that we need to get the word out, big-time. (Particularly to those folks in the DC Bubble.) Ironically, Rahm’s desire to publicly rewrite history in order to avoid taking the deserved blame for the looming midterm meltdown is what may have finally dealt him a career-ending blow. I can’t imagine that the people who actually ran Obama’s incredibly well-oiled, leak-free, no-drama campaign are going to sit still for being trashed by the guy who is all about leaks, drama, and self-aggrandizement at the expense of the people for whom he’s allegedly working.
I can only hope. For DM to write this seems incredibly stupid. isn’t he worried he’ll get frozen out by non Rahm fans, who are legion?
Thing is, this may be the heads-up they needed — as if they already didn’t know that Rahm is prepared to shiv them to protect his power and/or reputation. (It’s not as if he hasn’t done this before. See also how Rahm tried to shiv Valerie Jarrett in the pages of the NYT back in August.)
Let’s hope Obama is pulling Rahm over in the corner for a little Lieberman timeout soon and often.
Gawd, I hope so. I really, reallly hope so.
He can probably find a sucker in, say, Illinois. If Blago’s trial doesn’t Reveal All and get him in deep, deep legal shit.
True, that. One of the reasons that the original members of Team Obama (you know, the ones that don’t have their own press units to spin for them like Rahm’s does for him?) were able to succeed on the national level is that they largely operated by holding the incredibly corrupt Illinois Democratic establishment at arm’s length. Rahm, of course, would do the exact opposite. Though he’d have to watch his footing from that point forward.
Of course, he could just drop back into bankstering, but that might not be as lucrative a career option as it once was.
Sorry but Rahm already has committed to working at Goldman Sachs in 2016!
Another home run. Thank you Scarecrow.
Thanks for readng that so I didn’t have to, Scarecrow.
The one bright side I see about this – just maybe all of our “lefty” calls for Rahm to be kicked to the curb have put a little bit of fear into Rahmbo, enough that he felt the need for public pushback.
Encouraging. Let’s step it up, people!
(Disclaimer: Not saying Obama isn’t ultimately at fault, or that he isn’t really a centrist. But I do really think Rahm carries a good deal of blame, and this piece constitutes further evidence therefor, IMHO).
Oh no, I’ve just trod in a steaming pile of Milbank!
lol!
this would be a good time to repost the vid of him going ballistic on the blogger. jeez. what a sandbox baby.
Man, this is a lame post. I’m all for criticizing Rahm, Milibank, Politico, or anything else, but is this kind of juvenile, substance-free sniping going to convert anyone who doesn’t already agree with your points? Or is it just going to bewilder people who have no previous education on the subject? There’s no facts to back up your assertions, just paragraphs of snark, and weak snark at that. This looks like something that was written in a burn book.
Hooray for snark! Scarecrow rocks!
Hi. yeah, it’s true that people of like minds tend to gather on the blogs. However, it does help to repeatedly point out (and mock in lame or nonlame ways) the cozy relationships between media, pols, etc.
Some people still.dont.get.that. But they will read this crap in newsweek, wapo, etc. and think it’s great that Rahm is in sneezing distance of Mr. HopeandChange.
I wonder why Milbank thinks cheerleading for rahm is even necessary?
You think Rahm is a Great Man?
Welcome to reality, where Rahm’s campaign policies have gotten us Blue Dogs and Conservadems.
Dude, seriously, reread my commment.
I’m always baffled when people feel entitled to make little mewling noises about how and what someone posts. No one is accountable to you, and no one is here to entertain you.
You got that right.
And kyeo, if you can’t tolerate people bitching about Rahm and his backstabbing, leaking ways, you might want to reconsider your need to be here. Dudie.
Clap harder!
Why? I want Rahm to fall on his face in a pile of … well, you can figure out what … soon, and in front of live cameras.
Again, you’ve completely failed to read my argument. I have no problem with people criticizing Rahm or everyone else. I just think this was a cheap, childish way to do it.
I’m always baffled when people think I’m only supposed to comment to a post if I like or agree with it.
How nice that you took the time to post a comment criticizing a post which you evidently did not consider worth your time.
Nice never let facts get in the way of insults. Its all about feelings for the Lizard Brains. Good feelings they only have for their ingroup everyone else gets the bad feelings.
I think they think they are predators no wonder they howl Class warfare everytime we stick up for the little guy.
The wolves don’t like it when the sheep organize, think or fight back.
Years of inbreeding has littered our Elite class with Lizard Brained Sociopaths. I remember reading that a researcher of sociopaths say if I wasn’t studying them in Prison I’d be at Corporate Board meetings.
After years of getting fat our sociopaths don’t even try anymore Nixon was evil but a Genius, Reagan could at least read script and lie with a straight face.
The Chimp and his whole administration was a joke from Gonzo and Monica Goodling saying I don’t recall to Karl’s election Math. From cutting taxes during a war to No Child Left Behind Bush ‘ policies were failure’s.
Obama however can’t even get anything passed Rahm thinks he’s the Genius of the Obama administration because he keeps saying don’t even bother to try.
Our Sociopath Elite are progressively degenerating in competency. Humans have the most remarkable relationship with predators we breed are own.
The poor ones we lock up which is smart. The smart ones become rich and then start running the country. They mix with smart but normal folks and pollute the Elite gene pool.
Since there is little movement between castes the problem gets worse. Like for example both my parents went grey early I went grey younger than they did.
Our Sociopaths start out smart but they create a system that won’t let their kids fail no matter how stupid.
Bush if he had been born in a regular family should be stocking shelves at Jewel.
The Neo Cons They might talk and write very well but their foreign policy ideas lack all sense Douglas Feith was called the stupidest man on the planet by an American General.
Heck of a Job Brownie was head of FEMA, Gonzo apparently knew nothing and Monica Goodling knew less.
The Chicago , Austrian school Economic guys and Ayn Randers Bush called upon for economic policy have theories that excuse vice.
But ignore FDR and Keynes why because that means they might have to stop eating the poor with their bank bailouts and pay higher taxes to get people working.
Most Predators eat themselves out of prey and the starve. Our Predators lose the brains needed to be predators, the desire to actually work at getting prey they just expect the prey to give up, Bush’s constant vacations while Ossama kept fighting. Real Predators fight over territory with other Predators Bush didn’t even go into Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq were easier targets?
Our predators die off when they destroy/ the society the herd that sustains them.
Dana Milbank is Skull & Bones.
We need to get our country back.
Why, yes Rahm should be president…of the Chess Club of Southwest Peoria. That’s about all the responsibility he should ever be given.
Arguably, Emanuel is the only person keeping Obama from becoming Jimmy Carter.
He said that. Milbank actually said that. But then, who could make up such crap (gave up cussin’ for Lent. 4th day and still good.)
There, fixed your typo.
Thanks.
Don’t forget .. Milbank was half the combo that came up with this stupidity:
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907310026
I’d post a YouTube clip, but it seems Kaplan Test Prep Post probably sent out take down notices.
Good luck with that. I’d have to swear off reading any blog or newspaper, listening to the news on radio, oh, and driving, in order to keep such a promise. Keep us posted.
Arguably, Emanuel is the only person keeping Obama from becoming Jimmy Carter.
I suppose Larry Summers is the only person keeping Obama from becoming Herbert Hoover?
And just what has the Obama administration accomplished that proves they are not a failure? I think the WaPo should start drug testing.
I have my popcorn ready this is going to be good!
Reality always hurt. Rahm does not want to admit that his policies and ideas have been a complete failure.
With rank and file Dems starting to smell the rotten Hope A Dope plan created by Obama and Rahm, where Obama talks like a progressive and governs like Bush. I also think rank and file Dems now realize that Obama and Rahm do not care about their political careers and are hoping for a republican congress.
The million dollar question of the day, is will Obama and Rahm health care plan include a public option? (If the white house rolls out a health care plan with no public option, they can kiss control of congress GOOD BYE!!!
Rank and File dems will abandon Obama in droves.
Dana why don’t you go back to calling Hillary Clinton a b*tch for the big boff laughs you used to get. Sure people stared at you like a car accident. Don’t be so thin skinned. You know you’re hilarious, it’s just going to take some time for the rest of the world to catch up to your “way ahead of it’s time sense of humor”. God you’re a genius.
Whoa there stomach, settle down…
This story is obviously a Rahm leak but notice no mention of Rahm’s success ( why there wasn’t any) the closest thing has to success is Rahm argued against ideas that went wrong.
One could argue the ideas were right but they were executed poorly.
However
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021904298.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
My bold Money quote Dana just gave away the open secret that Rahm is leaking and leaking independent of the WH not the occasional leak rather his leaks are a small press operation in volume WTF!!!
Why give away that secret unless it doesn’t matter anymore???
I think Rahm’s job might be in trouble.
Dana doesn’t have his nose to far up Rahm’s ass does he? I remember in grade school kids like him. Pathetic poseurs the bunch. Apparently, some of them have never grown up have they?
How does he breathe in there?
Thanks for listening to Dana’s whispering so we don’t have to.
Who reads the Washington Post, anyway?
Repeat after me – Rahm Emmanuel works for Barack Obama. Rahm Emmanuel doesn’t do anything significant that Barack Obama does not want done.
Obama’s carefully manufactured campaign image as a progressive/liberal was just that – a manufactured image and a pretty transparent one at that. Barack Obama has not sold out and he is not being undermined by Blue Dog/ConservaDem/DINOs in his administration and/or on his staff. He is merely being who he is and always was and will continue to be.
Obama IS and always was a BlueDog/ConservaDem/DINO. There is no liberal/progressive social democrat clawing at inside door of the Oval Office trying to escape the shackles placed on him by Rahm Emmanuel. The problem is, and will continue to be Barack Obama. He’s the guy who hired Emmanuel (and Geithner, Summers, etc.) after all and I don’t think Max Baucus and Joe Lieberman were holding his kids hostage unless he agreed to do so.
Obama might call the plays but Rahm does play as if there is an I in team. Obama is not a progressive I agree but he did run like he was one, Healthcare, was promised. Fine the jerk lied.
However our objection to Rahm while to be fair he is great at self promotion is that he has no record of accomplishment except for NAFTA. Notice Rahm never mentions that fact:)
Rahm while he is suppose to be working for a Dem victory calls us the Dems strongest supporters retards.
Not smart not smart at all when your Blue Dog strategies make your party loose Ted’s Senate seat.
Your right and he’s going to cast himself the same way once again in 2012. He’ll get away with it because the Gopers help him cast himself this way. For the rest of us he offers the choice of his faux Progressive image devoid of any substance or Divine Sarah. Its the Devil or the Deep Blue Sea isn’t it? This is why we are ignored and even abused.
I wonder if Rahm’s Secret Service code name is Iago
It fits but I think Rahm wants Hilary and not Michelle.
If Jane really wants to get rid of Rahm (I sure do), she oughta use this piece to make it happen. Don Regan got fired by Reagan when he started telling people he was the head of Gov’t and Reagan was just the ceremonial head of State. Kinda like Rahm just did in that piece. Jane, make him eat his words.
Dana Milbank is a sideshow clown.
Sometimes the satire, snark, and parody are just too easy. It must be a slow news day; there is Dana Milbank to beat up on.
So Milbank, like the rest of the WaPo slime mongers, a longtime purveyor of reasons that Democrats are always wrong, has now found his bipartisan hero: NAFTA man Rahm. Perhaps Obama will probably now feel the need to call on Milbank more often once he has learned the error of his ways. If Obama would be a good R like Emanuel already is, according to Milbank, then the rest of the mean Rs would have been much more supportive. Perhaps in the bozo universe.
So we can assume that when Rahm runs for President as a R then WaPo will be there to declare instant success. No need for elections just move on to the coronation.
Like a stopped clock Dana got one thing right in spite of the fact that he misrepresents the cause of the health insurance debacle as being produced by “true believers”.
I doubt that Rahm was the supporter of smaller proposals, that Milbank attributes, that would have a better chance of passing since it would mean smaller amounts of cash to be drummed up with that approach and he seems to be all about the war chest and the splash. More egotist than pragmatist.
Interesting that Rahm has his own small press operation to circumvent the rest of the team’s message. How many times has he used this to submarine everyone else’s plans?
Message to Rahm: you sir are part of the bathwater. If Obama did the sensible thing, you would be in the unemployment line along with Summers, Geithner and the rest.
The Washington Post has become an endless source of ignorance, Dean Baker correctly labels it “Fox on 15th Street”.
It’s just astounding how stupid Milbank has gotten in just the last two years or so. Since he got called a liar for something he reported and it actually turned out to be a lie and Ms. Weymouth took over as a surrogate for Rupert Murdoch at the WaPo – Milbank has down a 90-degree ditch-dive…
Not only has he turned into a terrible reporter but a blatant liar and nutbag advocate…
Either he needs a REAL long holiday or a new profession…
It’s just astounding how stupid Milbank has gotten in just the last two years or so. … Not only has he turned into a terrible reporter but a blatant liar and nutbag advocate…
It’s required for advancement at WaPo.
Night of the long knives. By going after Jarret, Axelrod and Gibbs all of whom help get Obama in the Whitehouse and who have been with the President and proven their value. New kid on the block Rahm just fucked up by going after them using a press crony. It is not long before Rahm is out on his ass, believe me. This article reminds me of the story of Rahm hiding in the basement for days to avoid getting fired by Clinton. Now he is blaming the other guys around Obama instead of himself after he squandered political capital in a treasure hunt for bipartisanship.
President needs to realize that main street in the country during election cycle had something more important than any amount of campaign money i.e. love & affection for him and the feeling that he understood their issues.
Right now in my opinion this is lost because all that we see is lack of accountability where Investment houses have one of their best profitable years with the economy still in doldrums and so called reforms being proposed just have mandates on main street to be given to private sector and no common-sense cost controls. This kind of policy trend will simply destroy the whole economy including the private sector in the long run causing totally avoidable pain and suffering to all.
In my opinion if President needs main street to get hope for change for better days tomorrow he should not be a Centrist and bipartisan as suggested but he needs to read his campaign proposals on what needs to done because thats what people voted for, get progressive people like Howard Dean as staff in the white house, Elliot Spitzer as SEC chief which is good for everybody including wall street since rules will be followed by all & request Paul Volcker whether he can guide FED for few more years and also request him to guide Congress on how Glass Steagall Act can be brought back since this Act in my opinion saved the wall-street from destroying itself along with rest of the economy for last 60 years till its repeal 10 years back.
In the words of that great American, Alexander Haig, who just passed from the stage…
“Until the Vice President arrives, I’m in charge here”.
;-)
Actually that should be
”
“Until the F**king Ret**d Vice President arrives, I’m in charge here”.
*snerk*
So, Rahm gets Milbank to spray a pleasant journalistic air freshener to cover up a year’s worth of stink?
Give Rahm his due, people. He is said to be a good guy to have around in a knife fight–assuming, of course, that you are fighting against a steak.
Early in this administration, the Wall Street Journal reported that all of the Obama team, including the President, worked frantically to get something done, but it was all screwed up, so luckily Rahm took control and re-wrote the whole thing. It was obvious Rahm Emanuel had fed that story to the WSJ. I was just astonished that he would smack down the president like that. But he did, and he got away with it. What a shame. This man thinks he can buy the presidency with Wall Street money. I hope he’s not right.
Oooh! Can you find a link for that?
Thanks for that, Scarecrow!
There are STILL, LOTS of people in America who think that the WashPost is a “Liberal” newspaper… and that Rahm Emanuel is a “liberal” Democrat!
REAMS upon REAMS upon REAMS of evidence to the contrary.
(the Post supported Ken Starr’s IMPEACHMENT INVESTIGATIONS EVERY step of the way to the Monica impeachment, while, 4 years later, they were helping the Cheney-Bush White House WHITEWASH the Jeff Ganon late nights visit to White House… while Gannon’s gay male prostitute website was up-and-running scandal!),
the WashPost supported STOLEN ELECTION 2000, and then the CRUSHING of the Black Congressional Caucus request for a SIMPLE congressional investigation into what we know was MASSIVE voter disenfranchisement; they megaphoned EVERY ONE of KARL ROVE & Ari Fleischer’s “White House TRASHING” scandal LIES; they supported TAX CUTS FOR RICH and DEREGULATION of financial markets; they supported LIES TO WAR, and the WEB-BLANKET of toothless 9-11 investigations; they supported Cheney & Libby’s OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE of the CIA outing scandal of 2003, and thereby STOLEN ELECTION 2004; the support GESTAPO TORTURE gulags, and the WHITEWASH of Abu Ghraib; they supported EXPANDING WARS, BAILOUTS for fraudulent bankers, and NO OVERSIGHT of those bailouts, and, today, they support the OBSTRUCTION of Regulatory reform… across the board, the Washington Post is a NEO-CON PROPAGANDA SHEET!
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/031509.html
And RAHM EMANUEL, as a Chicago “investment banker” closely allied with Robert Rubin & Lawrence Summers (which is to say, “with GolddamnSachs, JPMorgan-chase, and Citi, et al”) is ALLIED With EVERY ONE of those above agenda items.
At least, thanks to this catch, we can get some HUMOR out of America’s descent into the abyss of Neo-Con eternal warmongering & DEFICITS HELL – the WashPost’s typical media ‘ho Millbank (tag teaming where so-called “liberal” WP stablemate Richard Cohen left off) trying to spin that Neo-Con hell & treachery as “SUCCESS”!
Obama ran in, and won, states like Iowa in 2007-2008 as an “OUTSIDE of Waashington, NOT part of the establishment, NOT beholden to big corporations, NOT going to listen to lobbyists, NOT going to repeat George W. Bush’s BIG PHARMA deal” candidate, but under his Emanuel/GoddamnSachs “advisers” Obama has DELIVERED the DIAMETRICAL OPPOSITE of that “outside of Washington, not going to listen to lobbyists” agenda that he PLEDGED and PROMISED us with his “Change” campaign.
ONLY the MOST DEDICATED Neo-Cons could try to INVERT this awful record.
Milbank is playing the devil’s advocate here, IMO. The dude loves causing trouble and being a dick.
The premise is absurd: Rahm already is President and has been since Day One!How hard is it to see that two slick ex-Clintonista Chicagoans, Emmanuel and Axelrod created Obama out of Illinois whole cloth, got him elected, and then Rahmbo, a la Cheney, made himself Chief of Staff. To believe that the lightweight Obama we’ve been watching gyrating like a fool made himself President?…I’ll leave that fiction to HBO documentaries!