Rahm Emanuel

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel are special guests at a fund-raiser at the Yale Club this afternoon for six Democratic congressional challengers, including two from New York: Dan Maffei and Eric Massa.  read more »

It’s been barely a week since her fellow House Democrats officially picked Nancy Pelosi as the  read more »

It’s been barely a week since her fellow House Democrats officially picked Nancy Pelosi as their c  read more »

Chuck Todd thinks John McCain will save the GOP.

Whose fault is it that the Democrats didn't win the state Senate?

Kos wants to know what readers think about the leadership job being done by Howard Dean, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Rahm Emanuel.

Greg Sargent doesn't like the prevailing Joe Lieberman narrative.

An anonymous blogger wants to keep track of Eliot Spitzer's Day One plans for changing Albany.

Wonkster explains why the city likes charter schools, but isn't thrilled about the Julia Richman Educational Complex.

The AP has more on our item about Emily Pataki and the bar exam, rightly noting that both John F. Kennedy Jr. and Dennis Vacco failed on their first attempts too.

Welcome to Rich Azzopardi, the Senate Democrats' new press person.

And pictured above is Newsday'sDan Janison with a bottle of ale.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

From last Friday's Roll Call (subscription required):

"Preparing for a potential Democratic victory on Election Day, House Democratic Caucus Chairman James Clyburn (S.C.) has begun rounding up support for a would-be bid for the Majority Whip's office."

The subtext to Clybrun's move is the question of what Rahm Emanuel, the architect of the House Democrats' campaign strategy, wants out of a Democratic takeover.

No one doubts that he'd like to move into a leadership post, but the politics of it are very tricky for him. Taking on Nancy Pelosi for Speaker would probably be suicidal, and a bid for Majority Leader against Steny Hoyer (the current Minority Whip) and John Murtha (who has announced his intention to run if the Democrats secure a majority) would be impractical.

But Majority Whip, the number three post on the majority side, could be a winnable race - and would position Emanuel very nicely for the future, since the 66-year-old Pelosi, 67-year-old Hoyer and 74-year-old Murtha are all on the back nine of their careers. Hence the pre-emptive maneuvering of Clyburn, who as Caucus Chairman is now the third-ranking House Democrat.

An Emanuel-Clyburn contest could get very ugly, very quickly, though. The 66-year-old Clyburn, a courtly South Carolinian, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, a key 43-member component of the Democratic coalition whose leaders would almost assuredly demand - loudly - that Pelosi weigh in on Clyburn's behalf. And the would-be Speaker certainly doesn't want an intra-party bloodbath to serve as her new House majority's introduction to America.

-- Steve Kornacki

Bill Clinton, DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel, and DLC President Bruce Reed, authors of "The Plan: Big Ideas for America" stop by the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Triangle at 7.

The four Democratic candidates in the 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn debate tonight on NY1. It airs tonight at 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Assembly candidate Stu Mirsky kicks off his 'Stu Can Do' campaign in Rockaway.

And Democratic congressional candidate Stephen Harrison greets folks tonight at Ozzies in Park Slope (5th Ave. and Garfield Place) at 7.

In another sign that national Dems are looking to New York -- and an anticipated Hillary landslide -- to pick up seats in the House, DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel just called to talk about Congressman John Sweeney.

Emanuel just told reporters a few minutes ago on a conference call that U.S. Rep. John Sweeney really, really ought to appear before a New York Assembly committee investigating his role in organizing a $27,000 Lake Placid ski weekend for members of Congress that was attended mostly by lobbyists, local officials, and executives from the New York Power Authority.

Ted Blazer, the Chief Executive of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which organized the trip, has testified that Sweeney was in charge of picking the guests. Sweeney has countered that he had nothing to do with the invitations, for which he said Blazer's organization was responsible.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky has asked Sweeney to testify and address the discrepancy. Emanuel, who desperately hopes to replace Sweeney with Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, said that the congressman owes it to New York voters to answer Brodsky's questions.

"You look at the news today, we got Iraq, raising energy prices, the economy," said Emanuel . "We are all busy people here, what are we doing drafting invite lists for a ski trip?"

And what are such busy people doing, for that matter, concerning themselves with proceedings in the New York State Assembly?

Jason Horowitz