"Rahm knows Capitol Hill and has great political skills. He can be a tough partisan but also understands the need to work together," Graham said. "He's tough but fair. Honest, direct, and candid. These qualities will serve President-elect Obama well."

Leon Panetta, a former White House chief of staff under President Clinton and once Emanuel's boss there, said that it would be Obama, not Emanuel, who set the tone in the White House and with Congress.

"The chief of staff takes his orders from the president," Panetta said. "Rahm will take his signals from Barack Obama. And the primary role of the chief of staff is not dealing with Congress. His primary role is being the disciplinarian of the White House staff."

The job is one of the most important — if not the most important — in the White House after the president and vice president. Perhaps the most crucial role is managing the president's schedule, deciding which issues and which people reach him and which don't.

"You decide who gets into the Oval Office, who gets on Air Force One," Panetta said.

"President-elect Obama will soon find, even if he had 48 hours in the day, it's not enough for all the people who want to see him, all the memos he wants to read, all the phone calls he wants to make or take," said Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary in President Bush's White House.

"Someone powerful and smart needs to protect his time," Fleischer said. "It starts with Obama setting priorities and being disciplined, but it quickly becomes the burden of the chief of staff."

Some have done it well. Bush Chiefs of Staff Andrew Card and Joshua Bolten get high marks from insiders. Panetta, under Clinton, and Sam Skinner, under the first Bush, also were well regarded.

Some didn't do as well.

John Sununu ran roughshod over the elder Bush's White House. "Sununu would hardly let anyone in, and then insisted on being there himself for every meeting," Fleischer said. "That's really debilitating. If the chief of staff is there for everything, people have to measure what they say. The job is to give the president frank counsel."

Sununu eventually was forced to resign after reports that he'd used government planes for personal business.

Emanuel debated the offer for some time. He told WLS television in Chicago on Wednesday, before he accepted, that uprooting his young family was a big part of the reason he hesitated.

"I have a lot to weigh: the basis of public service, which I've given my life to, a career choice. And most importantly, what I want to do as a parent," Emanuel said. "And I know something about the White House. That, I assume, is one of the reasons that President-elect Obama would like me to serve. But I also know something about what it means to a family."

As Emanuel decided to take the job, Obama traveled to a secure FBI office in Chicago on Thursday to receive a detailed intelligence briefing akin to the one given daily to the president. He'll start receiving briefings from the Bush administration on other top issues, including the president's planned economic summit Nov. 15.

"This peaceful transfer of power is one of the hallmarks of a true democracy," Bush said at the White House. "And ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible is a priority for the rest of my presidency."

Obama will meet with his own panel of 17 economic advisers in Chicago on Friday morning, then will have his first news conference since he was elected.

The Obamas will visit the White House on Monday. Michelle Obama will tour the second-floor residence with first lady Laura Bush, and Barack Obama will meet with President Bush in the Oval Office.

"We understand that the Obama children will not be accompanying them on this visit," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said, "but we very much look forward to meeting them."

The President-elect returned calls to 9 leaders today, thanking them for having called to express congratulations on his election earlier this week. He returned calls to:

• Prime Minister Rudd of Australia
• Prime Minister Harper of Canada
• President Sarkozy of France
• Chancellor Merkel of Germany
• Prime Minister Olmert of Israel
• Prime Minister Aso of Japan
• President Calderon of Mexico
• President Lee of South Korea
• Prime Minister Brown of the United Kingdom

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Dems now have 57 Senate seats as Oregon's Smith falls

GOP shakeout begins as Democrats celebrate their wins

Caution: Obama won, but he didn't redraw the map

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