He didn't need to lift a finger to get the press on his side. Odds are they'll stay, even if he continues to treat them as highhandedly as he did during the campaign, most visibly shutting off nearly all access to Gaffemaster B (Biden) and to himself as it came down to the wire.

If motormouth Emanuel changes the tone, that will help Obama to extend his honeymoon. However, as chief of staff, he won't have the time to obsess over the press as he has done in his other roles.

Also, it certainly doesn't seem as though the two men are temperamentally suited to work together. Mr. Cool and Mr. Hot? Even more unusually, in politics the even-tempered guy is usually the one behind-the-scenes trying to cool off the passionate front-man. Here it's the reverse. Fun to watch...

I believe you are correct that RE will not have the time to engage in the seemingly low-level noise he was disseminating in the Clinton WH. He now has a "serious" job while engaging others to do the lunches with Cokie et Howie etc. And lets not forget that guru Axelrod will still be around to ensure that everyone is on message. Both ER and Axelrod will probably have Obama's ear... at different times.

...given the outrageously biased and antagonistic coverage of him in Faux News, and the even MORE biased coverage he got from the right-wing squawk radio and blogosphere crazies...