Rahm Emanuel is the New Gatekeeper

So the rumors are true, Rahm Emanuel will be Obama's White House Chief of Staff (story from NY Times is here). As Paul Begala has been emphasizing (and re-emphasizing in this bonanza of coverage he's getting; makes you wonder what he'd be doing if McCain had won), Obama is really turning to the Clinton crowd to fill out his administration. That makes perfect sense, given the literally hundreds and thousand of posts that a president must fill. But he also faces the danger of having his administration taken over by the Clintons. As the primaries showed, the base of support for Clinton is phenomenal, and he runs the risks of policy sub-groups cropping up in his administration if allows people without any loyalty to him personally to cluster in certain areas.

So how does Emanuel fit into this? It helps that he's from Illinois, but since he was a top advisor to Pres. Clinton, there's also the risk that Obama will be picking somebody that might be exchanging emails/phone calls/breakfast meetings with the Clinton crowd. On the other hand, that's what Obama needs to make sure he can penetrate Washington.

But what I like about Emanual is the fact that he won't be afraid to tell Obama things the new president won't want to hear.

Obama Claims NC

The AP has just reported that Barack Obama has claimed North Carolina's 15 electoral votes (see the full story here). Though the result is not yet official, the AP has determined that there are not enough remaining uncounted ballots to allow John McCain to overcome his almost 14,000 vote deficit. Now, how important is this?

If this were the only southern state that Obama had claimed, most likely the focus would be on the relatively small margin of victory, and rightly so. It is not difficult to see that margin flipping to the other side in four years. But the fact that Obama also claimed Virginia and Florida adds some more meat to the tale. Many of the headlines throughout the election season has focused on the possible barrier of racism that Obama was supposed to face in the South. Did he really overcome any racism, or was turnout among minorities enough to overcome the prejudices of white voters?

I for one am hoping that North Carolina stays in play in many elections to come, and that's probably the most important outcome. NC may very well switch back to the Reds in the coming years, but presidential campaigns will be stomping in the state for many cycles to come.

Philadelity Live!

Well, I wish that I had something very profound to put on this blog. But, I'm not that intelligent. Look for some upcoming thoughts on the national immigration debate, patent regulation, and other issues.

For now, till we read again.