Oh Emanuel!

Barack Obama's choice of Rahm Emanuel, as his Chief of Staff, is a very important development, and an early warning to the Republicans, and others, that their usual shenanigans will not be tolerated.

There's an air of Don Vito Corleone about Obama, that I'm starting to like: make the reasonable, mutually beneficial offer up front, and send Luca Brazzi/Rahm Emanuel around when the compromise is rejected out of hand. This new administration is starting to shape up as a group that intends to get a lot of things done, through reason and mutual understanding, where possible, and by coersion where necessary.

Of course, only someone like Barack could get away with such an approach, because he is not a man whose ego is driven either by ideology, the need to humiliate his enemies, or the need to be placated by Ozymandian constructions. This is an administration that is going to move forward relentlessly in increments, making enough small changes, in the right order, so that at the end, a massive change will have occurred. For them, the destination is far more important than the journey.