The Obama Transition and the Importance of Getting It Right
Today's Washington Post has a fascinating chart that details how differently various modern Presidents have gone about putting together their administrations.
What Obama advisers have told me is that his plan, which he has been working on since July, looks at the chaotic transition of Bill Clinton as the model of what not to do. Clinton, as the chart shows, did not make a single major appointment in the first six weeks after he was elected. And when he finally did, he put far more emphasis in bringing together a diverse and glamorous cabinet then he did in building a functional White House staff. That priority, in retrospect, was a backward one. Remember Clinton's three tries at finding an Attorney General? And his blunder at making gays in the military the first major issue of his presidency--something that a disciplined White House operation would have avoided? Obama, it appears (at least initially), is following the more successful models of Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, putting his initial priority on the White House operation.
It's also heartening to see how closely and amicably the current White House is working with the incoming one to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. In a moment of economic crisis at home--and continued threat of terrorism from abroad--chaos is something the country simply cannot afford as it hands power from one administration to the next. And here, President Bush deserves enormous credit. As the Post also writes:
Brookings Institution scholar Stephen Hess, who has been involved in presidential transitions since the Eisenhower administration, is among those who are impressed by the efforts.
"I'm not sure I've ever seen an outgoing administration work as hard at saying the right thing," Hess said in an interview Friday. "This is really quite memorable."
Hess and other experts agreed that the times demand cooperation. "I think it's the most dire set of circumstances I can recall in looking at presidential transitions," said Charles O. Jones, who studies the transfer of power. He and others compare Obama's challenge to Franklin D. Roosevelt's in 1932, or even Abraham Lincoln's in 1860.
Jones, of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, said Bush's organized approach to the transition is smoothing the way and "may be one of the more positive features to his chief-executive-officer approach to the office."
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We are the Obama Fan Club because we believe he is calm and deliberate - he will get it right ............
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/11/09/the-barack-obama-fan-club/
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[...] Read Full Post Here Book Mark it-> del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | Facebook | Technorati | Google | StumbleUpon | Window Live | Tailrank | Furl | Netscape | Yahoo | BlinkList Tags: Obama, Time, transition [...]
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We have an adult coming to the White House, instead of ideological immaturity. Wonderful.
By the way, speaking of immaturity perhaps you need to do an article on the Republican view of the bailout of the automakers and it's effect upon the NASCAR nation.
Larry Kudlow who spent most of the campaign season bashing Obama and the Democrats and making the arugment that eliminating the capital gains tax and lowering taxes for the wealthy would cure all of our problems, came out last week stated that the automakers should be allowed to fail. When questioned about the workers who would lose their jobs he just stated they will find other jobs. Then CNBC had on a Republican house member who basically stated the same thing, that we should not spend any money on the auto industry and they should be allowed to go out of business. I am wondering if the Republican Party realizes that the elimination of GM, Ford and Dodge basically means the elimination of NASCAR. Republicans have long touted having the NASCAR vote in their pocket, if they are tied to the elimination of NASCAR they will lose their last voter block and become the party of who?
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"It's also heartening to see how closely and amicably the current White House is working with the incoming one to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible"
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If you are able to write that sentence on January 20th 2009 I will be as pleased as I am surprised. -
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Sombody needs to queston the Saxby Chamblisscampaign regarding his view on the bailout of GM, Dodge and Ford. If he is against it , that position becomes a great campaign issue for the runoff as the Georgia Democrats can make the point that a vote for Senator Chambliss is a vote to end NASCAR racing.
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It's also heartening to see how closely and amicably the current White House is working with the incoming one to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible
Actually it shouldn't be that surprising. GW Bush really has no turf left to defend. There's no particular issue on whichg he is in a position to exclaim "I told you so!" He was held at arms length during the McCain campaign. The absolute best thing he can do for his legacy now is to be helpful to the new President-elect.
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If there is anything Obama is not lacking at the moment it is advice.
If I had committed the war crimes Bush has I'd be nice to the incoming president too.
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I can't get over the suspicion that Bush himself has disengaged, which is why the amicability is there. Or maybe it's because Rove is gone.
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KT
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I read the newsweeek special "Secrets" from the campaign trail and I want to reiterate what has been said by many others that you should consider writing a book. Just reading some of your nuggets here and then reading the newsweek special had me totally enthralled in all of the things that most of us didn't know about what happened when the cameras weren't around. And I am not just talking about the bad moments but also the moments that made each candidate human and even made their staffs human as well. With this historic campaign I can't imagine that any book documenting those situation wouldn't be an immediate best seller and then you could also incorporate your experience of blogging a presidential campaign for the first time in history. Thats just my opinion but I can tell you right now that I would sign up for a pre order of your book RIGHT NOW if you said you were going to do it and I know I am far from being alone on that one. -
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KT here--
Guys, I am very flattered by all your suggestions that I write a book, and that is truly something I want to do some day (soon). But the market for books about this campaign is more than saturated, including by the big ones that are being written by Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson, and by Mark Halperin and John Heileman.
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Well, ya know, W's got that "legacy" thing to consider. He's totally screwed the pooch on everything else, so this is his last chance to avoid being viewed as a complete, epic FAIL.
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Or, maybe as Jay suggests, he just doesn't care. He has his suitcase full of hotel towels and bathrobes, and just wants to get out of Dodge. -
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KT, oh yeah, right - we'd all just jump on a book from Halperin. That douchebag couldn't hold a candle to you.
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KT -well sure Halperin and Balz are writing books but that would leave you the market of writing a good book on the campaign.
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Legacy=cement at this point for President "Who cares what you think?" Bush.
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KT
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Excuse my language but....Nevermind I wont say what I want to say about your colleagues but I will say this. When there are historic events in this country whether good or bad there is never a such thing as too many books about it. And I just really believe that what you would be able to put in a book would be much much different than something that say Halperin could put in his book. Now mind you my motivation for saying you should write a book isnt that you would get paid out the arse but more so that I believe you would have a different spin on the election that people would want to read about even on issues that I might not agree with you totally on. Say for instance you could give a chapter or chapters about how this election failed to really address health care in a way that you thought it should have (at least I think that was your position). Oh but by the way lets not discount the fact that if you write a book you WOULD in fact get paid out the arse!!! There will be two kinds of books that make tons of money this cycle. The first kind will be all manner of conservatives writing about what their solution should be for the direction of the republican party and for the 2012 presidential elections. The second will be the behind the scenes documentaries about this election. I know it will have to be something that you want to do and that you cant write with out having the motivation but I am going to keep mentioning it over the coming months because I just believe it would be something great for you and bigger than that I know its something that I want to read. -
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I don't know bout anybody else, but I'm going to take this opportunity to STOP buying political books. For the first time in years, I know longer feel like there's danger that requires my immediate attention.
(We'll see if I still feel that way 1 year in to the Obama administration.)
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I love the comparisons to FDR and Lincoln. How many wingnuts will die of apoplexy on reading that? And can I watch?
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I'm kind of curious. Going forward, seeing, as others have said, that we now have a grown up in charge, will Obama set the bar for what we should expect from presidents? Or, will we, as a nation, forget what we should expect as soon as we have another shiny bauble to distract us? Think Palin.
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Of course, the whole question is kind of unfair, since he hasn't even been sworn in, yet. But just from what we've seen so far, Obama takes this seriously, while the Chimp, aka un-Curious George, skates by on ideology and charisma.
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In short, will we, as a country, grow up? -
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I think Bush has disengaged. Cheney likely has. I think Bush is going to be nice as all get out, and he is counting the days until he gets to leave.
He has visions of clearing brush, but the rumors I have heard is that Laura is making him buy a condo in the city (Houston). Crawford life doesn't appeal to her.
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And PD: I don't trust Obama any more than I trust Bush. That "eternal vigilance" thing.
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KT: thanks for working on a weekend. I'll add that if I wanted Halperin's view, I'd simply watch Fox "News;" or listen to Rush; or rehash McCain's talking points. I'd prefer a reasonable, sensible point of view on this historic event. Without blowing too much sunshine, you've been the best I've seen. You don't treat us as if we're mindless ideologues. -
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Now back to the topic being currently talked about
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I dont think Bush has totally engaged because I have read several articles lately about him trying to rush through executive orders that will further the conservative agenda. There was also a recent article about him trying to sabotage military relationships with countries in the middle east and Afghanistan and Pakistan so Obama would have an even bigger mess to clean up by the time he takes office. He is also trying to put the kibosh on any stimulus package. Don't let the fact that he isnt making public appearances fool you. Bush is behind the scenes still phucking everything up. -
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that should have been totally dis engaged.
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Yeah, and I'll bet his last order will be to steal the 'o' key on the WH keyboards.
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Also part of the transition: plans to undo a whole bunch of Bush rulings, affecting everything from federal funding of stem cell research to funding for agencies in other countries that mention abortion in their family planning, to climate control initiatives.
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I hope we'll remember all these things when/if we start getting crazy that he isn't "progressive" enough in the next few months.
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This is from Wapo by way of msnbc:
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Karen-
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I agree with people here in that I don't trust the reality-based objectivity of these guys who are planning to write books. Don't sell yourself short. Besides, these guys are all men, as you will have noticed. You'll bring a different perspective without having to push the woman thing.
- ktumulty @LATimesrainey Could you get them to check for my earrings? I lost a pair of silver ones and have been hunting all over the house for them. - 1 day ago
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