How Long Will Rahm's Chicago Honeymoon Last?

Obama's former chief of staff provokes a strong reaction in many people, especially because he says so many f-words

Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of Chicago Tuesday night, winning an 55 percent of the vote. The election of the short, foulmouthed, nine-fingered ex-ballerina marks the end of the Daley era--Richard J. or Richard M. ran the city for 42 of the last 55 years.

Emanuel benefited from his political connections, and not just in fundraising, where he dominated his opponents. Voters were more familiar with his work as President Obama's chief of staff than as a congressman. Still, he basically had to act like a nice person to get elected, The New York Times' Monica Davey and Emma Graves Fitzsimmons report.

Emanuel provokes a strong reaction in many. Tuesday was a night for Rahm lovers. NewsBeast's Jonathan Alter calls him the "new king of Chicago" and raves, "I've been at a lot of Election Night parties in Chicago since I was a kid. This was the first where the winner raised the bar on himself immediately after being elected." At Gawker, Max Read declares that Emanuel has been "granted the right of Prima Nocte within city environs." But even many Rahm haters have a grudging admiration for him: the media strategist for Gery Chico, who came in at a distant second place, said, "Running against Rahm felt like waking up every morning and running face-first into a gale-force hurricane." For politicos who had hoped to see Emanuel get his comeuppance, Politico's John F. Harris explains that there are seven seven secrets of Emanuel's success, all begining with the letter M and including both "moxie" and "mensch."

Pointing to the Chicago Sun Times' analysis of Emanuel's next challenges--"Rahm Emanuel's Round One victory gives him a running start on confronting problems so severe, the painful solutions could seal his fate as a one-termer"--Teagan Goddard wonders if this is the shortest honeymoon ever.