MSNBC reads between the lines of a Washington Post report, and comes away with a startling conclusion: White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel - and not the staff who report to him - is in charge:

The Washington Post has the type of story that suggests it may know more than it reported. “The selection of a small and very senior group of administration officials to help manage the nomination is designed, in part, to avoid the kinds of leaks that angered several Cabinet nominees during Obama's transition.”

“Running the selection are White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, counsel Gregory B. Craig and deputy counsel Cassandra Q. Butts, a classmate of Obama's at Harvard Law. Obama has reached out to Republican and Democratic Senate leaders, seeking their recommendations. But the chance that he would veer from his own list, which began taking shape in December, is slim.”

Now, infer away... Rahm's in charge... not the lawyers. Discuss.

Of course, it's silly to think there is anything even remotely noteworthy about the White House chief of staff being “in charge” of an effort taking place in the White House, rather than subordinates to the chief of staff being “in charge.” But we'll probably see a great deal of faux outrage by conservative media, anyway.