Obama's favorite films are the first two of the Godfather Trilogy.
These classic films document the rise of and transfer of leadership of the Corleone "Mafia" crime family.
The stories are rich and you can often find parallels within other dramatic stories. Indeed, its been argued that Barack Obama has many qualities of Michael Corleone.
Most interesting to me, is the pick of Rahm Emanuel.
In scenes that could have been written directly for the Godfather...
In a story that has become part of Washington lore, Emanuel mailed a rotting fish to a former coworker after the two parted ways.
...Newest Jewish U.S. Representative Makes Instant Impact--JTA (emphasis mine)
Fans of the franchise might immediately recognize the reference. A dead fish is "a Sicilian Message - He sleeps with the fishes"
...And there's the story of how, the night after Clinton was elected, Emanuel was so angry at the president's enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting "Dead! . . . Dead! . . . Dead!" and plunging the knife into the table after every name. "When he was done, the table looked like a lunar landscape," one campaign veteran recalls. "It was like something out of The Godfather. But that's Rahm for you."
...The Enforcer--Rolling Stone (emphasis mine)
Exaggerations? Perhaps, but too many of these quotes are around, and there is no smoke without fire.
The larger point here is that the ruthless pragmatism that Michael Corleone and Barack Obama's campaign so clearly share will be continued in Barack Obama's administration.
"It's not personal, it's business"
Obama has an agenda. A mandate. He's also not, in my view likely to bend backwards to the liberal wing of the party unless HE believes that is the correct course. I see the potential for a real long-term national alignment of power, but that realignment will necessitate a few components:
- Implement the promised tax changes. The Republicans would like to be the party of low taxes. If Obama cuts the middle class taxes as planned, there will likely be very little room for them to promise further. They will be left promising tax cuts for the rich, which will go against their inevitable "populist" message.
- Immigration reform. The white vote is slowly shrinking and the fastest growing minority is Hispanics. Bush and Rove were indeed correct. Lock in the votes of the Hispanics and you will cement a crucial component of a winning coalition for now and the future.
- Green Industry Investment. The most crucial area of "Change" to my mind is a new energy policy. By developing leadership in this area, fostering new technologies and rewarding "good" local energy businesses, we can keep more of the GDP in the U.S., reduce "global" dependence and create some un-exportable jobs.
Many of these goals will need additional funding: funding for which we will not have complete cost savings and thus goals that the "blue dog" democrats will oppose.
Consigliere entered the popular English lexicon through Mario Puzo's Godfather novel and the subsequent films made from them. In these portrayals, the consigliere is an adviser or counselor to a mafia boss, with the additional responsibility of representing the Don in important meetings within the Don's crime family or with other crime families. The consigliere is a close, trusted friend and confidant.
... Consigliere--wikipedia
Obama needs an iron-willed competitor to cajole, strong-arm and even bully the congress into doing what is necessary. We pick an executive-in-chief. It was wise to trust Obama's judgement in the campaign: how he fought, how he convinced, how he advertised. He's a smart guy. If you trusted him, or saw he was wise during his campaign... trust this decision.
Some progressives will be disappointed that "we" can't get our way on everything with Obama. That's understandable, but I see in Obama a desire to achieve, tempered by a pragmatic ruthlessness.
He'll get done what he can get done, and Rahm is the man to help.