Matt Yglesias

41 Responses to “Life Imitates Art Imitating Life”

1. howie Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 5:22 pm

   And Sam Seborn throws bricks at the new administration for ABC News?

2. Darrin Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 5:34 pm

   The parallels go further –

   Santos beats established Dem politician with huge brand name who expected to walk to nomination.

   Santos faces Vinick, a straight-talking maverick from California…

   Vinick chooses vapid, Christian wacko governor to be running mate.

   Major catastrophe — nuclear power plant meltdown — that Vinick has ties to flips race completely on its head.

   Santos took Texas in the West Wing world, but Obama took N.C., Virginia and nearly took Georgia.

   There the parallels end. Santos barely beat Vinick. Santos also made Vinick his Sec. of State.

   Still… too close for comfort.

3. right Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 6:17 pm

   Josh Lyman is so much cooler than Rahm Emanuel.

   And Joe Biden is still alive.

4. Mixner Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

   Does this mean Obama may have fathered an illegitimate child and be secretly paying off its mother?

5. Jeffrey Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 6:37 pm

   Madelyn Dunham = Leo McGarry.

6. Kolohe Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

   Per wikipedia, Rahm Emanuel’s older brother, Ari, is the model for Jeremy Piven’s depiction of Ari Gold.

7. Dan Kervick Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 7:13 pm

   Well, the Emanuel pick is a bit of a bummer for me. One of several bummers to come, no doubt, but hopefully one mixed in with plenty of uplifting decisions as well.

8. Geoff Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 7:32 pm

   But did Josh Lyman chop off his middle finger in an Arby’s meat slicing accident?

   Ha!

9. Matt D Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

   Let’s just really hope that, with a sliver-tongued outsider campaigning on a platform of change winning a racially-improbable victory in times of financial crisis, life won’t continue to imitate Season 4-5 of The Wire. Because Obama as Tommy Carcetti is a depressing thought.

   Possibly redeeming thought: Obama wont be trying to run for governor.

10. rea Says:
    November 5th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

    Well, the Emanuel pick is a bit of a bummer for me.

    I know what you mean, but think again. I don’t like Emanuel’s policies, but he has a history of being an efficient staffer. Chief of Staff, as opposed to a policy position, is just the place for him

11. Dan Kervick Says:
    November 5th, 2008 at 10:22 pm

    It’s not the policy positions. I just do not believe Emanuel represents the sort of open, consensus-building approach to governance that Barack Obama wants to project for his administration. Emanuel is an insider power-broker and partisan hatchet man – the Dems’ Tom DeLay. That’s not the Obama style.

    This is not about ideology; it’s about temperament and governing style. Emanuel sends the wrong message of take-no-prisoners partisanship, and would be a bad first step.

12. jharper Says:
    November 5th, 2008 at 11:34 pm

    In the real world, even the most idealistic president needs a few folks on his side who know where the power switches are. That those folks are in a subordinate role — and have a good and frank relationship with President Obama — is all I need to know.

13. Mike Says:
    November 5th, 2008 at 11:52 pm

    And Emanuel’s brother is the model for Ari on Entourage and the agent in Adaptation who says “fucked her in the ass.” Other brother is a prominent health policy expert. You got the brothers Foer. I saw some op-ed about autism from a guy with the last name of Baren Cohen, and, yep, it’s Ali G’s cousin. You damn high-achieving Jews.

14. PGE Says:
    November 6th, 2008 at 12:12 am

    Bipartisanship will only work when Republicans stop seeing it as a tactic to play Dems. Rahm as CoS might be the best way of making that happen. If Obama’s going to extend a hand to Republicans, having a CoS that will go all Kaiser Soze on anyone who tries to f*ck with him is exactly what he needs. I’m no fan of DLC type Dems, but I think Emanuel would be a great choice for that role.

15. pseudonymous in nc Says:
    November 6th, 2008 at 2:34 am

    Emanuel is an insider power-broker and partisan hatchet man – the Dems’ Tom DeLay. That’s not the Obama style.

    I’m not sure what you’re getting at here. Obama ran the tightest campaign we’ve seen in a long time. Pretty much leak-free, no public back-stabbing,

    Now, in DC, you’re going to be dealing with the Village, the permanent media and lobby establishment that considers itself the true ruling class while the preznit and political team are just short-term tenants. Like PGE, I think the idea behind Rahm as CoS is to make clear that bipartisanship isn’t going to be date-rape; it’s also to ensure that those coming into the administration — there are going to be a lot of new people — won’t be drawn too deeply into DC’s sociopolitics. You have a gripe with the way things are being run? You sort things out in private, instead of spilling to the journo who buys you martinis after work.

16. tammanycall Says:
    November 6th, 2008 at 3:11 am

    I’d say Obama knows Rahm better than anyone here does or ever will, seeing as how they’re both Chicago residents, and Axelrod is a very close friend of Emmanuel’s. On policy he is too conservative for me, but Obama seems to trust him, and he’s been in the executive branch with WJC before, so I think it’s a good choice. Rahm’s known for his loyalty and his partisanship, which I think is good for COS. The leader can be bipartisan and gracious, but his second should be fiercely loyal to him. Rahm could fit that role.

17. Jack Says:
    November 6th, 2008 at 5:31 am

    So John McCain for Secretary of State, then?

18. DaveMB Says:
    November 6th, 2008 at 2:13 pm

    Darrin at comment 2: A correction on the West Wing analogue of Palin: Ray Sullivan was like Palin being a young, extremely anti-abortion small-state governor, but as far as we saw him he wasn’t “vapid”. He had been a successful prosecutor and appeared to work well with Vinick. At least according to the Wikipedia article on him, he was considered a frontrunner for the 2010 GOP nomination.

19. John Robie Says:
    November 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

    @Dan Kervick I disagree – picking Emanuel makes it clear that Obama isn’t going to be doing the kind of “bipartisanship” that means getting down on his knees to blow the Republicans. Obama needs an axeman. This could be a good team.

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