Will Rahmbo exit stage left from the WH by the end of the year?

The Daily Telegraph says yep:

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, is expected to leave his job later this year after growing tired of the “idealism” of Barack Obama’s inner circle.

Washington insiders say he will quit within six to eight months in frustration at their unwillingness to “bang heads together” to get policy pushed through.

Mr Emanuel, 50, enjoys a good working relationship with Mr Obama but they are understood to have reached an understanding that differences over style mean he will serve only half the full four-year term.

Friends say he is also worried about burnout and losing touch with his young family due to the pressure of one of most high profile jobs in US politics.

“I would bet he will go after the midterms,” said a leading Democratic consultant in Washington. “Nobody thinks it’s working but they can’t get rid of him – that would look awful. He needs the right sort of job to go to but the consensus is he’ll go.”

An official from the Bill Clinton era said that “no one will be surprised” if Mr Emanuel left after the midterm elections in November, when the Democratic party will battle to save its majorities in the house of representatives and the senate.

It is well known in Washington that arguments have developed between pragmatic Mr Emanuel, a veteran in Congress where he was known for driving through compromises, and the idealistic inner circle who followed Mr Obama to the White House.

His abrasive style has rubbed some people the wrong way, while there has been frustration among Mr Obama’s closest advisers that he failed to deliver a smooth ride for the president’s legislative programme that his background promised.

“It might not be his fault, but the perception is there,” said the consultant, who asked not to be named. “Every vote has been tough, from health care to energy to financial reform.

“Democrats have not stood behind the president in the way Republicans did for George W Bush, and that was meant to be Rahm’s job.”

The WH response to this report? It’s “ludicrous” (via Memeorandum):

The White House Monday dismissed as “ludicrous” a report that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel plans to leave his post after becoming frustrated with the Obama administration.

Citing Washington insiders, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph said Emanuel was fed up with the “idealism” of President Barack Obama’s closest advisers and was concerned about burning out and losing touch with his three children due to the pressure of the job.

In response to the report, a senior White House official told Fox News the “ludicrous” story was “not worth looking into.”

My gut feeling is that he’s not planning on leaving, seeing as he’s the guy who said shortly after the 2008 election of Barack Obama that you should never let a crisis go to waste. And considering the hot button issues on the front burner in America these days, this is the kind of political environment that a guy like Emanuel relishes.

Doug Powers has a slightly different take:

I don’t doubt that having to do things like highlighting the BP CEO’s lack of public relations talent for going yachting during the oil crisis while your own boss is on the golf course would add a bit of frustration and stress to the job, but Rahm doesn’t seem to have much trouble unwinding.

Not to mention the other ways he has of working out his frustrations …

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