Yes, my chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel (in photo at right, describing the knife he carries in his briefcase) is very, very, very angry at the New York Times. Reason? Their big front-page story this morning about all the money Rahm made during his brief stint as an investment banker, after he left the Clinton administration and before he ran for Congress. Sure, they make a great effort to show how hard he worked, but you can't help walking away from this piece thinking that the guy stepped out of the White House and got his pockets lined in a hurry. And you can't help wondering what conflicts Rahmbo might have now that he's back in the White House and what favors he might be asked to do, especially since they point out how the financial industry guys contributed loads of money to his political efforts. Though they do give Rahm some space to claim that he's not in anyone's pocket:
In an interview, Mr. Emanuel pointed to other actions he had taken over the objections of the financial industry, including sponsoring a bill last year to curb the ability of hedge fund managers to defer paying taxes on compensation they stashed in offshore tax havens and another measure that imposed new reporting requirements on financial firms for what investors pay on stocks and mutual funds.
“I would say I’ve been as tough on my friends as others,” Mr. Emanuel said. “I call it like I see it.”
Keller at the Times is claiming that by including that paragraph the Times was providing equal space to Rahm. He says the story was fair and even-handed. All I can tell you is that I just saw Rahm stabbing a copy of the paper with a really large kitchen knife. Over and over and over again.
Bottom line: The New York Times took its best shot and didn't manage to knock the little guy out. You know what that means. Sleep with one eye open, hacks. Because Rahm plays mean. And payback's a bitch.
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