Power

Rahm Emmanuel would doubtless be pleased to know that I'm delighted by him. The idea of someone as bright and focused as he appears to be, backstopping and invigorating the actions of the President I voted for, thrills me. I can't imagine any supporter of Obama not liking him. I admit, being subjected to him would be something else again, and not a happy experience. I imagine he leaves deep cleatmarks on your soul. But from here in the hinterlands, he looks just fine to me.

I was thinking a little about him as a result of scanning through an article in today's New York Times. In it, someone notes that other chiefs of staff have husbanded their power, wanting to dispense it guardedly, and thereby guarding that power itself. In contrast, the article says that his opinion is that 'power is as power does' -- the more you use it, the more you have. I was bemused by this, because the last person I heard manifesting that sort of belief system was Dick Cheney. Though I was infuriated by his actions, I think the underlying attitude -- that power is there to be used, and that you to an extent create your own -- is true. I don't think that you arrive in a political office with a bucket of power, and you have to dole it out carefully over time lest you run out. Instead, I think its more of a self-regenerating thing -- the more things that you think you can affect, and act as if you can affect, the more you actually can affect.

There's a caveat in there: your use of power has to appear to be effective in meeting your goals. If you arm-twist twenty reluctant senators, and only one or two bend your way, you've wasted your power, vitiated yourself, diminished your appearance of power. That guy -- he couldn't get laid if he walked into a women's prison with a fistful of pardons! I think you've got to be careful in where you apply it, limiting yourself to places where it can be effective. But overall -- the more you use, the more you have.

Now, if I could just get my checkbook to work that way....