Not everyone is buying the White House's claim that no senior staffer's job is in jeopardy in the wake of last week's debacles. It may not come quickly, but a reshuffling is almost certain even if the shakeup must wait until after the midterm elections in nine months.

For now, Obama political strategist David Axelrod told ABC News his boss doesn't react to "When are we going to throw a body out?" stories that call for White House resignations. "That's not how we roll," he said.

That won't stop the knives from being sharpened in anticipation of a high-level departure. Topping the list of unpopular staffers is Rahm Emanuel, the pit-bull chief of staff who clearly miscalculated when he assured President Obama that the 2008 election and the financial crisis had ushered in a transformational moment that would allow a massive expansion of government.

Republicans have long had it in for Mr. Emanuel, ever since Election Night 2006 when he praised his role as Democratic campaign chief for delivering "a thumpin'" that ended GOP control of Congress. But Democrats have also grown disenchanted with their former House colleague. "I haven't seen Rahm Emanuel except on television," Bill Pascrell, a Democratic lawmaker from New Jersey, told Politico.com last week. "We used to see him a lot. I'd like him to come out from behind his desk and meet with the common folk."

For its part, the Washington punditocracy is bidding down Mr. Emanuel's chances of survival. On this week's McLaughlin Group, all five panelists agreed he would be gone by year-end, with even stalwart liberal Eleanor Clift saying that the Massachusetts defeat will necessitate some personnel changes in Team Obama.