Rahm Emanuel's great loyalty test

WASHINGTON - Of all the positions he has assumed in political wars, one rarely associated with the combative Rahm Emanuel is this: fetal.

Yet that is where he finds himself when it comes to his preferred candidate in the 2008 presidential race.

Last April, the former Clinton White House aide publicly committed to his political patron's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), a view he also echoed privately and more than once. Now, with the ascendant candidacy of home-state political phenomenon Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Emanuel has gone to a strange place for him, a neutral corner.

"I'm hiding under the desk," said the Chicago Democratic congressman. "I'm very far under the desk, and I'm bringing my paper and my phone."

Emanuel's dilemma is but one example of how Obama's rapid rise is interfering with the former first lady's carefully laid political plans and of the conflicting emotions of many Democratic activists now torn between loyalty to the Clintons and excitement over the party's rising star.

On Clinton's home turf, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and dean of the New York congressional delegation, encouraged Obama to enter the race and so far has declined to make an endorsement, antagonizing Clinton supporters who want the state's Democratic establishment united behind her candidacy.

Likewise, former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin told the Tribune in an interview last week that he was uncommitted.

Though endorsements from officeholders rarely have much influence on the broader public, the support of key political players can be enormously helpful in a presidential campaign, particularly in the early stages when candidates are struggling to quickly assemble a network of skilled political professionals and raise daunting amounts of money.

A prodigious fundraiser

Emanuel, who led the successful Democratic campaign to retake control of the U.S. House, may not have the political muscle of, say, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who is unambiguously backing the hometown candidate. But Emanuel's recent experience running a national campaign and a new leadership position he has assumed in the House give him a network of political contacts that would be an asset to any presidential candidate. So would the strong donor relationships that Emanuel has nurtured as one of his party's most prodigious fundraisers.

What's more, there are plenty of subtle ways that support--or opposition--can ripple through the political world.

In fact, several Illinois Democratic operatives who are drawn to Obama confessed to a bit of early trepidation about lining up behind the senator because of concerns that an alliance would provoke vengeance from Emanuel, a famously unforgiving politician. Those concerns have only dissipated during the past week, they said, as word spread through local political circles that Emanuel, thought to be tethered to Clinton by loyalty, really would avoid taking sides.

During an April 21 appearance last year on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher," Emanuel did not equivocate when asked whom he would support.

"I'm supporting Hillary Clinton. I'm public about it," Emanuel responded.

Obama was considered a potential presidential candidate at the time. But, as Emanuel noted in an interview, Obama did not begin to publicly explore the possibility until this fall, after his new book was released, and only this week did he take the first legal step toward a presidential bid with the announcement of an exploratory committee.

Now, Emanuel is faced with a home-state candidate who is generating huge enthusiasm among party activists. Emanuel has maintained friendly relations with Obama and offered him political counsel in the past, said aides to both men.

But it was President Bill Clinton who took Emanuel from Chicago to the White House as a senior aide and then offered him unstinting support when Emanuel ran his first campaign for Congress in 2002. And Emanuel always has maintained that he placed a high value on political loyalty.

He insists his quandary is less about political calculation than personal considerations.

`It's a human thing'

"Everybody knows I worked for the Clintons. I'm very close to the Clintons. And I'm very close to Barack. Let's be honest, does anybody want to pick among friends? It's a human thing, not a political thing," Emanuel said.

He added that he hoped to delay the inevitable choice

"At some point, if I have to make a decision, I will. But I prefer, you know, they've got to go on and develop their campaigns," he said.

Obama, for his part, has had little to say.

Asked about Emanuel's posture at a recent Tribune editorial board meeting, Obama smiled.

"Rahm knows the right thing to do," he said.

----------

mdorning@tribune.com