Obama's choice of Emanuel shows switch in tone

Barack Obama is signaling a shift in tactics and temperament as he moves from candidate to president-elect, picking sharp-elbowed Washington insiders for top posts.

His choice Thursday for White House chief of staff -- Rahm Emanuel, a fiery partisan who doesn't mind breaking glass and hurting feelings -- is a significant departure from the soft-spoken, low-key aides that "No-Drama Obama" has surrounded himself with during his campaign. And transition chief John Podesta, like Emanuel, is a former top aide to President Bill Clinton and a tough partisan infighter, though less bombastic than the new chief of staff.

The selections are telling for Obama, who campaigned as a nontraditional, almost "post-partisan" newcomer. People close to him say the selections show that Obama is aware of his weaknesses as well as his strengths and knows what he needs to be successful as he shifts from campaigning to governing.

"No one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel," Obama said in a statement announcing the selection.

Obama, who survived a long primary contest with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, also has made it clear he will rely heavily on veterans of her husband's eight-year administration, the only Democratic presidency in the past 28 years.

Obama himself brims with self-confidence, to the point that some people view him as arrogant. But to a greater degree than many presidents, he appears willing to lean on Washington insiders associated with other politicians.

With the Emanuel selection, Democrats say Obama seemed to recognize that he may have his work cut out for him in taming his party's members of the House of Representatives: Liberals may try to push their own agenda, not necessarily Obama's. They say Emanuel is someone who not only can stand up to Congress but also maneuver through it to achieve a chief executive's goals.

Emanuel accepted Obama's offer with a gesture of bipartisanship, addressing part of his statement to Republicans. "We often disagree, but I respect their motives," Emanuel said. "Now is a time for unity, and, Mr. President-elect, I will do everything in my power to help you stitch together the frayed fabric of our politics, and help summon Americans of both parties to unite in common purpose."

In contrast to Obama's collegial style and that of his top campaign advisers, Emanuel is known as a foul-mouthed practitioner of brass-knuckled politics who relishes both conflict and publicity. He once mailed a dead fish to a political foe.

House Republican leader John Boehner, however, called his appointment an "ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil and govern from the center."

Obama frequently sought Emanuel's advice during the presidential race, according to one campaign official.

Emanuel will have to resign his congressional seat and put aside hopes of becoming speaker of the House.

On Thursday, Obama met privately at the FBI office in Chicago with U.S. intelligence officials, preparing to become commander in chief. He received his first president's daily brief, a document written mostly by the Central Intelligence Agency and including the most critical overnight intelligence. It is accompanied by a briefing from top intelligence officials.

Later, Obama met with his transition team leaders who are tasked with building his entire administration in 10 weeks.

Advisers said he was emphasizing care over speed, with no plans to announce Cabinet positions this week.

From Washington to Chicago, names of people said to be jockeying for spots in an Obama administration or under consideration by the transition team spread through the rumor mill. Some Democrats say retired Marine Gen. James Jones was being discussed as secretary of state. Also, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, was said to be interested in becoming Education secretary.

Obama has indicated he'd like a bipartisan Cabinet, and Republicans who are potential candidates include Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar.

Other White House officials were being lined up, including Robert Gibbs as the likely pick for press secretary, said several Obama aides.

The president-elect planned his first public appearances since his victory for Friday, a meeting with economic advisers followed by a news conference. Obama and his wife, Michelle, also planned to visit the White House on Monday at President George W. Bush's invitation.

Obama planned to stay home through the weekend, with a blackout on news announcements so that he and his staff could get some rest after a grueling campaign and the rush of their win Tuesday night.

Obama's new government faces massive challenges both at home and abroad, which was made clear on the first days after his historic victory over Republican John McCain on Tuesday.

The U.S. stock market greeted Obama's elevation to the pinnacle of American power by plunging about 5 percent both Wednesday and Thursday on more dire news about an economy in the throes of its worst crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.

On Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated Obama -- the first time the country's leader has offered such wishes to a U.S. president-elect since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran and U.S. have no formal diplomatic relations since 1979 and the hostage drama when militant Iranian students held 52 Americans captive 444 days.

The Associated Press, meanwhile, declared Obama the winner in North Carolina on Thursday, a symbolic triumph in a state that hadn't voted for a Democrat since 1976.

North Carolina's 15 electoral votes brings Obama's total to 364 -- nearly 100 more than necessary to win the White House. Missouri is the only state that remains too close to call.