Left Takes Out Rage on Rahm

Liberals disappointed with Barack Obama are pointing their daggers less at him than at his chief of staff. Rahm Emanuel is not a popular guy on the left these days—many see him as the obstacle to the change they thought Obama would bring. One liberal radio host called him “Obama’s Dick Cheney,” top blogger Jane Hamsher has launched a campaign targeting his time on Freddie Mac’s board, and one group even briefly aired ads attacking him in his native Chicago.

The feud went to another level after a meeting between Emanuel and liberal groups in August on health care. Some said they were planning to air ads attacking conservative Democrats who were gumming up the works. “f---ing retarded,” Emanuel replied. That cemented the left’s belief that Emanuel favors, and readily rolls over for, conservative Democrats. But liberals don’t worry Emanuel. “They like the president,” he tells the Wall Street Journal, “and that’s all that counts.” (More Rahm Emanuel stories.)