Rahm asked by Ponce: 'Do you need to tweak your style?' Or 'Why are you such a dick'?
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| "You know, Phil. I'm human just like you." |
Rahm is not used to being confronted face-to-face interview style where he can't sneer, give a glib answer, and walk away. Phil Ponce basically asks him why he is such an asshole (Ponce doesn't use those words of course) and Rahm struggles for words. He tries to force a smile -- they've prompted him to smile more, to be a softer, gentler Rahm -- but his mouth just doesn't seem to stretch that far. He's just not a self-aware guy and all the coaching by Axelrod's people can't change that.
After denying the Guardian report that Chicago PD has an off-the-books, secret interrogation spot at Homan Square ("We follow all the rules... Everything's done by the book."), Rahm is asked about the PARCC test fiasco.
He's lost. Non-responsive. I can't really blame him on that one. He's an education know-nothing and his own schools chief Byrd-Bennett has ordered that full PARCC testing be put off for a year, blasted the testing process and called the PARCC test “unproven.” All Rahm can do is mutter something about how the test needs improvement. He admits, "We haven't even gotten the results back from last-year's tests." But you can tell he's going to cave to Arne Duncan and Rauner's guy Meeks on this one and give the test anyway ("There is a serious financial and that's what we have to weigh"). What?
Then comes Ponce's asshole question. Why do so many Chicagoans hate you? Actually, he asks, "Do you need to tweak your style?" Rahm hesitates, trying to Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm asked by Ponce: 'Do you need to tweak your style?' Or 'Why are you such a dick'?:
