Emanuel responding to rumors that his mentor, former Clinton Commerce secretary and current JPMorgan exec. William Daley, is under consideration to succeed Emanuel as President Obama’s chief of staff:
HAVE YOU TALKED TO BILL DALEY ABOUT TAKING THE JOB AT THE WHITE HOUSE? WOULD HE BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT?
Emanuel: The most thing here is what the President wants. This is outside of key members of the cabinet, the chief of staff is a key decision and the President has to make a decision where he feels that the person can give him the type of advice that‚s necessary and manage the White House and help think through the set of challenges and competing interests you have.
Bill is a friend of mine. We worked together when I was in President Clinton’s White Hosue an he was in the cabinet and he stayed and remains a good friend of mine and he’s quite capable. But, the most important thing is what the President wants from a chief-of-staff. And every President is different and, during their presidency, there are different things you would want out of a chief-of-staff. That is what’s important˜what the President wants and what he envisions for that job.GIVEN THE NEW ENVIRONMENT IN D.C., IS HE THE KIND OF CHIEF-0F STAFF WHO WOULD BE GOOD?
Emanuel: That’s a fair question. But, I’m not gonna sit here today and talk about that. There will be an appropriate time. I will support whatever the President wants to do. What matters is what the President wants out of the chief-of-staff and who he is looking for in a person to fill that role.