Obama’s Not So New Politics: Whatever It Takes to Win

Politico’s Ben Smith and John Harris express bluntly what many of us have been trying to say for months, but we've been unable to break through the euphoric Obama hype: Obama, self-described as the harbinger of a new politics, is a shrewd, calculating, Chicago-style politician who will do whatever it takes to win.

Smith and Harris offer Obama’s pick of Rahm Emmanuel as his new chief of staff as evidence of the not so new politics we can expect in the Obama Administration:

“President-elect Barack Obama’s selection of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) as his White House chief of staff is the latest demonstration of a quality Obama showed repeatedly over the course of his campaign: He’s willing to do what it takes to win.

“If his goal had been to create a cordial bipartisan tone in Washington — much less a calm, profanity-free West Wing — Obama would have looked elsewhere.

“The selection of Emanuel, one of the Democratic Party’s most effective operatives over the past two decades, was a powerful signal of Obama’s determination to be effective under the existing rules of the Washington game.

‘“He’s from the Lombardi wing of the party — he’s a guy who wants to win at any cost and will do whatever it takes,’ said John Lapp, a former top Emanuel aide at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Lapp called Emanuel ‘the best possible pick — a perfectionist and fighter who loves the president[-elect] like a brother.’

“If so, he’s a sibling who long ago showed he knows how to talk back in the family. As a longtime aide to Bill Clinton, Emanuel was known for his willingness to talk bluntly to colleagues from the president on down.”

And that’s another thing, folks. Have you noticed that Obama is surrounding himself with former Clinton operatives? You do recall the disdain Obama repeatedly expressed for the Clinton Administration and his openly expressed appreciation for the transformative Reagan years. Oh, well, maybe not.

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