Rahm Emanuel means business. Here’s what Ryan Lizza wrote for GQ when he met Emanuel for a meal before the Democrats, thanks to their new kingmaker, crushed the Republicans in 2006. (My edits):
“So how many seats do you think you’re going to win?”
Rahm flashes the impatient stare that is a cross between contempt and pity, followed by a sigh and a long, uncomfortable silence. I brace myself for the tirade—or the freeze-out. He’s been known to meet reporters for lunch or dinner and, if they fail to impress, spend the meal ignoring them. And within the first forty-five seconds or so of our first interview, he called me a f—-ing idiot—though I soon learned I wasn’t special in that regard. James Carville, Rahm’s pal since their days together on the 1992 Clinton campaign, later told me not to sweat it: “Everybody is a f—-ing idiot to Rahm.” Not even Bill Clinton is spared. When I ask the former president what is the bluntest thing Rahm has ever said to him, he tells me, “It’s unprintable.”
Over at Slate, Christopher Beam has quite the appreciation, a bit of which I posted after the jump:
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