Emanuel Talks Chicago Violence, Syria On Letterman

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 10, 2013 1:40PM

Rahm Emanuel called being mayor of Chicago “the best job I’ve ever had in public office” in a nearly 15-minute interview on Late Show with David Letterman Monday night. Emanuel, who was on the show to promote The Presidents’ Gatekeepers, a documentary on The Discovery Channel airing Wednesday and Thursday, also touched base on his time as mayor, Chicago’s national reputation for violent crime and made the case for intervention in Syria.

Letterman began his interview with Emanuel with an attempt at levity about the city’s murder rate. "What I hear about Chicago now is 'Oh, don't go to Chicago, the violence is unbelievable.' Now, tell us why people say that," Letterman asked.

Emanuel answered his oft-cited statistic that violent crime was down 24 percent over 2012 yet conveniently failed to mention that the murder rate remained high and the homicide totals for July and August were only down slightly from last year’s numbers. Emanuel also blamed the rash of shootings in Chicago on “guns flowing in from Indiana” and other states and called for support for President Obama’s universal background check proposal.

Emanuel brought up a report commissioned by Citigroup that showed Chicago was projected to be the ninth most competitive city worldwide in economic development by 2025 as another example of how he’s getting things done in the City That Works. Letterman didn’t ask Emanuel about his ongoing battles with the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools’ closing 50 schools earlier this year. Letterman did, however, ask what it was like following Richard M. Daley as mayor. Emanuel said it was “time to get the city moving and on a new chapter.”

The one-time Obama White House chief of staff did his former boss a solid by making the case to intervene in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is accused of using chemical weapons against his own people. “This is not an easy choice,” Emanuel said of military intervention, and called on Congress to “make sure America stands tall at this moment” by supporting the president.

Emanuel reiterated his intentions to run for re-election.