BEST SHOW IN TOWN – AT 8:37 A.M. ET:  The town is Chicago, and the best show is politics.  Chicago will soon crown a new mayor – and crowning is what they do there. 

Rahm Emanuel wants the job, but arms in Chicago are less than open.  Emanuel has the warmth of Don Rickles and the gentleness of Sylvester Stallone.  Not everyone is an ally.  And there are some other famous names waiting to get into the race.  From The Hill:

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) and his wife Sandi, a Chicago alderman, are considering entering the city's open mayoral race.

Sandi Jackson told NBC Chicago that both she and her husband are weighing a bid in the race to replace six-term Mayor Richard Daley (D), who decided this week not to seek reelection.

"I'm considering it," she said. "I love campaigns."

She said that she and her husband would sort out any potential conflict over the matter.

"My husband and I will sit down and decide if either of us will run," she said.

I'm not quite getting this.  Are you?  I get the sense that both of them could run.  Now that would be fascinating.

Rep. Jackson, the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson, is among several Washington politicians who are reportedly thinking about running for Chicago mayor, first among them being White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who represents parts of the Chicago's south side, is also reportedly weighing a mayoral bid. Gutierrez has been a critic of the Obama administration, especially on immigration policy.

You can see immediately that race and ethnicity will overshadow the campaign.  Emanuel is Jewish, the Jacksons are African-American, and Gutierrez is Hispanic...and they're all quite prepared to knife each other.  What a country!

For entertainment value alone, the Chicago mayoralty race will be one of the most fascinating to watch.  And to think, it will probably be decided by voters whose funerals were held years ago.  What a city!

September 11, 2010