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Officials: Obama offers Emanuel chief of staff job
WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama chose Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel to be his White House chief of staff, his first selection for the new administration, Democratic officials said Wednesday.
If Emanuel accepts, he would return to the White House where he served as a political and policy adviser to President Clinton.
Several Democrats also said Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was actively seeking appointment as secretary of State in the new administration.
Two campaign officials said the appointment of a chief of staff was not expected for at least a day.
Instead, they said Obama would issue a written statement announcing that his transition team would be headed by John Podesta, who served as chief of staff under Clinton; Pete Rouse, who has been Obama's chief of staff in the Senate; and Valerie Jarrett, a friend of the president-elect and campaign adviser.
The officials who described the developments did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss events not yet announced.
On the day after Obama's election, several prominent Democrats described uncertainty about the extent to which lobbyists would be invited to work in the new administration.
As a candidate, Obama frequently said lobbyists would not run his White House. That left unclear whether they would be permitted to serve, and if so, in what posts and under what conditions.
The president-elect had breakfast with his wife and daughters, then left his house for a workout at a nearby gym.
Aides said he intended to visit his campaign headquarters later in the day to thank his staff.
Obama has 10 weeks to build a new administration. But his status as an incumbent member of Congress presents issues unseen since 1960, when John F. Kennedy moved from the Senate to the White House.
The Senate is scheduled to hold a post-election session in two weeks, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a news conference Wednesday to reinforce her call for quick action on a bill to stimulate the economy.
That places Obama in uncharted territory — a president-elect, presumably first among equals among congressional Democrats. Yet his and their ability to enact legislation depends almost entirely until Inauguration Day on President Bush's willingness to sign it.
(FULL TRANSCRIPT OF OBAMA'S VICTORY SPEECH)
Tuesday evening, Republican John McCain conceded the presidential race to Obama, saying the Democrat has achieved a "great thing for himself and for his country."
Standing under a cool desert sky before his subdued and somewhat petulant supporters, McCain called on them to embrace Barack Obama's election as a sign of how much America has progressed over the past century.
"I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound," McCain said. "Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on earth."
His backers cheered at that, as well as when he said that the disagreements he had with the new president paled in comparison to what they had in common. "Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans, and please believe me when I say, no association has ever meant more to me than that."
The soaring, powerful speech marked the reemergence of the McCain who had largely disappeared from the national scene in recent weeks: a politician who prized conciliation and bipartisanship above polarization and short-term political gain. He vowed to play a constructive role under the next administration, saying: "These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face."
But as McCain delivered his remarks, some adherents could not conceal their disgust with his opponent. "Although we fell short, the failing is mine, not yours," he told them, and they roared back in disagreement, before chanting "Nobama!" and "We love John!"
Most McCain supporters refused to acknowledge that their candidate was losing until minutes before he called Obama to concede: Susan Helsel, a substitute teacher in Tempe, Ariz., who turns 62 Wednesday and was hoping to get a McCain presidency as a birthday present, said an hour before McCain conceded: "I just can't see an Obama presidency. I don't want to be in a socialist government."
"We were hoping for better results. We were expecting better results," said Rich Fiore, a resident of Shelton, Conn., who had watched sadly earlier in the evening as his congressman, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., lost. "I'm really concerned about where the Republicans are headed."
McCain chose to end his campaign at the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Arizona Biltmore hotel, where he and wife Cindy held their wedding reception nearly three decades ago. For McCain's speech, the campaign chose as a backdrop the dramatic Piestewa Peak - named for the first Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. military, in 2003 in Iraq - augmenting the scenery with a massive American flag and large towers draped with blue and yellow bunting.
The former Navy pilot and Vietnam War POW fought until the end of the campaign, traveling Tuesday to Grand Junction and Albuquerque for his final campaign stops.
