Obama visits Chicago days after Daley quits

It may not have been the most comfortable time for President Barack Obama to visit Chicago, his first fundraising trip of the new year.

Obama arrived in his hometown Wednesday, two days after William Daley — a member of the city's most famous political family — resigned as White House chief of staff. And a new book claims first lady Michelle Obama had a sometime tumultuous relationship with Rahm Emanuel, whom Daley replaced as Obama's top aide when Emanuel left to successfully run for Chicago mayor.

None of it was evident at Obama's speech before hundreds of supporters at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He turned up the hometown charm, joking about the unseasonably warm weather, wishing he could see the Bulls play and echoing familiar refrains from his 2008 campaign of hope and change.

Obama — who made a surprise visit to his Chicago campaign headquarters during the trip — praised Daley publicly.

"I want to say a special word about a friend of ours, a man who has done extraordinary work for me and performed extraordinary service for our country over the past year," Obama told hundreds gathered at the university. "When Bill first told me it was time for him to return to our hometown, I asked him to take a couple days to reconsider but it is tough to resist the greatest city in the world. As much as I will miss him in the White House, he will be an extraordinary asset to our campaign. He s going to be helping us win in 2012."

Daley, who traveled to Chicago with Obama, is expected to serve a co-chairman of his re-election campaign. But his stint in the White House had been a powerful display of the city's continued influence in Washington and that Obama could depend on the Daley family's political dynasty.

Although Daley has not detailed why he left Washington after pledging to stay with Obama through the 2012 election, many Democratic colleagues and political observers in Chicago believe the decision was more personal than political. Daley's brother, recently retired longtime Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, lost his wife in November after her long fight with cancer. Daley decided to resign over the holidays, which he spent with family in Chicago and Mexico.

"You have to think he's thinking, 'How much have I seen (my family) and how often have I been able to just kind of drop whatever and stop by for dinner or even a cup of coffee,'" said Danny Davis, a longtime Chicago congressman.

Emanuel defended Daley, saying the chief of staff is "the toughest job in America" with a typical turnover of 18 months.

But Daley's year as Obama's chief manager also featured stumbles with Congress and grumbles that he wasn't the right choice to coordinate an intense White House operation of ideas, egos and decisions. So in a city where the art of political maneuvering was nearly perfected by Daley's father, legendary Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, there is nagging suspicion that there was more to his decision.

"People are talking about it," said Cliff Kelley, a former city alderman and radio talk-show host who often deals with political themes. "They don't think he would walk away at this very important time."

Obama's visit also came amid concern about whether Chicago residents remain enamored enough to do turn out in droves again to campaign for him. But his campaign said Chicagoans already are rallying behind him. "In Illinois alone, volunteers have already made over 260,000 phone calls, have held over 900 events," Ben Finkenbinder, a spokesman for Obama for America, said in an email.

Davis said he thinks they will. So does Ira Acree, a prominent black pastor at Greater St. John Bible Church in Chicago

"I anticipate they will rise to the occasion," he said.

Angela Billings, 52, a Chicago business woman who has donated to the campaign since 2008, attended the university event. She said enthusiasm in the president's hometown had faded a bit, but none of the Republican candidates were appealing to her.

"I'd rather be enthusiastic about Barack Obama," she said.

Obama's Wednesday schedule included two private fundraising events.

Davis said he wasn't worried that a new book written by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor would impact Obama's relationship with Emanuel. The book, released this week, contends that tensions developed between Michelle Obama and Emanuel while he was chief of staff, particularly over the White House's management of health care reform agenda.

"It does not appear to me that there is a great conflict," the congressman said.

Emanuel said last week that his relationship with the Obamas remained strong. The new Chicago mayor and his wife attended a private party at the White House a few weeks ago, and Emanuel said he and the president spoke as recently as Saturday. Emanuel also recently made a joint appearance with Michelle Obama in Chicago as part of a campaign to eliminate areas with few or no grocery stores.

Illinois Sen. Terry Link, a Chicago area Democrat who is a close friend of Obama, said Daley's departure was a good sign for the campaign.

"You're never going to see a 2008 again, that was a special special year," he said. "But you're still going to see the enthusiasm. The thought of Newt Gingrich or Rick Perry, I think will excite people to get out and work harder for Barack Obama."