Hotheaded Emanuel may be White House voice of reason

Some Democrats are blaming the president for not listening more to his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. (Bill O'leary/the Washington Post)

Emanuel has maneuvered where possible. He has dispatched Vice President Biden to appear at 25 fundraisers and rallies to assist the "frontline members" of the House, those most in danger of being bounced out of office. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who negotiated with Emanuel during the shaping of the president's budget, said he helped secure assistance for projects "related to my state," including getting the delayed construction of a dormitory back on track. "Not sexy stuff," he said.

That seemingly small, unsexy stuff is, however, key to Emanuel's strategy of keeping the congressional majorities happy and building up small achievements into a substantial body of legislation.

Early in the administration, Obama signed into law equal-pay legislation and expanded health care for children and credit-card protections. When it came time for the economic stimulus plan, Emanuel -- arguing that "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste" -- was the White House's point man in the Senate. There, too, he valued the plausible over the perfect.

Snowe said he was "responsive" to her interest in removing $100 billion in spending from the stimulus bill. "He understood it operationally and legislatively, what needed to be accomplished, and was very straightforward," she said.

When health-care reform became the administration's focus, Emanuel's public persona was that of a partisan field marshal. But before Obama and his advisers settled on a policy of expansive scope, Emanuel back in August suggested a smaller bill that would be easier to pass, according to another administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

When the larger measure stalled, Emanuel harangued Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and later argued to Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to strike the public option from the legislation to expedite passage, the source said. Reid insisted on putting it in.

"One thing that has frustrated Rahm," said Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), "is how the Senate works."

As health-care negotiations inched along at the end of last year, Emanuel grew impatient about addressing national joblessness concerns. One Democratic senator who wanted to pivot to unemployment said Emanuel shared his thinking. " 'I understand, I understand. We have to get to jobs,' " the senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, recalled Emanuel commiserating. In a meeting with the president and chief of staff, the senator stated his case, but Obama decided the priority was seeing health-care reform through.

"It was the president's call," said the senator, who added that Emanuel showed no trace of objection. "A play was called, and he was running the play."