Pssst, I’m running (ap photo)
Will he or won’t he? The speculation about White House CoS Rahm Emanuel possibly running for mayor of Chicago has become a major distraction at the White House. The prevailing speculation has him leaving before the election, but no one is confirming.
Beltway has mostly a sporting interest — and especially in who might replace Rahm as chief gatekeeper. But anyway, President Obama got a question about it on NBC’s Today show, where he was otherwise touting education reform.
“Rahm will have to make a decision quickly, because running for mayor in Chicago is a serious enterprise, and I know this is something he’s thinking about,” Obama told NBC’s Matt Lauer.
The president said that so far, Emanuel has not informed him either way. He demurred when asked about an endorsement.
“I have said I think he would be an excellent mayor, but until he makes a decision I’m not going to be making decisions about how I’m going to approach it,” Obama said.
The primary isn’t until February, but in order to make the ballot, Emanuel would have to gather 12,500 signatures by Nov. 22.
