Rahm Emanuel, family man

Do you detect any signs of stress here? Fran Spielman and Abdon M. Pallasch of the Chicago Sun-Times write:

Emanuel was uncharacteristically absent from Obama's news conference this morning. He was spotted two hours late in the lobby of Chicago's City Hall. He was there to listen to his two children performing in a concert with their school, Anshe Emet.

A Sun-Times reporter pressed him to comment about whether he was the emissary named in the criminal complaint.

"You're wasting your time," Emanuel said. "I'm not going to say a word to you. I'm going to do this with my children. Dont do that. I'm a father. I have two kids. I'm not going to do it."

Asked, "Can't you do both?" Emanuel replied, "I'm not as capable as you. I'm going to be a father. I'm allowed to be a father," and he pushed the reporter's digital recorder away.

Rahm does seem a tad snippy, to use a Goreism. Of course he has every right to enjoy his child's recital in peace. But we get the distinct impression that transparency is not at the top of his priorities.

He should call up Scooter Libby to find out how much chief-of-staffing he will be able to get done if Fitz decides he wants to go after him. If Emanuel is spending a lot of time strategizing how to handle this situation, he won't be able to help set-up the Obama White House as much as planned.