Posted on Nov 6, 2008 in Barack Obama, Democrats, Israel, Party Politics

Obama’s first move as President-elect is a good one

While I’m sure there are still millions of Republicans throughout the country mourning John McCain’s electoral shortcomings, there is another group within the Party that realizes that you have to suck it up and move on.

Even though some might not like it, the fact of the matter is that Barack Obama is going to be the next President of the United States.

It would be too easy for me to just sit back and attack the prospects of an Obama presidency, so instead of being another talking head, I figure that for the time being, I’ll just call things as I see them. If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, you know first hand that I don’t subscribe to Party talking points.

With that, it brings me no dissatisfaction to praise President-elect Obama in his selection of Congressman Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff.

Despite that fact that Rahm Emanuel and I disagree on many issues, I think that he brings a point-of-view that will be healthy for setting the tone of the Obama Administration.

Yes, I’m sure you think I’m crazy right about now. However one of the biggest doubts that people have about Barack Obama is whether or not he’ll be able to make the right decision should the United States, or one of our allies face significant conflict.

For those of you who know about Rahm Emanuel, odds are you also know that he comes from a very devout Jewish family (he’s Orthodox) and is one of the most ardent supporters of Israel in the United States Congress. In fact, during the Gulf War, Congressman Emanuel even volunteered to serve with the Israel Defense Forces.

I think it’s extremely symbolic for a candidate who was attacked for allegedly being Muslim and anti-Israel, to make a modern-Orthodox and openly pro-Israel Congressman the first pick of his Administration.

Furthermore, let’s not forget that in Congress his nickname is “Rahm-bo,” due to his aggressive nature of getting things done. Don’t expect him to hide his opinions from President Obama, especially when it comes to issues (like Israel) that he is passionate about.

The Chief of Staff is one of the few people in the Administration that havs daily access to the President, so there should be no doubt that Rahm Emanuel will play a key role in President Obama’s decision making process.

While I don’t think that I’m going to agree with all of President-elect Obama’s choices, I definitely believe that he has started his trek to the White House on the right foot by picking Congressman Emanuel.