Exit Rahm Emanuel, Enter Pete Rouse

Emanuel out as WHouse chief of staff
AP President Barack Obama has freed his hard-charging Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to run for mayor of Chicago, replacing the White House gatekeeper with Pete Rouse, as quiet and low-key as his predecessor was boisterous. The ceremonial changing of the guard marked a clear loss for Obama, who relied heavily on Emanuel's intensity, discipline and congressional relationships to keep the White House focused and aggressive. "We could not have accomplished what we've accomplished without Rahm's...

Choked-up Emanuel leaves White House
An emotional Rahm Emanuel said goodbye Friday to the White House in what President Obama described as the least suspenseful announcement in history. Emanuels departure was rumored from the moment Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced his Retirement, and the news of a White House announcement that he would leave immediately to run for Daleys old job leaked out early this week. But that didnt prevent the White House from giving Emanuel a grand send-off from the East Room, where most of...

Obama hails departing Rahm Emanuel, the #$&@)* tough guy who chokes up anyway (SFW)
Rahm Emanuel, the savyy, rough-talking top aide to President Obama , left his White House job today to return to what every Windy City pol regards as the Big Leagues, the nation's No. 3 city where he'll seek to become head of the long-dominant Democratic machine that he once served as a go-fer. He must register his candidacy by Nov. 22. Obama gave his longtime political friend a send-off full of bounteous praise (see full text and video below), and what sounded like a mayoral...

John Boehner's 'Pale,' 'Pudgy' Chief of Staff vs. Obama's 'Low-Key and Lumbering,' Yet Soothing, One
A tale of two chiefs of staff? One works for Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner, the other for Democratic President Barack Obama. Two men who shun the limelight and share similar physical features. But while Republican Leader John Boehner’s chief-of-staff Barry Jackson was called "dough-faced," "pale" and "pudgy" in a recent Times profile, President Barack Obama’s new Chief of Staff Pete Rouse is at worst merely “low-key and lumbering." The White House announced...

Now It's Rouse's Show
Rahm is now officially gone. In his place, is Pete Rouse . Intensely private, Mr. Rouse is unmarried and lives alone in northwest Washington with his two cats. (He is a big cat person, friends say.) He is not given to socializing; when Mr. Daschle hosted a huge staff reunion just before he left the Senate, Mr. Rouse did not show. He is also a huge music buff; in 2008, he persuaded the surviving members of The Grateful Dead to reunite and campaign for Mr. Obama. I saw the Dead play at Penn...

Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct. 1, 2010 - Rahm Emanuel Leaves White House
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct. 1, 2010 - Rahm Emanuel Leaves White House The big news in Washington, is Rahm Emanuel stepping down as White House Chief of Staff to return to Illinois to run for Mayor of Chicago. One wonders if Chicago is doomed to remain a political cesspool with the return of Emanuel. Obama said about Emanuel's leaving that "I will miss him dearly." Pete Rouse, age 62 and a longtime stealth adviser of Obama will become the new Chief of Staff. David Axelrod, Obama senior...

Rahm Emanuel: Why Chicago mayor bid may be his toughest race yet
Rahm Emanuel was sent off from his post as White House Chief of Staff by President Obama on Friday. Political analysts say he won't have it easy trying to win the race for Chicago mayor.

Rahm Emanuel gets an emotional send-off
A choked-up but Chicago-focused Rahm Emanuel stepped down Friday as White House Chief of Staff — as an emotional President Obama pronounced him “extraordinarily well-qualified” to serve as mayor of Chicago. Obama and Emanuel, who bear-hugged twice during a heartfelt send-off in the East Room, were joined by interim replacement Pete Rouse – the president’s low-key former Senate aide and Capitol Hill operative who demonstrated his aversion to the media by...

Obama's new chief of staff is 'interim,' but will stay at least 'several months'
After a lot of discussion, President Obama and Pete Rouse decided he would be an "interim" Chief of Staff, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today he will keep the job for at least "several months." Rouse, previously a senior adviser, will also be a Candidate when Obama contemplates a full-time chief, Gibbs said. And he will move into Emanuel's (larger) office. "Pete enjoys the complete trust of the president," Gibbs said. Gibbs noted that Rouse was already working on an...

Rahm Emanuel: another day off message for Barack Obama
Rahm Emanuel (Photo: Getty) So today we are going to be told what we all know already: Rahm Emanuel is quitting as White House Chief of Staff to run for Mayor of Chicago. For some inexplicable reason, President Barack Obama thinks that this merits an East Room announcement. On balance, I think Emanuel will be a loss. Yes, he’s abrasive and foul-mouthed and he’s alienated Liberals. And he had failed to woo Republicans on Capitol Hill despite the respect they have for him. But he...

Rahm Emanuel: Obama's tactician-in-chief revs up run for mayor
Washington -- Before White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel gave his last briefing to President Obama near 5:30 p.m. Thursday, winding up a historic 20-month tenure, he looked exuberant and excited about returning to Chicago to run for mayor. Emanuel flies home over the weekend and Monday launches his Mayoral Campaign -- not with a splashy announcement but instead a "listening tour" in Chicago's neighborhoods as he starts to build a coalition seeking to survive the Feb. 22 nonpartisan primary...

On the Radar: Rahm Emanuel, Elena Kagan, flooding
Emanuel out? White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will step down Friday to run for mayor of Chicago, two sources told CNN on Thursday. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Obama will make "a personnel announcement" Friday morning but refused to confirm it would relate to Emanuel's expected departure. Gibbs said he would "bet on having two announcements" Friday morning a possible reference to Emanuel's successor....

White House 'enforcer' quits post
US President Barack Obama has announced the Resignation of his hard-hitting Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who is poised for a bid to be mayor of Chicago. Mr Obama said the "least suspenseful announcement of all time" was a bittersweet moment for the White House. Pete Rouse, who served as Mr Obama's Chief of Staff in the US Senate, will be Mr Emanuel's interim replacement. The US president described Mr Emanuel as "one of a kind". Continue reading the main story...

Obama Bids Farewell To Emanuel, Taps Rouse As CoS
By Jeremy P. Jacobs In an emotional ceremony on Friday marked by lengthy standing ovations, Pres. Obama bid farewell to Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as he leaves the White House to pursue a bid for mayor of Chicago. "Welcome to the least suspenseful announcement of all time," Obama joked as he took the podium. "In the last 20 months, Rahm has exceeded all of my expectations," Obama said. "It is fair to say we could not have accomplished what we accomplished without Rahm." Obama passed the...

Emanuel steps down as chief of staff; Rouse to take over
President Obama transferred the reins of his White House Friday from notoriously explosive Rahm Emanuel to Pete Rouse , a longtime Obama adviser who will bring a much lower-key approach as the new Chief of Staff. Cracking jokes about Emanuel's legendary salty language and waxing emotional, Obama declared it a "bittersweet day" as he sent his former chief whip-cracker off to run for mayor of Chicago -- a departure that had been telegraphed for weeks. "Good morning, everybody, and welcome...

OBAMA SAID POISED TO APPOINT PETER ROUSE WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF
Barack Obama is poised to announce that he is entrusting the post of his Chief of Staff to a low-key White House insider following the announcement expected on Friday morning that Rahm Emanuel is to step down from the crucial role. Peter Rouse, a cat-loving bachelor known for his aversion to the limelight together with his consummate skills as a problem solver, has been named by several news sources as Emanuel’s replacement. The White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, indicated that...

Towey's Hypocritical Hooey: Bush 'Faith Czar' Complains About Politicization Of White House Faith-Based Office
Under James Towey, the White House faith-based office was used to promote Republican Candidates in tight House and Senate races. James Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under President George W. Bush, had an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal recently carping because President Barack Obama has used his administrations faith-based offices to let Americans know about the New Health-care law. Towey says if he had politicized his...

Obama to make it official, finally: Emanuel quitting chief of staff's job, Rouse in as interim
Washington — President Barack Obama is making official what has been clear for days: Rahm Emanuel, the relentless enforcer of his agenda as White House Chief of Staff, is resigning. The job Emanuel wants now is mayor of Chicago, where his next fierce political fight awaits. What Emanuel leaves behind is more than a staff job. It is the most demanding and influential position in the White House — save for Obama's. The person who holds it is entrusted to shape the president's...

Who is Pete Rouse? He's not Rahm Emanuel
The president's new Chief of Staff Pete Rouse, hailed by Obama as a 'skillful problem-solver,' is a Washington Veteran known for working quietly behind the scenes and avoiding the media.

Rahm Emanuel Steps Down, Pete Rouse Will Be Interim Chief Of Staff
Source: HuffPo President Barack Obama on Friday said a bittersweet goodbye to the energetic and fierce manager of his White House, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and elevated a quiet and seasoned adviser, Pete Rouse, to the most important gate-keeping job in American politics. "We could not have accomplished what we've accomplished without Rahm's leadership," Obama said. Emanuel is departing after nearly two grueling years to run for Chicago mayor. The announcement was such a poorly kept secret...

At least they're gone
Democrats have lefttown without passing a Budget or any appropriations bills, nor have they answered the questionAmericansin every Tax bracket are asking: What will my taxrate be comeJanuary 2011? The focus for Democrats now is not on legislating, nor on touting their unpopular accomplishments, but rather on Attack Ads calling into question the personal records of their Republican opponents taxes, business dealings, Divorce proceedings. It isn't likely to be so effective,...

While Officially Confirming Nothing, White House Sends to Reporters 9-Month-Old Photo of POTUS with Pete Rouse
White House senior adviser Pete Rouse will tomorrow be named Chief of Staff on an interim basis. The White House will not officially confirm this. But officials just sent out a photograph of Rouse with President Obama from last December. All part of this weird kabuki where White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs obliquely discussed Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuels legacy today, and said tomorrow the president would have a personnel announcement, but didnt confirm what we all know: Rahm go...

Obama will announce Rahm Emanuel's departure on Friday
President Obama has scheduled a "personnel announcement" for Friday from the White House East Room when he is expected to announce that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is leaving to run for mayor of Chicago. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs refused to confirm reports that Emanuel is leaving, but Gibbs did take time to praise Emanuel and Pete Rouse, a senior adviser to the president who is likely to take over as acting Chief of Staff. Gibbs said Obama begins and ends his day in meetings...

Rahm Emanuel Heads To Chicago " Progressives Flip As Rouse Named Staff Replacement
Rahm Emanuel is due to leave the White House Today as Obama’s Chief of Staff, Pete Rouse has been named interim replacement. Emanuel will seek the office of Mayor of Chicago, a position left open with the current Mayor Daley’s Retirement. Apparently, Emanuel’s style of management, which most observers would consider nothing short of brilliant, (considering he masterminded the Democrat resurgence in 2006, pandering to the press, while pushing what came to be known as...

Obama bids farewell to Rahm Emanuel, names Peter Rouse as successor
While Rahm Emanuel, the outgoing White House Chief of Staff, choked up and joked about his reputation for foul language, Peter Rouse, the man who is replacing him, stood silently to the side. President Obama bid farewell to Mr. Emanuel and tapped Mr. R...