Funny: Chicago commuters not real excited to meet Rahm
posted at 3:00 pm on October 4, 2010 by Allahpundit
I wonder if this reaction was typical or just a slow couple of minutes mischievously clipped and showcased by the local Fox affiliate. Either way, it’s all part of a most inauspicious debut for the big “Rahm’s thinking today that he’d like to be mayor” campaign. Elsewhere, more election experts are warning that he doesn’t satisfy the residency requirements to run in Chicago while Ben Smith notes that his first campaign video — replete with references to being born “here” and raising his children “here” — was actually filmed in David Axelrod’s office … in D.C. The more I read about him, the more I’m reminded of Caroline Kennedy’s halting bid for senator in New York. It’s not a perfect analogy, needless to say: Princess hadn’t done anything in politics before whereas Rahm’s been waving icepicks and leaving dead fish on people’s doorsteps for Democrats for decades. But in both cases you’ve got a celebrity candidate whose chief argument for the seat in question is dynastic entitlement (Camelot, Hopenchange). Their policy platforms are pure afterthoughts, window dressing for personal ambition. I’m mighty curious to see how Chicagoans react to that type of hubris after being ruled by the Daley boys for 42 of the past 55 years. Time to start a new dynasty with The One’s seal of approval? Or will Chicago follow the national trend of the past 21 months and run screaming from an Obama proxy? Go get ‘em, Tommy Dart! Click the image to watch.
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Those were his most enthusiastic supporters, I believe….
FloatingRock on October 4, 2010 at 3:03 PM
Old and Busted: Hold me closer
The New Hotness: Can’t touch this
Christien on October 4, 2010 at 3:04 PM
So strange to see one of the people responsible for ruining this country glad handing passer by on the train platform. Wanting them put him in charge of their city. What a parasite.
skree on October 4, 2010 at 3:04 PM
It must be his charming personality and high class vocabulary.
kingsjester on October 4, 2010 at 3:04 PM
They mistook him for a panhandler (albeit a well-dressed one, but they’ve seen that ploy used before by others).
FlameWarrior on October 4, 2010 at 3:05 PM
Like this matters….the Chicago Machine will pick the candidate and the winner….not the prols.
aquaviva on October 4, 2010 at 3:06 PM
Some of them probably thought he was a panhandler.
FloatingRock on October 4, 2010 at 3:07 PM
Not sure if I want to laugh or cry…
LOL!!!
katy on October 4, 2010 at 3:07 PM
It gets better—Valerie Jarrett sidesteps an endorsement of Emmanuel for mayor.
conservative pilgrim on October 4, 2010 at 3:07 PM
They mistook him for a panhandler (albeit a well-dressed one, but they’ve seen that ploy used before by others).
FlameWarrior on October 4, 2010 at 3:05 PM
Doh…. :)
FloatingRock on October 4, 2010 at 3:08 PM
The folks passing by were probably thinking he was some snake-oil salesman. They’d be right.
itsnotaboutme on October 4, 2010 at 3:08 PM
McAfee blocks the video with a warning when I tried to watch the video there.
McAfee playing politics AGAIN
WoosterOh on October 4, 2010 at 3:08 PM
When is the election for mayor? It can’t be November 2nd, can it?
Marcus on October 4, 2010 at 3:09 PM
Perhaps they found his codpiece off-putting.
Aviator on October 4, 2010 at 3:10 PM
O/T –
John Conyers bounces check to DMV, loses drivers license
UltimateBob on October 4, 2010 at 3:11 PM
You wingnuts are, like, totally peeing your pants over this.
Historically, honorable former White House Chiefs of Staff who have just left their posts in disgrace to try to ride into a mayoral seat in their hometowns that they don’t live in aren’t popular in their home cities.
This is a crushing defeat for you wingnuts. You’re just too stupid to know it.
Sheesh. Lean some history.
Good Lt on October 4, 2010 at 3:11 PM
That’s not the reaction I would’ve had if that a-hole tried to shake my hand.
Doughboy on October 4, 2010 at 3:11 PM
LOLZ!!
ted c on October 4, 2010 at 3:11 PM
Re: the above image that we’re invited to click to watch.
The guy being accosted by Rahm, the expression on his face suggests he’s thinking of responding with that famous line used by Sinatra when a powerful politican once put an arm around him — “Hands off the threads, creep.”
FlameWarrior on October 4, 2010 at 3:11 PM
Soooooo…
Who’s is coordinating the press talking points now that Tiny Dancer has left the White House?
Seven Percent Solution on October 4, 2010 at 3:12 PM
I would not want to be accosted as I was trying to go about my business. I appreciate the need for knocking on doors, but this is just glad-handing thinking your very presence will get you votes (“He touched my hand! He touched my hand!”). Unfortunately, with some it probably will.
DrMagnolias on October 4, 2010 at 3:12 PM
It’s a natural reaction when the peasants are confronted by anyone who has been in The Presence.
AubieJon on October 4, 2010 at 3:12 PM
Running for mayor, or head door-greater at WalMart?
LASue on October 4, 2010 at 3:13 PM
F**K McAfee.
I switched over to Avast a year ago, and it’s much better.
UltimateBob on October 4, 2010 at 3:14 PM
Who knew Chicagoans were so polite…cuz I’m not seeing any love there just polite responses to such a politically motivated photo opp…
CCRWM on October 4, 2010 at 3:14 PM
Ouch. That was painful. Rahm Emmanuel really lacks charisma. He’s been away from Chicago for a while, I wonder if people recognize him? If I was getting off the train downtown and saw a man like that with a bunch of cameras and press around, I’d probably ask who he is. Or walk the other way.
AP–make sure you bookmark HillBuzz for current information on this story. They often provide insight to Chicago politics others don’t have.
conservative pilgrim on October 4, 2010 at 3:14 PM
Auburn ditched McAfee for Sophos. It’s the “bowing Obama” of anti-virus software.
AubieJon on October 4, 2010 at 3:15 PM
The bad news is…those “supporters” were bussed in by the local unions…
right2bright on October 4, 2010 at 3:16 PM
February 22nd.
conservative pilgrim on October 4, 2010 at 3:17 PM
So how much spare change did he collect?
I hope enough to buy a sandwich, or maybe even a pint of Ripple.
NoDonkey on October 4, 2010 at 3:17 PM
Comedy gold. Best laugh I’ve had all day.
It looked like the commuters smelled something fishy and just wanted to get away. heh heh heh
JustTruth101 on October 4, 2010 at 3:18 PM
I could say something like “Great minds think alike,” but I’m afraid I’m many gradations of intellect beneath you, FloatingRock, so this explanation won’t wash.
A better one would be, I saw you approaching the commuter platform and you looked like a guy who carries around a wad of comedy material, so I thought I’d hit you up and bum a couple of laffs off you. :)
FlameWarrior on October 4, 2010 at 3:20 PM
Obama and his gang are going to distance themselves from him like they were smelling a dead fish.
kingsjester on October 4, 2010 at 3:20 PM
One question: would Rahm be able to get the snow off the streets? Little else matters.
I say Rahm can’t. If I were Rahm’s opponents, I’d create ads from the bullshite Obama adminstration Recovery programs and signs. I bet he goes down in flames.
BuckeyeSam on October 4, 2010 at 3:21 PM
LOL
I’m pretty sure most of those people thought the Chicago Transit Authority hired a greeter who overdressed for the job.
Many didn’t seem to know who he was or why he was harassing them while they were in a hurry to get from one place to another.
ButterflyDragon on October 4, 2010 at 3:21 PM
kingsjester on October 4, 2010 at 3:20 PM
By February it will be a new kick in the ass for the Obama Administration and just a painful reminder that they recently lost both houses of Congress.
BTW, why do they hold February elections in Chicago? I’ve heard it can snow there then.
NoDonkey on October 4, 2010 at 3:24 PM
Thanks for the referral. I just subscribed after using McAfee for four years.
carbon_footprint on October 4, 2010 at 3:24 PM
Probably because she’s an anti-semite, like most leftists are.
UltimateBob on October 4, 2010 at 3:25 PM
Most riders on public transit have seen rats scurrying around the tracks at one time or another, so what’s to get excited about?
ya2daup on October 4, 2010 at 3:25 PM
Looked to me like he created a traffic jam, then acted as if he was helping to direct traffic. What a D-bag.
dont taze me bro on October 4, 2010 at 3:26 PM
“Hi, I’m Rahm, have a great f*ckin’ day and vote for me *chestpoke* ” would have been more effective…and more true to form.
NickelAndDime on October 4, 2010 at 3:27 PM
UltimateBob on October 4, 2010 at 3:25 PM
And Rahmbo was rumored not to get along with Obama’s staff full of Far Left Academic pinheads.
kingsjester on October 4, 2010 at 3:28 PM
Balancing checkbooks is for chumps … I have to devote my energies to minding the Good and Welfare Clause 24/7.
ya2daup on October 4, 2010 at 3:28 PM
Anybody counting their fingers after the handshake?
mojo on October 4, 2010 at 3:28 PM
The working masses expected to shake hands and be nice to the jerks stealing from their paychecks?
Yeah right.
portlandon on October 4, 2010 at 3:29 PM
Reminds me of Coriolanus.
Tzetzes on October 4, 2010 at 3:31 PM
Man, that one guy had better moves than Jay Cutler trying to avoid another sack by the Giants!
Christien on October 4, 2010 at 3:33 PM
Does it matter who is Mayor of Chicago? He’s just a figurehead like the queen of England who shows up to cut big red ribbons for new schools.
The real power is held by the union and mob bosses.
angryed on October 4, 2010 at 3:34 PM
I wonder if he shot that video while he was still Chief of Staff.
How funny that it was done by Axelrod’s firm, too. Pretty cozy up there in the Executive branch
MayBee on October 4, 2010 at 3:37 PM
All it needed was a KICK ME sign on his suit back.
profitsbeard on October 4, 2010 at 3:37 PM
When did Rahm have a formal presser announcing that he was running for mayor? Isn’t shaking hands in a public place something better done when signs are made, buttons are handed out, and commercials are aired? This might have been a good move next week, after a bunch of staged rallies got folks in tune with his plans. He just quit his other job on Friday, though. The whole scene seems a little akward.
joejm65 on October 4, 2010 at 3:39 PM
Ah, a position for which he actually IS qualified!
oldleprechaun on October 4, 2010 at 3:39 PM
Thanks! (blush)
FloatingRock on October 4, 2010 at 3:39 PM
It’s one thing to shake someone’s hand and altogether different to grab someone’s arm. I would scream bloody murder if someone did that to me in a subway.
What’s with these pols? They can’t keep their hands off of people. BO is the same. In most of his pictures he always has his hands on people. Very controlling.
Cody1991 on October 4, 2010 at 3:41 PM
maybe he should’ve stood there in a towel …
ted c on October 4, 2010 at 3:44 PM
My pleasure. ZDNet gave Avast high marks, that’s one of the reasons I checked it out in the first place, and I’ve been happy with it.
UltimateBob on October 4, 2010 at 3:46 PM
I’d rather grasp a wet turd than the hand of that sleezy creep.
justltl on October 4, 2010 at 3:48 PM
Or handed out leftover Chicago 2016 Olympics paraphernalia.
conservative pilgrim on October 4, 2010 at 3:49 PM
I’m sure the commuters just loved having Rahm and the gaggle of team reporters blocking them off like they were a captive audience. The only way he could get attention, apparently, is if he inserts himself in everyone’s way since no one would voluntarily place themselves near him. Come to think of it, he’s the metaphor of big government and Obama: no one really wants it but it’s going to force itself on you no matter what.
AnonymousDrivel on October 4, 2010 at 3:52 PM
I think he has been drinking the kool aid from the same vat as Obumbles. He thinks that the peasants are going to welcome him back from his sojourn to the pinnacle. If the D party in Chicago wants him, he will win,despite what other runners in the race do.Watch for dirty tricks, ala Axelrod stuff like getting people thrown off the ballot or “sealed” records unsealed, etc.
retiredeagle on October 4, 2010 at 3:53 PM
First guy to grab my arm in a subway, gets kicked HARD in the nuts.
Oh, please let me run into this a-hole in the subway..
tickleddragon on October 4, 2010 at 3:55 PM
Residency requirement issues?
If Obama’s right hand man gets booted off the ballot in Illionois due to a lawsuit I’m going to laugh like you would not believe.
gekkobear on October 4, 2010 at 3:55 PM
I think his campaign will go over like a lead balloon but frankly, that’s a pretty standard reaction for rush hour politicking, especially this far out from that election. People just want to keep to their morning routine while they wait for the coffee to kick in.
jnelchef on October 4, 2010 at 3:56 PM
Wouldn’t it be easier for him to just buy votes?
Shy Guy on October 4, 2010 at 3:57 PM
Watch out, Chicago. Looks like he’ll be needing to create a crisis so he’ll be able to not let it go to waste!
PaCadle on October 4, 2010 at 4:08 PM
Actually, I don’t get this at all. I mean, why would Rahm or anyone else even THINK he could just walk in and get elected mayor in the first place? Used to be a state Representative, then White House Chief Of Staff. Um, OK. But How does that make you Mayor?
If this guy came to my city and announced his candidacy today, we’d all look at him like… well, I guess exactly like those people did.
logis on October 4, 2010 at 4:11 PM
This is a rather bizarre video. Would any of you vote for a dude because he shook your hand creepily as you got off the train?
I hate it ANYTIME people do this sort of thing- they make it impossible to ignore them without looking like an idiot. Plus, what the heck does a stunt like this show– hi, I’m back in town, I suddenly wanna be mayor? Good for you, not get out of my way.
TheBlueSite on October 4, 2010 at 4:14 PM
Yeah, I’ve been hearing lately that Rahm was more of a “centrist” who kept 0bama from going full-retard left.
But now that he’s gone from the WH, and 0bama begins his move further left, I wonder how long it’ll be before we start seeing the motivational posters with Rahm’s picture on them, saying “Miss me yet?”
UltimateBob on October 4, 2010 at 4:17 PM
The second “election law expert” I read who opined on this case seemed to be better-versed in the law than the first “expert” was. Not sure if this is who AP cites in the opening of this thread.
Del Dolemonte on October 4, 2010 at 4:18 PM
He worked for the Clintons. In other words, he thinks he’s entitled, just as Hillary was entitile to carpetbag her way into NY State.
Del Dolemonte on October 4, 2010 at 4:20 PM
Bully Idol.
Terrie on October 4, 2010 at 4:21 PM
I can’t get in either, and I’m at work so there’s nothing I can do about it (computer under admin control).
Missy on October 4, 2010 at 4:23 PM
Maybe he stinks of dead fish?
Urban Infidel on October 4, 2010 at 4:36 PM
At least he didn’t go to a gym and try this in the shower…
foobarista on October 4, 2010 at 4:43 PM
What goes around, comes around.
We can only hope it works by proxy too.
AZCoyote on October 4, 2010 at 4:52 PM
Rahm is going to change Chicago electoral politics from a corrupt big city machine into a Third World Craphole.
SurferDoc on October 4, 2010 at 4:57 PM
Actually Rahmbo is auditioning for another new job: Wal*Mart greeter for the El Trains. Doing a smash up job, by the looks of it. I’d hire him for that.
Mallard T. Drake on October 4, 2010 at 5:04 PM
That was a note-perfect moonbat imitation! :-)
[applauds]
Mary in LA on October 4, 2010 at 5:17 PM
He is not going to run for Mayor. He does not meet the residency requirements and he knows it. Other than a weekend or two, he has not been back to Chicago in nearly two years. I don’t care if he paid property taxes or not. He is using this as an excuse to get out of Dodge early to save face for Obama so he does not have to throw him under the bus in November.
Johnnyreb on October 4, 2010 at 5:45 PM
If he’s runs I don’t see him winning, but I don’t see him actually running. He’s connected at the top but I don’t think he is at the middle or bottom and that is where it counts in Chicago. I don’t see him a Ward kind of guy.
whbates on October 4, 2010 at 5:52 PM
If there’s anything Rahmbo should have learned working for Bammie, it’s that all appearances are to be carefully micromanaged to maintain an aura of deity. Is this guy dense?
You know if Bammie tried this in an average American city his reception would not be much better.
slickwillie2001 on October 4, 2010 at 6:04 PM
This guy(Rahm)just left arguably the 2nd most powerful position in gov’t and here he is in a Chicago subway greeting people.
I like it.
It looked to me that most of those commuters didn’t even know who he was. That’s not Rahm’s fault.
I give the guy kudos for hitting the ground running. He was definitely the most competent person in the entire Obama Administration.
David2.0 on October 4, 2010 at 6:04 PM
Must have been plenty of watercooler conversations re: sightings of vaguely familiar grey-haired dwarf greeting commuters.
BHO Jonestown on October 4, 2010 at 6:13 PM
Anyone who knows what the untold joys of a Monday morning commute to and throughout Chicago involve would understand why Rahm was not exactly greeted warmly today.
Not a good way to open up a potential mayoral candidate bid, Rahm-baby!
pilamaye on October 4, 2010 at 6:41 PM
Now, now, let’s be honest. I’ll bet if you were blindfolded you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
oldleprechaun on October 4, 2010 at 6:42 PM
Why is McAfee suggesting I not access that video?
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/politics/em
anuel-to-get-reacquainted-with
-chicago-100410 may cause a breach of browser security.
Why were you redirected to this page?
When we tested http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/politics/em
anuel-to-get-reacquainted-with
-chicago-100410, it attempted to make unauthorized changes to our test computer by exploiting a browser security vulnerability. This is a serious security threat which could lead to an infection of your computer.
Ricohoc on October 5, 2010 at 3:07 AM
Suggested campaign theme song: “Rahm-ing On Empty.”
Captain Scarlet on October 5, 2010 at 5:19 AM
If those folks are on the ball, they would check to make sure they wallets weren’t lifted.
MJBrutus on October 5, 2010 at 6:52 AM