"Change" started today ... already!! O B A M A?

Rahm Emanuel Mulling Obama Job Offer

[good gawd!! Israeli citizen, zionist, hawk asked to serve as Obama chief of staff
aside: the whole darn country is acting like the fundamentalist right; in ecstasy, on que to masters]

President-elect Barack Obama wasted no time in making his first personnel move, asking Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel to serve as his chief of staff. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the fourth ranking Democrat in the House, is strongly considering an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to serve as White House chief of staff, according to Democratic sources.

Obama's offer comes less than 24 hours after he scored a sweeping victory over John McCain -- racking up 349 electoral votes (and counting).

Even before Obama had secured the presidency, rumors that he would choose Emanuel ran rampant among the political chattering class.

Emanuel is widely seen as one of the rising stars within the Democratic Party -- elected to a Chicago-area seat in 2002 and the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the 2006 election in which he led his party back to the majority.

Prior to coming to Congress, Emanuel was a senior staffer at the DCCC as well as in the Clinton White House. During that time, Emanuel built a reputation as one of the savviest political minds in the party and also one of the most confrontational and sharp elbowed. His tactics and approach earned him the name "Rahmbo."

By acting immediately to fill this important position Obama is showing that, as promised, he will move quickly to fill senior roles in his White House -- perhaps cognizant of the slow pace and struggles of former President Bill Clinton during his own transition process in 1992.

In pursuing Emanuel, Obama is also sending a message to Capitol Hill that he recognizes the need to work with them by selecting one of their own but that he also will not be afraid to play tough -- Emanuel's trademark.

On the political side, Emanuel's appointment will set off a special election in his heavily Democratic 5th district with a cavalcade of ambitious Democrats lining up to run. Among the names mentioned: Cook County commissioners Mike Quigley and Forrest Claypool, state Sen. Ira Silverstein, state Rep. John Fritchey, 38th Ward Alderman Tom Allen, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, and 39th Ward Alderman Margaret Laurino.