CMB (for whom I voted in 1998 when she lost her seat to Peter Fitzgerald) is upset she's not getting enough coverage. She wants to be the "big name" candidate for mayor, and no one's paying attention because Rahm's back. She also wants to be the "black" candidate, and black leaders are already behind the big Daley Machine candidate, Danny Davis (who ran for mayor in the early '90s before he was a Congressman). I think this is a three-person race for Mayor: Rahm, Davis, and Gery Chico. And, yes, I'm completely ignoring the Republicans. As you know, only the Democratic primary matters.

More about Rahm and his intentions: He's been planning an exit strategy since he joined Obama's White House. He reluctantly agreed to become Chief of Staff in 2008. He was concerned about the hours and the time away from his family (at least as Congressman he could spend a lot of time back home in his district), but knew he had an opportunity to work with our first black President who was also a friend. While in Congress, it was known that the only other two government jobs Rahm was interested in were Speaker of the House (to be the first Jewish one, actually) and Mayor of Chicago (whenever Daley retired, not go up against him like Bobby Rush). This run wasn't a surprise to many Chicago politics watchers, and that he left the White House to puruse it shouldn't have surprised folks either, in my opinion. I'm also confident that this wasn't an impetuous decision on Rahm's part because Daley said a year ago or so that he didn't want to surpass his Dad's number of years in office (21). He's still in awe of his father and didn't want to overshadow his dad's legacy in any way. Chicago's been speculating all 2010 about when Daley would announce that he's not running for re-election. So, all of that is why I think Rahm jumped in: not to bail on Obama after the historic loss, but to do exactly what he planned to do and what Obama, I'm sure, expected. CMB, who lives in Hyde Park full-time now, is just full of sour grapes and looking to knock down Rahm.

What's funny (and sad) about CMB is that she's spinning this 2010 midterm losses like Republicans would. Consider this: Rahm is also credited with masterminding the Dems taking back Congress in 2006. Was he responsible for that? Probably, some, yes. And was Rahm responsible for 2010 Dem Congress losses? Probably, some, yes. He's lauded as a genius four years ago and then maligned four years later. More than anything Rahm did or did not do, I think both historic mid-term victories were highly politicized and mostly referenda against unpopular Presidents and their policies (2006 = Bush and war; 2010 = Obama and the economy and healthcare) and less about political mastermind Rahm's credit or blame. CMB knows all of this, but stirs it up anyway, risking getting Chicago Republicans and Tea Party people all fired up and organized to try to take City Hall away from the Dems. Just doesn't seem smart, unless she only cares about herself and her candidacy. Which is why I'll keep an eye on her as an independent or third-party candidate for mayor.