Author: C

Emanuel’s new book is called The Nation City: Why Mayors Are Now Running the World. A more accurate title would be The Nation’s Greatest City: Why I Should Be Running the World. The thesis is sound: Emanuel believes the federal government is so broken that real progress can only happen locally. But he must have typed the book with one hand, because he used the other to pat himself on the back: for improving test scores in schools, for modernizing the L, and especially for building the Riverwalk. The book hasn’t made the New York Times bestseller list, and the paper acerbically reviewed it. Laquan McDonald is mentioned just once — as one of half a dozen young African Americans killed by police nationwide as the result of “an entrenched culture of abuse” (read: “See, it’s not just Chicago!”). Black staffers at the Atlantic didn’t excuse Emanuel as easily. They demanded that management strip him of his title of contributing editor because he “used the conditions of a financial settlement with a grieving family to cover up the details of the murder.”

Pundit: B minus

Emanuel signed on with ABC News. He’s not smooth enough to host his own show, but he’s been a reliable talking head, promoting the centrist realpolitik that was so successful for Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Emanuel has used this platform to continue the feud with left-wing activists that began during his mayoralty, when the Chicago Teachers Union, the City Council’s Progressive Reform Caucus, and the Black Lives Matter movement hounded him out of office. On This Week, he agreed with GOP has-been Chris Christie that “Medicare for All” is “an untenable position for the general election.” He has also declared that he is “not a fan” of Bernie Sanders.

Man About Town: A

Did you think Emanuel was going to relax? He wouldn’t be Rahmbo if he did. At 6 a.m. on the day after Lori Lightfoot was inaugurated, he embarked on a two-week cycling trip. He’s a senior partner at Centerview Partners, returning to the investment banking that earned him millions after the Clinton White House years. He’s chatting up political consultants and reporters, and he’s always on TV — not just ABC, but also The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — desperate, it seems, to restore his legacy. His one nod to chillness: reading more books, including In Hoffa’s Shadow by Jack Goldsmith and The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.