"The powerful position for Emanuel has also raised concerns among those
looking for an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In an interview with the Israeli daily Ma'ariv , Emanuel's father, Dr
Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son's appointment would
be good for Israel. "Obviously he will influence the president to be
pro-Israel," he was quoted as saying. "Why wouldn't he be? What is he,
an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."
The comments raised immediate protests from Arab community groups."
New figures indicate Obama faces deepening recessionBarack Obama was confronted once again with the enormity of the economic
crisis he will inherit from George Bush today with new figures
suggesting a deepening recession.
The increasingly dismal picture, with the loss of 240,000 jobs in
October bringing unemployment to a 14-year high, emerged only hours
before Obama sat down with his economic advisers to discuss the
priorities of the first 100 days of his administration.
Obama's honeymoon looks like it could be short, given the problems fast
piling up in his in tray, from controversy over of his new chief of
staff Rahm Emmanuel's close links with Israel to Pentagon demands for
more troops to tackle the deteriorating security situation in
Afghanistan and a stand-off with the Iraqi government over a security
pact to allow US troops to remain after December.
But it is the economy which is expected to dominate talks between Obama
and Bush when the president-elect visits the White House on Monday to
discuss the transition.
The economy is potentially the most awkward issue as Obama and Bush
strive to make the transfer of power as smooth as possible. The two have
to try to mesh the ideas of the existing Treasury secretary, Henry
Paulson, with the different approach being advocated by Obama's team.
The White House press spokesman, Tony Fratto, issued a call today for a
united front, saying the markets needed certainty not "conflicting
messages".
Obama spent the early part of today at a parent's meeting with teachers
at the school of his daughters Malia and Sasha, a diary date that had
been postponed because of the campaign.
But the focus of today was his session with with his 17-member economics
team in Chicago, and a brains trust drawn from billionaire Warren
Buffett, hotel chain heiress Penny Pritzker, executives of Google and
Time Warner and political allies.
Obama was also due to deliver his first press conference as
president-elect, his first public appearance since his election victory
speech on Tuesday night.
Larry Summers, who is on Obama's short-list for the Treasury secretary
job, told the NBC's Today show: "We didn't get into this situation in a
day or a week, and we're not going to get out of it in a day or a week.
And there's not going to be a silver bullet."
The White House characterised the unemployment figures as historical and
did not take into account measures that have been put in place to
stimulte the economy over the last month. "The federal government has
taken aggressive and decisive measures to address this situation," Bush
said.
During the election campaign, Obama was able to appeal to as many people
as possible by keeping his policy statements vague. But each decision in
government can lead to disappointment and disillusionment for some.
Although the appointment of Emanuel as chief of staff was widely
welcomed - by some Republican members of Congress as well as Democrats -
the Chicagoan has also been criticised as a fiercely partisan veteran of
Bill Clinton's White House.
Some have cast the choice of Emanuel as a retreat on Obama's campaign
promise to bring a post-partisan era to Washington.
Emanuel's reputation for histrionics and temper tantrums were also seen
as a deviation from the disciplined and low key nature of the "no-drama
Obama" campaign.
Politico reported today that Peter Rouse, who was Obama's Senate chief
of staff, would serve as Emanuels's deputy.
The powerful position for Emanuel has also raised concerns among those
looking for an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In an interview with the Israeli daily Ma'ariv , Emanuel's father, Dr
Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son's appointment would
be good for Israel. "Obviously he will influence the president to be
pro-Israel," he was quoted as saying. "Why wouldn't he be? What is he,
an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."
The comments raised immediate protests from Arab community groups.
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