want to do as a parent, Emanuel said in an interview that aired Wednesday. Emanuel added: This is not a professional choice. This is a personal choice about what my wife and I want to do for our family, as much as what to do with my career. Emanuel's at-times blunt approach would ensure the White House runs smoothly for the new president, said Mack McLarty, Clinton's former chief of staff. Watch as McLarty calls Emanuel an excellent choice Rahm is high energy. He's direct. He's a tough-minded pragmatist. So I think the years have been good to him in that regard, McLarty said. I think the high-energy directness will serve him well. Rahm, like a lot of us, made mistakes, but he quickly corrected them. However, the lawmaker's direct style has ruffled a number of feathers in Washington, and Emanuel is known as one of the toughest partisan fighters on Capitol Hill. After reports that Emanuel had agreed to be Obama's chief of staff on Thursday, the top Republican in the House, Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, questioned the president-elect's pick. Election T-shirt: Obama inspires historic victory This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil and govern from the center, Boehner said. According to a 2006 profile of Emanuel in Fortune magazine, Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma warned his fellow Republicans of