Rahmbo
IBD Editorial, November 6, 2008
Transition: Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to change the partisan tone in Washington. So why did he pick a take-no-prisoners partisan for his chief of staff.
Rahm Emanuel Obama's White House COS
After Emanuel helped the Democrats win Congress in 2006, he told a gathering of celebrating staffers and campaign workers that Republicans “can go f*** themselves,” according to Chicago Tribune reporter Naftali Bendavid in her book, “The Thumpin’: How Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats Learned to Be Ruthless and Ended the Republican Revolution.”
Emanuel also has a favorite pejorative for GOP foes — “knucklef***s” — though he prides himself on being “an equal-opportunity pr*ck.” Indeed, he was overheard telling a fellow Democrat candidate whom he was helping win office:
“Don’t f*** it up or I’ll f*** you.”
And he once sent a dead fish in a mahogany box to a Democratic pollster with whom he quarreled while working as a fundraiser in the 1980s.
His ways are so crude that he was demoted by even the boorish Clinton White House for, among other things, disrespecting elder Cabinet members and leaking dirt on his enemies to the press. Clinton strategist Paul Begala, not the most pleasant soul himself, called Emanuel “a cross between a hemorrhoid and a toothache.”
That Obama, the seeming paragon of class and dignity, would want to yoke himself to such a guttersnipe leaves many scratching their heads. His thuggish slash-and-burn style may get results, but for how long? Wasn’t it Obama who said he also wanted to change the culture of greed and corruption on Wall Street?
After leaving the scandal-plagued Clinton White House, Emanuel joined the board of Freddie Mac, which backed risky subprime home loans with the encouragement of Obama and other Democrats. He pocketed $231,655 in director’s fees in his last year there.
He also took a job as an investment banker in Chicago. After just over two years there, Emanuel walked away with a cool $18 million while working on merger deals that led to thousands of layoffs.
His firm also funded subprime loans, yet Emanuel now has the nerve to blame Wall Street “greed” and the “anything goes,” “right-wing” free-market ideology of Republicans for the financial crisis.
Then after his golden parachute, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley backed him in his bid for Congress. Emanuel was chief fundraiser for Daley during his 1989 campaign. Obama was also part of the Daley machine, which has long been associated with graft.
On policy, Emanuel, whose Hollywood agent brother represents Michael Moore, wants to make the Earned Income Tax Credit more user-friendly by consolidating it with all the other family tax credits and making them all refundable, while putting them on the IRS short form.
Ambitious. In your face. Aggressive. Combative. Ruthless. Pit bull. Rahmbo. All have been used to describe Emanuel. And now, chief of staff? Not an auspicious start for the candidate of hope and change.
“Emanuel” — another Jew! Just what we all need (sigh!) I don’t know the guy’s background; I just saw him for about three seconds on TV — His mouth was moving, and a bunch of egotist vanity was pouring out. Are all Jews like Him? I forget… things are a little fuzzy, just now.
Another Jew! Oy veh!
Comment by BlandOatmeal — November 7, 2008 @ 7:44 am
Bland, the article was written with the ink of sour grapes.
Whatever ink your obtuse comment was written with seems nasty.
What the hell is your point?
Comment by Bill Narvey — November 7, 2008 @ 8:09 am
His point is perfectly clear to all but the obtuse. You are permitted to use the word anti…….! No mountain will be dropped upon your head Narvey.
Comment by yamit82 — November 7, 2008 @ 12:24 pm
Yamit, thx for the chuckle - well said!
Comment by Bill Narvey — November 7, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
Rahm Emanuel sold his soul and sold out his people to be part of the obama mafia. He is nothing more than a kapo and a kike.
Comment by Laura — November 7, 2008 @ 5:16 pm
Everything written was the truth. Why are you defending him? Fake Jews like emanuel make me want to convert. We are the only people who act against our own interests. 78% of Jews voting for this scumbag, what a disgrace.
Comment by Laura — November 7, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
Laura, I am neither defending nor attacking R. Emanuel. I simply made a point that the editorial was slanted against both Obama and Emanuel.
Everything written in this editorial about Rahm Emanuel, save perhaps for opinions and conclusions may well have been true, but not everything about R. Emanuel has yet been written.
He is reputed to be rough, tough and mean in his tactics and his language. That might be good or bad. Don’t the Republicans have some rough, tough and mean people who can stand up to Emanuel?
What Laura is a fake Jew?
Obama is for a 2 state Israel - Palestinian solution. So are Presidents Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan and Carter. Emanuel supported Clinton and now he supports Obama on that position. The rest of the Western nations are also on board with that position as has Israel been and will continue to be unless Feiglin or Eldad became the strongman PM of Israel in the next election.
If Emanuel is running with the 2 state solution and pressure Israel crowd, many Jews are in that same crowd so how how can he be accused of acting against Jewish interests?
If you happen to be on the side that Israel should not give one inch more to the Palestinians, should take back Gaza and arrange for a voluntary transfer of Palestinians to Jordan which is already a Palestinian state with a 70% Palestinian population and loads of empty land, you are in the small minority. My wish would be for such an outcome, though such outcome is not realistically now within the realm of possibility.
I am not suggesting that being a minority voice Laura it is you who are the disgraceful scumbag who is acting against majority Jewish Israeli interests.
I am saying that those in the minority have a lot of work cut out for them and a long way to go to make their views the majority view in Israel and within the Diaspora world Jewish community.
Comment by Bill Narvey — November 7, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
Most Jews do act against Jewish interests. There is something psychologically wrong with them. A two-state solution is a detriment to Jews in Israel.
Comment by Laura — November 7, 2008 @ 7:40 pm
Laura: Despite what you may hear, the majority of Jews in Israel favour a 2 State solution. There is a very small fringe minority that would try to find some way of cleansing Israel of all Arabs.
In practically all nations there are narrow minded bigots who discriminate against others. In that regard, Israel is no different.
Comment by h peskin — November 7, 2008 @ 9:31 pm
Peskin:
As in all polls the framing of the questions go a long way in determining the results: Like which would you prefer to be executed by hanging, firing squad,guillotine, etc. no option is offered in favor of non execution. So if a poll asks do you favor a 2 state solution or a one state solution with no other options any ans. will be weighted in favor of preconceived opinion to which if 3rd or 4th option were offered the results would show totaly different attitudes.
below is a recent poll of Pali Arabs and you can see by the results that peace regardless of what Israelis wish can never be!To belittle for any reason these results you would have to then use same premise to any poll that shows majority of Israelis in favor of 2 state solution.
When Palestinians and Israelis return to final status negotiations the
following items might be presented to negotiators as the elements of a
permanent compromise settlement. Tell us what you think of each item then
tell us what you think of all combined as one permanent status settlement
1. An Israeli withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of
its settlements. But in the West Bank, Israel withdraws and evacuates
settlements from most of it, with the exception of few settlement areas in
less than 3% of the West Bank that would be exchanged with an equal amount
of territory from Israel in accordance with the attached map {show map}.
2. An independent Palestinian state would be established in the areas from
which Israel withdraws in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian
state will have no army, but it will have a strong security force but an
international multinational force would be deployed to insure the safety and
security of the state. Both sides will be committed to end all forms of
violence directed against each other.
3. East Jerusalem would become the capital of the Palestinian state with
Arab neighborhoods coming under Palestinian sovereignty and Jewish
neighborhoods coming under Israel sovereignty. The Old City (including al
Haram al Sharif) would come under Palestinian sovereignty with the exception
of the Jewish Quarter and the Wailing Wall that will come under Israeli
sovereignty.
4. With regard to the refugee question, both sides agree that the solution
will be based on UN resolutions 194 and 242 and on the Arab peace
initiative. The refugees will be given five choices for permanent residency.
These are: the Palestinian state and the Israeli areas transferred to the
Palestinian state in the territorial exchange mentioned above; no
restrictions would be imposed on refugee return to these two areas.
Residency in the other three areas (in host countries, third countries, and
Israel) would be subject to the decision of the states in those areas. The
number of refugees returning to Israel will be based on the average number
of refugees admitted to third countries like Australia, Canada, Europe, and
others. All refugees will be entitled to compensation for their
“refugeehood” and loss of properties.
5. When the permanent status agreement is fully implemented, it will mean
the end of the conflict and no further claims will be made by either side.
The parties will recognize Palestine and Israel as the homelands of their
respective peoples 6. The Palestinian state will have sovereignty over its
land, water, and airspace. But Israeli will be allowed to use the
Palestinian airspace for training purposes, and will maintain two early
warning stations in the West Bank for 15 years. The multinational force will
remain in the Palestinian state for an indefinite period of time and its
responsibility will be to insure the implementation of the agreement, and to
monitor territorial borders and coast of the Palestinian state including its
international border crossings.
Now that you have been informed of each element of the permanent compromise
settlement, tell us what you think of each of its item. Do you agree or
disagree with it.
37-1B)Item #1: withdrawal to 1967 borders with territorial swap
5.6% 1) Strongly agree
57.1% 2) Agree
25.5% 3) Disagree
9.4% 4) Strongly Disagree
2.3% 5) No Opinion /Don’t Know
37-2B)Item #2: a state without an army but with international forces
1.4% 1) Strongly agree
26.5% 2) Agree
54.3% 3) Disagree
16.4% 4) Strongly Disagree
1.4% 5) No Opinion /Don’t Know
37-3B)Item #3: East Jerusalem as capital of the state of Palestine after it
is divided
1.0% 1) Strongly agree
36.9% 2) Agree
44.5% 3) Disagree
16.4% 4) Strongly Disagree
1.1% 5) No Opinion /Don’t Know
37-4B)Item #4: refugees with five options for permanent residence
1.7% 1) Strongly agree
39.3% 2) Agree
41.8% 3) Disagree
14.7% 4) Strongly Disagree
2.4% 5) No Opinion /Don’t Know
37-5B)Item #5: end of conflict
5.2% 1) Strongly agree
50.3% 2) Agree
31.7% 3) Disagree
11.1% 4) Strongly Disagree
1.8% 5) No Opinion /Don’t Know
37-6B)Item #6: a sovereign state with security arrangements
2.3% 1) Strongly agree
35.5% 2) Agree
45.3% 3) Disagree
14.9% 4) Strongly Disagree
2.0% 5) No Opinion /Don’t Know
37-7B)Item #7: the combined elements as one permanent status settlement
1.5% 1) Strongly agree
44.2% 2) Agree
38.8% 3) Disagree
13.5% 4) Strongly Disagree
2.0% 5) No Opinion /Don’t Know
38-1B)And what is the Palestinian majority opinion on this combined package
for a permanent status settlement? Do most Palestinians in the West Bank
and Gaza support or oppose this combined final status package?
49.4% 1) Majority supports
40.7% 2) Majority opposes
9.9% 3) DK/NA
38-2B)And what is the Israeli majority opinion on this combined package for
a permanent status settlement? Do most Israelis support or oppose this
combined final status package?
36.8% 1) Majority supports
50.5% 2) Majority opposes
12.7% 3) DK/NA
39) If a peace agreement is reached, and a Palestinian state is established
and recognized by Israel, would you support or oppose the efforts to reach
full reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinian state?
9.4% 1) Would strongly support
63.1% 2) Would support
20.5% 3) Would oppose
5.8% 4) Would strongly oppose
1.2% 5) DK/NA
40) And what are your expectations regarding the chances for the success or
failure of the negotiations launched by Annapolis conference? Will it
succeed or fail in ending Israeli occupation?
0.7% 1) certainly will succeed
15.6% 2) will succeed
51.0% 3) will fail
25.0% 4) certainly will fail
7.7% 5) DK/NA
41) The joint statement issued by the Annapolis conference stated that the
two sides will seek to conclude the permanent status negotiations before the
end of 2008. Do you think they will indeed succeed in achieving that on the
period indicated?
0.5% 1) certainly will succeed
14.4% 2) will succeed
53.8% 3) will not succeed
25.6% 4) certainly will not succeed
5.7% 5) DK/NA
42)In your view, is it possible or impossible these days to reach a
compromise permanent status agreement with the Olmert government?
0.7% 1) Certainly possible
21.5% 2) Possible
47.5% 3) Impossible
27.6% 4) Certainly impossible
2.7% 5) DK/NA
43)With regard to meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA
President Mahmud Abbas, do you see them beneficial and should be continued
or do you see them unbeneficial and should be stopped?
27.0% 1) Beneficial, and should continue
68.4% 2) Unbeneficial and should stop
4.6% 3) NO/DK
44)How soon do you think will a political settlement between Israel and the
Palestinians be achieved?
42.0% 1) A political settlement is not possible ever
21.9% 2) Only in many generations to come
8.9% 3) Only in the next generation
5.8% 4) Only in the next decade
15.6% 5) Only in the next few years
5.8% 6) No Opinion /Don’t know
45)After reaching a peace agreement between the Palestinian people and
Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state that is recognized by
Israel, how soon do you think will reconciliation between the two peoples be
achieved?
42.9% 1) Reconciliation is not possible ever
20.5% 2) Only in many generations to come
12.4% 3) Only in the next generation
6.3% 4) Only in the next decade
11.4% 5) On the next few years
6.5% 6) No Opinion /Don’t know
46)There is a talk about conducting Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on an
interim settlement whereby a Palestinian state is established in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip while other issues, such as refugees, would be
postponed. Other people prefer negotiations that would lead to a
comprehensive settlement that would lead to permanent peace and end of
conflict with all issues, including refugees, resolved. Which of the two
positions do you prefer: the interim settlement or the comprehensive one?
2.3% 1) definitely the interim
12.9% 2) the interim
60.2% 3) the comprehensive
20.4% 4) definitely the comprehensive
4.1% 5) DK/NA
47)Some people think that a solution based on the establishment of a
Palestinian state along side Israel, known as the two-state solution, is
difficult to achieve and that Palestinians should struggle for another
solution, one in which Israel is unified with the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip to establish one state whereby Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews
would be equal. In your view, which of the two solutions is more difficult
to achieve?
35.7% 1) two-state solution
37.5% 2) the one-state solution
24.8% 3) both equally difficult
1.9% 4) DK/NA
48)Regardless of its difficulty, which of the two solutions do you support?
57.6% 1) the two-state solution
27.0% 2) the one-state solution
10.4% 3) another solution (specify ——– )
5.1% 4) DK/NA
49)Do you support or oppose the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip
against towns and cities inside Israel, such as Sderot and Ashkelon?
17.3% 1) Certainly support
39.9% 2) Support
33.0% 3) Oppose
6.5% 4) Certainly oppose
3.2% 5) NA/DK
50)Concerning armed attacks against Israeli civilians inside Israel, I..
15.9% 1) Strongly support
38.9% 2) Support
37.2% 3) Oppose
4.5% 4) Strongly oppose
3.4% 5) DK/NA
51) Hamas is currently negotiation with Israel via Egypt to conclude a
ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Do you support or oppose a ceasefire
in the Gaza Strip?
13.9% 1) certainly support
63.7% 2) support
18.2% 3) oppose
3.0% 4) certainly oppose
1.2% 5) DK/NA
52_1)If the ceasefire is restricted to the Gaza Strip, and does not cover
the West Bank, would you support or oppose it?
2.1% 1) certainly support
20.7% 2) support
64.9% 3) oppose
10.6% 4) certainly oppose
1.7% 5) DK/NA
52_2)What if the ceasefire did not stipulate an immediate opening of the
crossings, especially the Rafah crossing to Egypt, would you in this case
support or oppose it?
2.2% 1) certainly support
17.6% 2) support
64.7% 3) oppose
13.9% 4) certainly oppose
1.7% 5) DK/NA
53)There is talk of indirect Israeli-Syrian negotiations. If significant
progress is made in these negotiations or if a peace agreement is reached
between the two countries, do you think such a development would represent
an impediment to the success of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, would
contribute to successful Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, or would have no
impact?
31.8% 1) will contribute to successful Palestinian-Israeli negotiations
25.8% 2) will represent an impediment to successful Palestinian-Israeli
negotiations
34.6% 3) will have no impact on Palestinian-Israeli negotiations
7.7% 4) DK/NA
54)What do you expect to happen between Palestinians and Israelis, if indeed
a cease fire agreement is achieved with Hamas?
19.9% 1) Negotiations will resume soon enough and armed confrontations will
stop
39.5% 2) Negotiations will resume but some armed attacks will continue
34.9% 3) Armed confrontations will not stop and the two sides will not
return to negotiations
5.8% 4) DK/NA
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No (28): 75.8% Reconciliation impossible this generation even if Palestinians get all they want
PSR Poll No. 28
12 June 2008
Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No (28)
Comment by yamit82 — November 8, 2008 @ 9:01 am