Rahm Emanuel is the Dick Cheney of the Obama Administration

Rahm Emanuel has control of the fulsome domestic policy agenda of the Obama administration as Dick Cheney had of the aggressive foreign policy agenda of the early G. W. Bush administration. In both cases, the presidents had gaps in experience and relationships that were filled by the hard-charging White House operatives.

Emanuel articulated the main Obama domestic slogan when he said “let no crisis go unused.” Cheney’s foreign policy slogan could be paraphrased as “even if there is only a one percent chance.” From these philosophical starting points, the powerful chief of staff and vice president dominated their respective fields of action.