RUDY II? – AT 8:59 P.M. ET:  We've been watching Rahm Emanuel as he takes the reins as mayor of Chicago.  He clearly has ambitions that go beyond windy cities.  He was chief of staff to President Obama, and there are reports that his wife was seen measuring the White House drapes.

Now he faces his first crisis – a series of brutal muggings on Chicago's presumably "safe" lakefront, carried out by groups of "youths."  Some of the muggings targeted physicians attending a medical convention.

One of the great tests of any mayor is how he or she handles crime.  Is it the Rudy approach – no excuses, effective police action; or is it the sixties method – sociological explanations and "understanding" of the plight of the poor, oppressed kids?

Rahm has learned from Rudy:

CHICAGO (CBS) — While he is pleased with the quick arrest of suspects in a series of mob attacks over the weekend, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday made no secret that he wants everybody involved “brought to justice.”

“I want all the young men that were involved in this,” Emanuel said. “Because I want to be very clear up front that as it relates to this crime, the full force of the law enforcement community and justice system will deal with it.”

Good for Rahm.  No sociology.  No anguished meetings with "black leaders."  (The kids involved were black.) 

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said yesterday that about 20 arrests were made in connection with the attacks, and five people were charged.

Emanuel said he spoke with McCarthy over the weekend and again this morning about the situation. The mayor said the city’s reputation as a safe place to work and shop downtown is being endangered by the thuggery. Many of the attacks are happening near the biggest tourist and shopping attractions in the city.

But, CBS 2′s Jim Williams reports, the problem of mob attacks downtown is much bigger than the weekend beatings, according to beat cops who wanted to remain anonymous.

The officers said some victims refused to file police reports, even though they been pushed around by mobs, knocked off bikes or even had their possessions stolen. They just don’t want to get involved with the criminal justice system, the officers said.

This will be Rahm's initial test.  If he flinches, and goes liberal Dem, he's finished beyond Chicago.  If he stands up to the muggers and demands the finest police work from the not-always-great Chicago Police Department, he becomes a hero.

By the way, these flash mob attacks are occurring all over the country.  Tragically, all the incidents involve African-American youngsters.  Some of the attacks may be organized.

If this continues another few weeks, President Obama will have to become involved.  When a black professor at Harvard complained about the police, Obama held a beer summit at the White House between the professor (Henry Louis Gates Jr.) and a police officer.  This is far, far, more serious.  The nation's first black president has an absolute obligation to speak out, to offer cities federal assistance if need be, and to go to a black high school and read the riot act in no uncertain terms.

We should stress, of course, that the great majority of black kids are not involved in these incidents and shouldn't be stigmatized.  But those who are responsible should do serious time.

June 7, 2011