Local media, and voters in Chicago, were not kind to Rahm Emanuel on his first day back in town for his ‘listening tour™’ (credit Hillary Clinton) to hear what voters think about his candidacy. Between the hand-sanitizer on camera and the discovery that his “I’m baaaaack!” video was made at his home in DC, things are a little bumpy for Rahm, to say the least. DNC Chair, anyone?

The Illinois Greens are very much an up and coming state Green Party. In 2006 they got over 10% of the gubernatorial vote and this year they’re poised to win one or two seats in the state legislature (for some perspective, nationally the Greens have had 4 state legislators ever), along with having some strong statewide candidates.

And Chicago is, from what I’ve gathered, the center of Green activity in Illinois. Their Senate candidate LeAlan Jones – you may remember him as the producer of the radio piece “Ghetto Life 101″ when he was just 13 – is from the South Side of the city and when I interviewed the co-chair of the state party he thought their gubernatorial candidate would do best in Chicago, as well.

And now Rahm Emanuel’s running for mayor in that same exact city. I think you know what I’m getting at.

Matt Taibbi gives Obama obscene cover while pretending to tell the story of how the hedge fund multimillionaires managed to get their obscene 50% income tax break to survive.

Rahm! What magic do you possess?

A short skit to entertain folks with at your next gathering. Gather the children. It’s all about Rahm.

One more chance, Barack. I’m giving you one more chance! Let’s have a progressive chief of staff and I’ll consider voting Democrat in November.

Party hacks/grifters have it backwards when they insist we owe them our vote. In our representative democracy they have to earn our vote, or else they will earn our opposition.

These are hopeful days. The four horsemen of the establishment look like they are leaving the White House. Peter Orszag, who apparently was the most conservative of them all (and who just lobbied for more tax cuts for the rich), has left his position as head of the Office of Management and Budget. Larry Summers is leaving his position as director of National Economic Council. Rahm Emanuel might be out by October. And Tim Geithner is also rumored to be leaving after the election.

With Friday’s appointment of Elizabeth Warren as an “adviser” to have input in the shaping and launch of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Tuesday’s rapidly-arranged announcement that Larry Summers will be stepping down as head of the White House National Economic Council and this morning’s suggestion that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel could be resigning before the end of October to pursue the Chicago mayor’s seat, progressives have more reason to be optimistic this week than they have had in quite some time. But since this President was elected through the hard work of progressives who since then have been largely shut out of his administration and even ridiculed by him and other administration figures, it makes sense to look a little more closely at these events and how they are likely to lead to further disappointments.

If there are any progressives left, it’s time for them to acknowledge that the Obama Administration is systematically destroying their brand.