Earlier quoted context omitted.
Emacs has a package manager, it works fine. I particularly like that I can script it to install my packages on first run.
works fine = work fine for me after I have spend x hours looking around the net, writing elisp myself. that's the whole problem with lisp. it is not communal, because it does not enforce standards.
M-x package-install
That's with a blank .emacs file on Emacs 24 on a brand new user account I created just to test that for you.
EDIT: (ofc the auto-installing my favourite packages stuff is elisp I wrote)