The Big Question no one seems to be asking Rahm, but should

Mr. Emanuel:

In it's recent history, Chicago has been run in the most part by just two mayors, each of whom served more than two decades.  In both cases, the early terms were marked by conciliation, inclusiveness, optimism and high achievement; the later terms by increasing divisiveness, intolerance of alternate viewpoints, crises of management, and growing frustration.  In both cases, as incumbency was leveraged to accumulate ever great power, ultimately the response to every question  and challenge the city faced came to be perceived as being all but completely dependent on the opinion or whim of just one man.  As an acute observer of both government and politics, you certainly understand that this process results in a lack of depth in civic leadership, just at the moment when the problems of the city grow to where it is most essential.  As a student of Chicago history, you must also know that this question is neither marginal nor premature.

It is often said that George Washington's greatest gift to the new American republic was to set the pattern for a peaceful and orderly rotation of power by retiring from the Presidency at the end of his second term.  Mr. Emanuel, do you see yourself as the indispensable man that Chicago will require indefinitely, perhaps even to the end of your life, or will your administration move quickly to master our current challenges, and will you pledge to serve no more than two terms?