Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel stopped by the Ford School for an intimate talk with some 30 students, faculty, and staff, sharing tales of his many public roles and offering insight into the biggest policy challenges currently facing the United States. He ended the discussion with an impassioned plea to all of the students to pursue at least some form of national service before they take off on their careers.
In conversation with Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes, he tapped into his extensive experience in three Democratic administrations, and as a member of Congress, mayor of Chicago, and potential 2028 presidential candidate (a notion he teased several times during the afternoon)..
He began with international affairs, saying that the current administration is creating a strategic realignment in Europe, the Pacific and Latin America. He said the U.S. is creating insecurity, forcing traditional allies and training partners to question the country's reliability.
"People have to choose between Trump and Xi -- an unreliable partner or a country that is exporting its dysfunctional economy. The U.S. used to be the standard and now people around the world don't like what they see," he said.
He said solutions lie in the next administration re-establishing a closer relationship with NATO and the Mercosur countries.
On immigration, he said, "We are a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. If you want reform you have to do both." Democrats have been too permissive over many administrations. Now that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction, "We could be at the breaking point, with a real chance for reform."
Emanuel has been speaking about education reform, and touted his record in Chicago, while controversial, did get results. He wants more to adopt the Mississippi model, where he had recently visited, which includes phonics-based instruction and holding back struggling readers. He said that in every era when the U.S. heavily invested in education – after the Civil War, and with the GI Bill after WWII, Cold War-era investments in science and technology – the U.S. economy benefitted. He also mentioned a $10,000 bonus for military members who sign up for apprenticeships after they leave the service.
Finally, Emanuel mentioned as part of his proposed agenda a six-month national service requirement for high school seniors. "It's the best way to get people in the U.S. together, to bridge differences," he said.
Regarding his presidential aspirations, he said, "Whoever gets the nomination, among the 20 people who will run, even if it's not me, they will be running on my message." He said the president has an opportunity to challenge Americans to be better, to use the bully pulpit. He said, "Right now, we have a bully and no pulpit."
