Does He Have Robert Rubin on Speed Dial?

I was hoping for not too much change. Here’s one sign:

President-elect Barack Obama pivoted quickly to begin filling out his new administration on Wednesday, selecting hard-charging Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff while aides stepped up the pace of transition work that had been cloaked in pre-election secrecy.

Several Democrats confirmed that Emanuel had been offered the job. While it was not clear he had accepted, a rejection would amount to an unlikely public snub of the new president-elect within hours of an electoral college landslide.

I’m no fan of Emanuel — he strikes me as the Democratic version of Karl Rove, only cruder and more partisan. But if Obama wants to raid Clinton’s cabinet, you’ve got to figure that means he’ll govern closer to the center than the left.