I am actually surprised it took this long. The Obama team has blamed foreign money, voter confusion, Karl Rove, George W. Bush, a dearth of “civility,” insufficient communication by the omnipresent chief executive, and just about everything other than its agenda for the midterm debacle. But it took them a few days to get around to the obvious fall guy: Rahm Emanuel. This report explains:

Some of them shake their heads in disbelief that Emanuel would bolt at precisely the juncture when the Democrats needed to shape their strategy and message during the homestretch of what everyone knew would be the toughest election cycle in years. …

Several lower-level White House aides say they’re still surprised that Emanuel would so readily follow his personal ambition instead of staying beside the many Democrats he helped elect in the foxhole in the final weeks of the campaign.

OK, now that’s funny. Can you imagine such blind ambition and blatant job-hopping?! Tut, tut. Aside from the unintended hilarity, there is some vague notion here that Emanuel led Obama astray:

“It was Rahm who always said, ‘We’ve just got to put points on the board,’ and that’s why we have a transactional presidency,” said one former colleague. “The only problem is that Obama is not a transactional politician. It was Rahm’s strategy and then he leaves a month before the election for his own personal political career. It’s extraordinary.”

I have no clue what a “transactional” president is — an effective one? Did Obama not want to pursue all this radical legislation? Well, whatever Emanuel did, it was very bad, and the president, who really can’t be held accountable for his own administration, is left holding the bag.

But not to fear — another political hack and true believer is on the way: “David Plouffe, who managed Obama’s campaign, is expected to join the White House early in the new year with an expansive brief.” Yes, what the White House is missing is someone who understands campaigning because the problem, you see, is a failure to communicate, and who better than the campaign chief to fix that?