Obama: Emanuel would be an 'excellent' mayor, will decide after elections

President Obama said his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, would be an "excellent" mayor of Chicago, and expected him to decide on whether to run for that position after the midterm elections.

Obama joined the other administration officials who have praised Emanuel's potential candidacy for the mayorship of the Windy City, raising the prospect that the chief of staff might bolt to pursue the campaign.

"I think he would be an excellent mayor. He is an excellent chief of staff," Obama said on "Good Morning America" on ABC. "I think right now, as long as he is in the White House, he is critically focused on making sure that we're creating jobs for families around the country and rebuilding our economy."

Mayor Richard M. Daley announced earlier this week that he would not seek a seventh term as mayor of Chicago, potentially ending the long Daley dynasty in Chicago politics. Emanuel had mused that he might be interested in the position if Daley were to retire, and expressed "surprise" when the mayor made the announcement on Tuesday.

Obama said he expected Emanuel to make a formal decision after Nov. 2's elections, setting up a short window of time between then and the Nov. 22 filing deadline for candidates.

"My expectation is he'd make a decision after these midterm elections," he said. "He knows that we've got a lot of work to do. But I think he'd be a terrific mayor."

If Emanuel does run, he won't necessarily face a smooth path to victory. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) and his wife; Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), a longtime critic of Emanuel; and other local politicians have begun to mull potential candidacies. Obama's words may have an especially large impact on Chicagoans' decision, though, since the president considers the city his hometown.

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