Ask Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., a question, and you'll probably get a rapid-fire, self-confident reply. The chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is highly experienced at dealing with reporters and adept at sticking to the talking points that he typically prepares himself.
But during a May 17 interview with National Journal, Emanuel was also careful not to inflate expectations about a possible House Democratic takeover in November. And he emphasized the difficulty of managing several dozen competitive House campaigns, each with unique personalities and local factors, amid a turbulent national political environment. Edited excerpts from that interview follow.
NJ: How does your background as a senior White House aide to President Clinton affect how you handle your DCCC job?
Emanuel: Working on the [Clinton] election, re-election, and at the White House is a valuable political playing field to play on. I have raised money before. I have done rapid response before. I've done recruiting of candidates. All of that builds up.
I am proud that we have built an effective rapid-response operation [at the DCCC]. We are the challengers and this is a full-court-press game. We had to get off the defense and on the offense. That's true also on [candidate] recruitment. We have spread the field. All of this is good. But at the end of the day, all that matters is what we do on Election Day.
For a Type A personality like me, the truth is that I have very little control over this. So much of the atmosphere, so much of the environment that will determine what kind of a year this is, we don't really have an impact on. The things that I do have an impact on, I feel very good about.
NJ: What kind of factors are beyond your control?
Emanuel: We don't have an impact on the Iraq war, do we? We don't have an impact on interest rates, do we? That being said, we recruited candidates in contests where just about everyone said that the incumbents, such as [GOP Rep.] Don Sherwood [of Pennsylvania], were safe; now, we have a great opportunity. That race is not about the Democrat; it's about Don Sherwood. Our nominee clears the threshold of legitimacy.
We set out with what I called the three R's: rapid response, recruitment of candidates, raising of money. On those things that we can affect, we were effective.
NJ: Republicans point out that you have failed in some recruiting.
Emanuel: Of course I have failures. Do you know anybody that bats a thousand, from the White House down? But, in the overall game, who's on offense and who's on defense?
NJ: How do you achieve a House Democratic takeover?
Emanuel: One of the things that we are big about is what I told the [House Democratic] Caucus: The majority does not exist in this room. The road to the majority is through [our challengers].
NJ: Why did you bring in additional House colleagues to help you run the DCCC?
Emanuel: They are part of a political team. In this environment, [my colleagues] want to be on the court. And there is an acknowledgment that we have put together a real political apparatus here. We put together a communications, and a political, and a research arm that they can touch, feel, and anchor on to. In life, is there anything like winning? It's in the air right now.
NJ: What about next month's special election for the seat that was vacated by Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham, R-Calif.?
Emanuel: It's a Republican district, and they are spending $3.5 million to hold on to a 62 percent Republican district, which should be a lock.
NJ: But you need a win.
Emanuel: They need to hold.
NJ: What needs to happen for you to get 218 House seats?
Emanuel: We have to keep executing our game plan and raise our resources. My biggest worries now are the [campaign] environment and resources -- things I can't control. -- R.E.C.
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