"Rahmbo", "the Terminator" and the man with skinny legs

Maybe, I am being a little bit too harsh on Barack after less than two days, however, the decision to appoint Rahm Emanuel, as his Chief of Staff, has to be ominous for the Palestinians. According to the pen picture, drawn up by this morning's 'Haaretz, Emanuel "comes from fine Irgun stock."(1) His father "fought" for the Irgun, although "fought" is, of course, hardly the operative word here for people who were the shock troops of an ethnic cleansing. You know, the sort of thing Karadizic is in the Hague for!
His creditials for the job come from his time at the White House as Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff; a period, which earned him the nickname "Rahmbo". It could be, however, that he got that nickname because of his volunteering for service with the IDF during the first Gulf War and, while he was a non-combatant, he is, nevertheless, an American citizen who has served in the Israeli Defence Force! Still, we shouldn't worry too much about the appointment of someone who 'Haaretz' describes as, "a moderate orthodox Jew"(2), after all, he has got a recommendation from his Rabbi.
"Yes, we can" and in less than two days we are beginning to see the nature of the "change" we can expect in Washington. No, there will be no job for Rashid Khalid but the odds on "the Terminator" Schwarzenegger joining "Rambo" in Washington are shortening and that despite a speech a few days ago in support of McCain where Arnold, referring to Obama, said, "he needs to do something about those skinny legs. I'm going to make him do some squats. And then we're going to make him do some biceps curls to beef up those scrawny little arms. But if he could only do something about putting some meat on his ideas. Senator McCain on the other hand is built like a rock. His character and his views are solid."(3) Yes Arnold, and your brain comes out of a phial of jintropin.
Well, with "Rahmbo" and "the Terminator" on his staff, Obama might just be able to have an easy life. Change, after all, is hard work and if Obama gets bored for the want of something to do, I am sure he can join Arnie in the gym, where he can do some squats and bicep curls. Still, it has to be said that Schwarzenegger joining "Rahmbo" in Washington is conjecture on my part. However, we shouldn't be too surprised if it were to happen especially after Obama appointing a man whose duties will include, "selecting, structuring and overseeing key White House staff; controlling the flow of people and paper into the Oval Office; managing the flow of information and opinion to and from the president in a manner that honestly brokers differing perspectives."(4) An ex-volunteer for the IDF, the son of an Irgun terrorist and an orthodox Jew gets to decide on the mail and people that gets to the president. "Change" ..... and the band played believe it if you like!
1 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1035128.html
2 Ibid
3 http://voices.kansascity.com/node/2624
4 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081107.ELECTIONEMANUEL07/TPStory/International
The picture shows "Rahmbo" and Obama or is it Rahm and "Obama"