# Rahm Emanuel for president in the future?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [December 2, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163 "2015-12-02T00:34:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/1 "2015-12-02T00:34:57Z")
With the possible cover up of the Laquan McDonald shooting that has rocked the City of Chicago and the U.S., Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago (D), and the former White House Chief of Staff had always wanted to be president of the United States. Do you see Rahm Emanuel running for president in the 2020’s, or is he too corrupt for the presidency?
> **[President Rahm? Maybe.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/02/20/president-rahm-maybe/)**
>
> The pros and cons of a presidential candidacy by the mayor of Chicago.
> **[Rahm Emanuel Might Run for President in 2016, Hasn’t Told His Friends Yet](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2013/02/emanuel-might-run-for-president-in-2016.html)**
>
> And only if Hillary is sitting this one out.
> **[Rahm Emanuel Toying With 2016 Presidential Run, Sources Say](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rahm-emanuel-toying-with-2016-presidential-run-sources-say)**
>
> Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel might make a go for 2016, two well-connected Democrats tell Lloyd Grove.
> **[Kerry, O'Malley Among Top 10 Hillary Challengers](https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/hillary-omalley-challenger-2026/2015/05/13/id/644274/)**
>
> Amid a stream of unfavorable news reports about Hillary Clinton's emails, the ongoing Benghazi probe, and the dealings of the Clinton Foundation, there is growing buzz among leading Democrats that Hillary Clinton may expect a stiff challenge to her...
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### Author:  [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/2 "2015-12-02T00:48:24Z")
Rahm Emanuel will never be the president of the United States.
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### Author:  [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/3 "2015-12-02T00:53:45Z")
He’ll be exceedingly fortunate to keep the job he has till his tenure is up without getting canned.
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### Author:  [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/4 "2015-12-02T00:55:59Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#):
>
> Rahm Emanuel will never be the president of the United States.
I wouldn’t say never (I never thought Trump would be leading at this stage), but big-city mayors have not had much luck in Presidential runs in the last 60-80 years, and only a few, IIRC, before then.
So unless he spends some time in the National spotlight and works the national political scene hard and with expertise we haven’t seen from him, I can’t see it. But never is a long time in politics (“You don’t have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference”–1962)
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### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/5 "2015-12-02T01:07:10Z")
Whatever his longings he was in nobody’s short list of presidential material and probably in few mid/long lists.
Then again if Trump so much as makes it to the convention in a race down to the wire (never mind getting the nomination and going on to anything other than losing in a Mondalesque landslide), maybe all bets are off…
> [@elbows](#):
>
> He’ll be exceedingly fortunate to keep the job he has till his tenure is up without getting canned.
No, no, it’s the Governors of Illinois that get canned and convicted, not the Mayors of Chicago. Because, y’know, that’s the Chicago way.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/6 "2015-12-02T01:12:36Z")
He has never wanted to be President. I know. I spoke with him about it.
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### Author:  [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/7 "2015-12-02T06:10:30Z")
[quote=“GloryDays, post:1, topic:739163”]
With the possible cover up of the Laquan McDonald shooting that has rocked the City of Chicago and the U.S., Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago (D), and the former White House Chief of Staff had always wanted to be president of the United States. Do you see Rahm Emanuel running for president in the 2020’s, or is he too corrupt for the presidency?
/QUOTE]
I don’t care for the fellow, and his reputation for skill was as overblown as his boss’s reputation for IQ, but he would make a perfectly adequate president — better than 90% of the present runners; and there is no such thing as too corrupt for the presidency.
Not that he seems particularly corrupt anyway; just exuberantly bossy. And for a mayor of Chicago surprisingly not anti-English as a vote-getter.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/8 "2015-12-02T15:40:54Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#):
>
> So unless he spends some time in the National spotlight and works the national political scene hard and with expertise we haven’t seen from him, I can’t see it.
Bear in mind that he served three terms in Congress (in a bit of irony, he took over Rod Blagojevich’s seat there), and spent time as both head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as well as serving as chairman of the Democratic Caucus.
He then served two years as Obama’s first Chief of Staff. So, he’s had a fair amount of experience in the national arena, though much of it has been as more of an insider-leadership role, and probably not as visible to the national voter.
That said, I don’t think he’d stand a chance. Chicago’s not doing well right now (though much of that is the financial mess which he inherited from Richard M. Daley), and I have to believe that he has some serious skeletons in his closet.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/9 "2015-12-02T16:57:23Z")
No, not seeing it. Even if he skates on all this, his career is pretty much over.
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### Author:  [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/10 "2015-12-02T17:15:37Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#):
>
> He has never wanted to be President. I know. I spoke with him about it.
Yeah, except pretty much everyone says that up until the moment they declare their candidacy.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/11 "2015-12-02T17:59:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> No, not seeing it. Even if he skates on all this, his career is pretty much over.
[Based on this:](http://www.salon.com/2015/12/02/rahm_emanuel_is_in_trouble_how_chicagos_mayor_failed_the_black_lives_matter_test/)
> [@](#):
>
> If this were all happening a few years ago, it’s unlikely that the outcry would represent an existential threat to Emanuel’s administration. In fact, it’s quite easy to imagine that McCarthy, in the pre-Black Lives Matter America, would not even have to fall on his sword, as he did on Tuesday. Few people would know the name Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke would still be on Chicago’s streets, wielding lethal force with de facto immunity, rather than facing charges for murder. The city would pay-off McDonald’s family and move on.
>
> But we don’t live in that world anymore, thankfully. And while it’d be premature to claim that this scandal — which the Times editorial board and others are calling tantamount to a “cover-up” — will doom Emanuel, he’s in far more trouble than the cynics may think. Like nearly all Democrats, Emanuel needs the support of the African-American community in order to win. And like an increasing number of Democrats, he’s finding that he can no longer take that support so blithely for granted.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/12 "2015-12-02T19:03:00Z")
Rahm Emanuel has _way_ too much baggage. Overseeing the kleptocracy in Chicago pays much better.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/13 "2015-12-02T19:13:12Z")
Shitheels don’t play nearly as well with Dems as they do in the GOP, so Rahm’s never gonna win the Dem nomination, even if he runs. And he’s too liberal for the GOP.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/14 "2015-12-02T20:50:33Z")
GloryDays-
After discussion, Tom and I would like you to moderate (ha!) your starting of threads.
We welcome you to the SDMB, of course, but starting 17 threads in a month seems excessive for a beginner.
-JC
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### Author:  [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/15 "2015-12-02T21:07:46Z")
A person that serves as chief of staff and has the required personality will never be President. I’ve met Rahm at his retail campaigning events. He seems far more comfortable with people like me, dressed in business clothes than he does with the hard hat crowd.
Perhaps he could have launched a campaign for governor of Illinois in 2018, but there’s no way he’s running for president. There’s not likely to be an open senate seat from
Illinois if Duckworth knocks off Kirk
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### Author:  [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/16 "2015-12-03T03:50:26Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#):
>
> Rahm Emanuel has _way_ too much baggage. Overseeing the kleptocracy in Chicago pays much better.
And his baggage just got heavier. Rahm already had unexpected difficulty getting reelected, i.e. he was forced into a runoff. That was not supposed to happen. I realize the next election is several years away but this situation has solidified hatred of him in ways I would never have expected. I predict solid, qualified candidates will run against him next time who were too intimidated to get in the 2015 race. This issue is just going to get worse and not go away.
> [@dalej42](#):
>
> A person that serves as chief of staff and has the required personality will never be President. I’ve met Rahm at his retail campaigning events. He seems far more comfortable with people like me, dressed in business clothes than he does with the hard hat crowd.
>
> Perhaps he could have launched a campaign for governor of Illinois in 2018, but there’s no way he’s running for president. There’s not likely to be an open senate seat from
> Illinois if Duckworth knocks off Kirk
[Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has requested that the Department of Justice launch an investigation of CPD practices.](http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20151201/BLOGS02/151209967/lisa-madigan-asks-for-u-s-probe-of-chicago-police) If that happens, shit will get ugly really fast. By the time 2018 rolls around Rahm is likely to be so unpopular there will be no way he could be a credible candidate for governor. I doubt he will be able to win a third term as mayor.
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### Author:  [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2015, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/17 "2015-12-03T04:13:41Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#):
>
> He has never wanted to be President. I know. I spoke with him about it.
I can’t tell if this is a joke going over my head, is it?
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### Author:  [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2015, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rahm-emanuel-for-president-in-the-future/739163/18 "2015-12-03T04:45:37Z")
> [@dalej42](#):
>
> A person that serves as chief of staff and has the required personality will never be President. I’ve met Rahm at his retail campaigning events. He seems far more comfortable with people like me, dressed in business clothes than he does with the hard hat crowd.
>
> Perhaps he could have launched a campaign for governor of Illinois in 2018, but there’s no way he’s running for president. There’s not likely to be an open senate seat from
> Illinois if Duckworth knocks off Kirk
Lisa Madigan will probably run for governor in 2018. Her father is one of the most powerful men in Illinois, Speaker Mike Madigan.