Family dynamics, brotherhood, and a new cologne

Did you all happen to hear about Republican Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who received a phone call from Barack Obama congratulating her on her re-election? Pretty cool...except she thought she was being punked by some local radio personalities, so she hung up on him. But wait! There's more! After she hung up on him, Rahm Emanuel called her up to tell her the President-Elect wanted to speak with her...and she hung up on him, too! Ha ha ha! It finally took the chairman of the House committee she's on to get her on the phone and tell her that Obama really was trying to get in touch with her! This just tickled me to no end, because I can imagine Barack and Rahm (and yes, we're on a first name basis) sitting in his Chicago office (or wherever they were) and trying to deal with this.

Barack: Representative Ros-Lehtinen? This is Barack Obama. How are you today? Good, good...yes, I'm fine, too. Busy, as you can imagine! Listen, I just wanted to congratulate you on your re-election, and tell you that I'm looking forward to working with you and the other members of the Foreign Affairs Committee...what? No, this isn't a hoax. It's really me. What? No, wait--- [to Rahm] She hung up on me!

Rahm: [laughing] Are you f***ing kidding me? No f***ing way! [If you haven't heard, he's notorious for his profanity. At a fundraiser, a roast of Emanuel, Obama commented on the loss of most of one of Emanuel's middle fingers in an accident with a meat slicer...he said that it rendered Emanuel half-mute.]

Barack: Way!

Rahm: Give me the phone. I'll call her back. Hello? Representative Ros-Lehtinen? Rahm Emanuel here. Listen, the President-Elect is trying to contact you and no, it's not a joke, that really was him! What? No, it's me, Rahm. I see you all the time in the House. Look, Ileana, you need to get over your paranoia and talk to--hello? Hello? [throws the phone across the room] Holy f***, she just hung up on me, too! I don't f***ing believe this! What the f***?!

Then I picture the two of them cracking up in stunned amazement! You can bet she isn't going to live that one down anytime soon! I think this was a case where she punked herself, but it sounds like she was pretty good-natured about the whole thing.

In the course of reading about the incident, I came across an interview from earlier this year, with Charlie Rose interviewing the Emanuel brothers. If you haven't read much about them, Ezekiel is the oldest, an oncologist and bioethicist at the National Institutes of Health; Rahm is the middle son and worked with the Clinton administration, then made several million as an investment banker, then successfully ran for Congress; and Ari is the youngest, and is considered a Hollywood "super-agent," representing many A-listers. Here's a clip from the interview:



The dynamic between these three over-achieving brothers is just fascinating to me. First of all, can you imagine these three growing up together? In watching other parts of the interview, it's obvious that while they all showed extreme intelligence and drive as boys, they were also typical boys and typical brothers, a strange mixture of love and competitiveness. It made me wonder about the whole nature vs. nurture argument again. What is it about these three, or about their family, that made them all incredibly successful in their individual areas of endeavor? Why are their fields so wildly different--medicine, politics, and entertainment? Was their parents' obviously ample intelligence passed to them genetically, or was the atmosphere in the home conducive to learning through discussion, argument, and persuasion? How much did birth order have to do with it? How much did competition with the other brothers come into play? Rahm speaks of he and Ari having a hard act to follow in Ezekiel when it came to grades--did that drive them to work harder in order to not be overshadowed by their genius older brother?

Is there anyone else who is fascinated by this? [sound of crickets] Maybe not. But I can't help but wonder about the psychology between siblings such as these, and the reason for their wild success in their individual fields. Their drive to be the best must be incredible. I suppose that if I could isolate and bottle their essence, I'd be a millionaire. "Coming soon, exclusively to Macy's [that one is for you, Miss G!], surround yourself with the scent and success of Emanuel...emanuel [whispered]. Power has never smelled so intoxicating, so heady...or so enticing. Emanuel...emanuel [whispered]."

Whaddya think?! I think it's a winner, and honestly, not a bad name for a cologne. A sort of woodsy scent, with a subtle hint of musk, and perhaps a light citrus overtone. Think I could get Rahm to do a commercial?