Good cop, bad cop

From Ben Joravsky at The American Prospect:

So why is Obama hiring Emanuel as chief of staff? Probably for the same reason Daley hired him way back in 1989. He's ruthless, cunning, and absolutely unafraid to be a jerk. In fact, I think Emanuel enjoys being a jerk. Moreover, by being a jerk, I predict Emanuel will do a great service for Obama. By the time Emanuel is finished irritating, humiliating, and infuriating folks in Washington, Obama will look like an angel. People will probably like him even more just because he's not Emanuel.

That's the good cop, bad cop routine. Very machiavellian. I like Emanuel's pick more and more.

Via Michael Scherer at Time's Swampland