Wonkette
Everybody in America knows exactly three things about Rahm Emanuel: he sent a dead fish once to somebody he did not care for; he is kind of a dick to everyone, but in a good way; and he used to be a dancer. But but! Some important details regarding that third point have come to light — details that the American electorate has a right to know.
First off, he did not just do ballet! He did modern dance, too.
Second and most importantly, he was never as advanced a dancer as Ron Reagan, the president’s son.
Reagan, like Emanuel, is a former dancer. (Emanuel received dance training in high school, and danced for a year at Sarah Lawrence after turning down a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School; as a freshman, he appeared in a modern-dance piece called “Desire.”) Reagan, who was a professional dancer for four years, didn’t completely buy the comparison: “I’m not trying to knock him or anything, but, O.K., it’s like if I’m a well-known actor—not a big star, but I appear in movies—and you’re talking about someone who was in the drama club in high school.”
Oh ho ho ho, Ron Reagan is a diva. Really though, and here is the important part, in that YouTube up there at the beginning of this post, Barack Obama makes a funny joke about Rahm Emanuel adapting Machiavelli’s The Prince for dance. It is good this tape did not come to light before the election, because it is INCENDIARY.
Emanuel in Full [New Yorker]
Political Roast : Obama Emauel 2005 [YouTube]
Hold me closer, tiny dancer.
four things: he’s missing half a finger! wait, five, his middle name is “Israel”
If you make fun of Rahm wearing those tights, you will certainly regret it.
Money quote: “Has he ever flashed that little stubby thing at you? It’s appalling.”
Just watch: it will be no more than a few days before we all start getting “Rahm-rolled.”
I think Ron Reagan took dance because he kept seeing his mom fall down and thought, “I can’t be associated with her…”
Now Ron & Rahm must stage an urban dance fight in a parking garage, just like the video for “Bad”.
Ron Reagan and Rahm Emanuel star in Jon Waters new movie/musical “Demo Dance Derby”.
Maybe Rahm and Barack can unite the nation with an awkwardly homoerotic dance montage in a grain mill like Kevin Bacon and Chris Penn in Footloose.
I love that Barry cracks himself up with the Macchiavelli joke. That and “has he flashed that little stubby thing at you?” THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID.
He’s also FUNNY.
he is kind of a dick to everyone, but in a good way
A good dick is often necessary for a wonderful screw.
A fellow dancer, eh? No wonder. I know many who are dicks and the ballet people are the worst. Prima Dons.
He could do the Nutcracker, but I guarantee, SOMEBODY is gettin’ hurt.
Blue Line: It’s not “Tony Danza?”
Reminds me of the story about Ron and Nancy going to one of young Ron’s performances, and afterwards going backstage and of course most of the dancers were gay, but old Ron wanted to reassure them that he thought they were not gay, so he kept talking about how Gene Kelly was one of his good friends and he was “all man.” And the dancers were like, “Whatever, Mary.”
wtf_files: That went over the head of half the crowd.
Come here a minute: seconded
God, he’s cute. The best part is when he laughs at his own Machiavelli joke.
Am I the only one who smells a furious dance-off in one of the White House ball rooms? “Take My Breath Away” or “Footloose”? Or both?
http://thesebastards.blogspot.com/
illnoise: Obviously he’s fucking Yakuza.
“rendered him practically mute”
Is anybody else interested in Emanuel’s choice of Sarah Lawrence for college?
Ron Reagan found dead with mouth stuffed with dead fish… assumed to be a suicide.
Miller: I’m thinking Butters in the You Got Served South Park episode. Oh hamburgers!
I’m a star, dammit! A star! That other guy wouldn’t even win Dancing With The Stars, that’s how far away frome being a star like me he is.
obfuscator: Oh please, GOD, let that happen!
Rahm Emanuel: blurring the line between modern dance and epilepsy.
wow, Rahm’s mother sounds AWESOME:
Rahm Israel Emanuel was the family peacemaker and an accomplished dancer. His mother disputes Rahm’s account of his upbringing: “Every article I see,” Marsha Emanuel told Bendavid, “he says, ‘My mother forced me to dance.’ Forgive me, you little s—head,” she adds, addressing her son rhetorically, “I didn’t force you, I forced your brothers.”
http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/11/whos_rahm_emanuel_hes_a_jewish.html
I hope the story about Raham’s brother Ari being the prototype for Ari Gold on Entourage is true.
Ummm…is Ron Reagan actually bragging that he’s a better girly dancer than Rahm? If I were Ronny, I’d just let that one go.
Oh God, Barry is doing his jew material. I swear, his inauguration speech is going to be a live HBO RAW & UNCUT AT THE WHITE HOUSE special.
I think I’d eat a dead fish, newspaper and all, if I could get a hold of a photograph of Rahm dancing…anybody know of one?
grendel: Not Machiavellian enough — Ron awakes with partner to find a huge Asian carp from the Illinois River next to him on the pillow, still wiggling.
Woodwards Friend: omg I would pay so much money for that…
Deepthroat: But his father is even MORE awesome:
“Emanuel’s father Benjamin was quoted in an article about Rahm headlined “Our Man in the White House” in the Israeli daily Ma’ariv last week, saying ‘Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the floors of the White House.’” http://mideast.blogs.time.com/2008/11/09/obama-mideast-watch-rahm-emanuel/.
So we’ve got mean mom, racist dad, psycho agent brother, and Rahm sending people dead fish. This family is going to entertain us for years. I thought Ron Reagan was gay for a long time, but he’s been married for decades. I thought the Rahm dead fish story was a joke, but it’s actually true. So clearly I have problem reading heterosexual male dancers. They’re very mysterious.
I cannot wait to see what happens with Rahm Emanuel and Joe Biden in the room together giving the drama to Obama. (Notice Biden hasn’t made a statement about how great Rahm is.) They both have short tempers, huge egos, and say crazy crap. How is Obama going to get anything done while keeping these two divas on a leash? This white house is going to be Drama Central, complete with interpretive dance battles.
New Show “Dancing with the politicians”! Could be ……lame.
True Story: my first job was as a stage hand at my hometown civic center. I was working there when the Josten’s Ballet Company, with Ron Reagan in tow, came to perform. I was interviewed by the Secret Service and everything, everybody working that night was. The best part was being backstage and hearing the performers, Ron included, in the dressing rooms putting on their makeup and stuff. They were listening to some heavy metal on a little boom box, I’m pretty sure it was Iron Maiden, and all making wise cracks about the little North Carolina cowtown they were getting ready to perform in. I think I heard Ron say that something like “we will probably get paid in BBQ and cow chips”.
“I’m not trying to knock him or anything, but, O.K., it’s like if I’m a well-known actor—not a big star, but I appear in movies—and you’re talking about someone who was in the drama club in high school.”
is he talking about the 40th President of the United States, who was a B-rated actor who did a few movies? Meh. Whatever.
Miller: West Side Story?
That was pretty funny. Did Obama write this stuff?
Now is the time on Realpolitik when we DANCE!
Notice how back then Obama had no gray hair?
Oh, I thank you for this piece very much, since I’ve spent the last week fighting a burgeoning passion for Monsieur Emmanuel (totally against my will, I spent the weekend combing all the news shows for Rahm-bits). But now, the image of him in a pas de deux with Ron Regan has annhilated any unseemly feelings I may have been developing.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
As I recall, Ron Reagan only got into Joffrey II because his dad was the president. I knew some Joffrey dancers at the time and I heard he was not good. He’s got balls to tell the world that Rahm was a lesser dancer, really. Besides, Ron Reagan started training at the age of 17, a lot later than Emanuel.
I hope all is forgiven by now! http://tinyurl.com/5ovr5n
Yes, his brother is absolutely the Jeremy Piven character on Entourage- and Rahm was the model for a character on West Wing. The WaPO had a piece some months ago about Rahm and Ari teasing their 3rd brother who is Director of Bioethics at NIH saying sure, you’re the DOCTOR- but you don’t have a TV character yet. Also I read that Rahm was still taking dance lessons(although who knows)
I thought Barry was going to end that with a loving, “You’re an asshole, Rham.”
So, Rahm Emanuel, kind of a dancing David Mamet.
TGY: yessiree, Primo Dons, the ballet folks are the worst. Modern dancers need a sense of humour at least to handle the ‘whatever’ mod. dance choreography can call for.
Texan Bulldoggette: “Ron, honey, don’t go there girlfriend….”
Min: He’s such an adorkable nerd when he makes himself chuckle.
marioninnyc: He hadn’t gotten to know Hillary very well yet.
Jewdishoowary Square: You say that like it’s a bad thing.
I’m not even sure exactly what kind of sassiness this is, or in what universe it’s, like, okay to be arrogant about being a straight man who Danced. Professionally. Cause, awkward. I’ll accept it from Rahm, because he’s Jewish and I’ve loved him forever and he went to Sarah Lawrence and understands why binary gender codes suck and…Sigh. But, seriously, Ron Reagan (who I generally like) comes off sounding like the bitchy chick in Center Stage. Like, “Oh, please, bitch, I Danced at blah blah blah French academy of gayness! And you’re a whore!” And Rahm Emanuel, only the 2nd most important guy in the White House, some more. Again.
shortsshortsshorts: Basically. I thought it was supposed to be ironic.
Hm. It’s a step down from having a President who’s a cheerleader.
But dance line is still pretty good.