Look at the Gleaming Unbroken Spines

by on November 7, 2008 5

of the books on Rahm Emanuel's White House bookshelf in the 2nd pic in this Huffpo slideshow. One  is by Palestinian Hanan Ashrawi, my redoubtable photographer friend  has pointed out to me. My take is that this shows that Emanuel was dealing for official reasons with Ashrawi, and wanted to show off her book, or she'd given it to him. Frankly I don't think Emanuel has ever really read a book. He's smart in a different way, instinctually, street smart. Money, power makes his heart go pitter-pat. By contrast, his boss has read too many books. Which is why he needs Rahm. He might get ideas.

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics

{ 5 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Richard Witty says:
    November 7, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    Maybe he genuinely respects her.

  2. Duscany says:
    November 7, 2008 at 12:21 pm

    What are you saying here, Phil? That Emanuel will be Cheney to Obama's Bush?

  3. Craig says:
    November 7, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    You may be reading too much into those "gleaming unbroken spines." Most of those books (though not all) look like hardcovers with dust jackets. I set the dust jacket aside when reading a hardcover, and put it back on later. You'd probably think I hadn't read many of the books on my shelves either.

    At least one book (not the Ashrawi) appears to be a large paperback, and does indeed look remarkably pristine. It could well be that he hasn't read it, or any of those books, but who knows?

  4. anon says:
    November 7, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    Is this the knight tilting at windmills and sidekick on the donkey watching for open manholes?

    Obama's racial search is obvious. What's less clear is how will he
    synthesize the philosophers he most values, the agnostic German, the Christian German-American, and the secular Jewish-American organizer?

    He has commenced, hence the pit bull pick.

    Obama realizes that only the individual can be made better, not any group. He will try for tiny strides against all the special interests, for the greater good of the whole.

    Bush? No comparison.
    Obama might be the most intellectual POTUS in our history.
    His models are Kennedy and Lincoln.
    That's not so bad.

  5. MRW. says:
    November 7, 2008 at 11:01 pm

    Actually, Phil, apparently Emanuel, whom I detest, is a voracious reader according to ABC News.

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