offers this view on Obama’s selection of Rahm Emanual as White House Chief of Staff here:

 ….when Mr. Clinton agreed to defer to Congress on key elements of his
legislative agenda. The subsequent lurch to the left did incalculable
damage to his presidency.

That may be one reason why Mr. Obama has chosen Rahm Emanuel, a
respected member of the Congressional leadership, to become his new
White House Chief of Staff. Mr. Emanuel has a reputation as a tough
partisan, but he has also exhibited impatience with left-wing members
of his party who have overly ambitious ideological agendas. A likely
first assignment for Mr. Emanuel will be reminding House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that, after only two years
of Democratic control, Congress already has a lower approval rating
than even President Bush’s.