CHICAGO — The Windy City’s mayor, Rahm Israel Emanuel, is smiling.
That’s because Chicago’s first Jewish mayor, and a fave of President Obama, had to face a runoff for the first time in Chicago mayoral history.
With a campaign war chest of $30 million, Emanuel beat Cook County Commissioner and former Illinois State Senator Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, 56% to 44%, in yesterday’s runoff.
For “Rahmbo,” it was a sweet victory.
As the mayor left his victory party, a solitary reporter asked him how it felt to have beaten Jesus.
Rahmbo’s response was typically acerbic and arrogant: “It felt friggin’ good!”
The mayor, who was President Obama’s first Chief of Staff, then stepped to a podium and instantly revived the tensions and passions surrounding the long, nasty 2008 presidential primary fight between Barack and Hillary.
“Mexicans be damned! I can do anything!”
“Hillary is feeling entitled to the nomination in 2016.”
“Us Democrats, especially me, love fights, so I’m running against her.”
“Everybody knows how friggin’ tough I am. And since I’m Modern Orthodox Jewish, and way tougher than nails, I will be even tougher against Iran than Netanyahu or Hillary ever could be."
As of press time, Bill Clinton, the most articulate surrogate for Hillary in 2008, had moved Rahmbo to the top of his enemies list.
In Denver yesterday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush met privately with oil industry executives and Colorado Republican politicians. Our associate solitary reporter, Richard Browne, tried to bluster his way in to the closed meeting, saying that the solitary reporter was on his way back home to Denver from Chicago and demanded to meet with Bush, but Browne, a very tough and very savvy Army veteran, was carted off by four 30-something GOP bodyguards.
Write a comment