Obama in transition
What the president-elect's first moves say about the nature of his administration
How's he doing so far?
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Barack Obama's transition is off to a good start, said David Broder in The Washington Post. "His few public appearances have been gaffe-free, and his initial decisions in setting up his administration have been strongly reassuring." Obama's victory speech, his meeting with President Bush, and his pick of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff suggest the skills he used to put together his campaign, which was "a model of efficiency and innovation," are helping him build an administration that will be able to get things done.
Let's hope so, said Karen Tumulty in Time online. "Even in the calmest of times, the transfer of presidential power is a tricky maneuver"—with two wars and a deep financial crisis in the works, Obama really has to hit the ground running. "That's why Obama has been quicker off the blocks than any of his recent predecessors were, particularly Bill Clinton, who did not announce a single major appointment until mid-December."
It's too early to make "sweeping conclusions," said John Bolton in The Wall Street Journal, but not all signs are encouraging. Obama has already had a misunderstanding with Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who says Obama plans to continue a joint missile-defense project with Poland. The Obama transition issued a rebuttal and reaffirmed its "weak and ambiguous" commitment to missile defense only when the technology proves workable—not a confidence builder in the foreign policy department.
Which brings us to a big focus of Obama's transition, said Liam Julian in National Review Online, lowering expectations. Obama aides are trying to temper hopes that the new president will fix America's problems quickly. So, the hope-and-change candidate is changing his tune -- we'll find out in January whether the words Obama used to inspire his "tearful admirers" had any meaning at all.
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7 Comments
Posted by Jesica, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 12:34 pm His public appearences have not been gaffe free, he already managed to insult Nancy Reagan. i am glad to see the the Repubs refuse to lose like a Liberal and are giving Obama a chance, but let's hope there is more to this guy then smooth talking and media bias, or the US is in for some hard times.
Posted by Michael J. Gorman, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 1:32 pm Many in the media seem to assume that because of our financial crisis, Obama's Republican opponents are really hoping he will succeed in pulling our nation out of the economic quagmire and stabilize the economy. Unfortunately, there is no chance of such altruism and magnanimous behavior from the losers. They are bitter, angry, and desperately hope that Obama fails. Most of the usual suspects -- Karl Rove, GWB, Dick Cheney, and Bush's loudest supporters would rather see our nation continue to suffer for years so they can mount their offensive for the 2012 campaign. Put simply, Obama's primary opponents (obstacles) are still the ones he had to defeat to win the election, not the national and international problems (the economy, two wars, healthcare, etc.) that he was elected to solve. The divisive atmosphere in our nation at this time brings Pogo's quote to mind -- "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Posted by Brett, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 3:34 pm The actions that Obama is taking and the statements that he has already made show, along with how he handled his campaign, that the words that the president-elect used to inspire had real meaning in the real world. Most of the current crises embroiling the world were created by people, and most people saw the them coming a long time ago. However, we got ourselves in too deep to be able to fix it all quickly. It took us years to get here and it will take years to deal with it properly. Obama will get things done in a way that few politicians have in the history of our nation, but there's a lot to do. If he gets off track, then we'll all let him have it with a fury unseen before! All politicians must be held accountable, but at least it doesn't look like we'll need to worry about Obama.
Posted by Kam, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 3:36 pm Obama in his first news conference uhed, ahed, mmed and insulted Nancy Reagan and mutts. President Bush has gone out of his way to smooth Obama's early transition actions as no other president has ever done. Again, dems are seeing duplicity in all repub actions. As Freud noted, we see in others the nastiness we have in ourselves. Already dems are blaming the repubs should Obama fail. Dems can't even win with descency.
Posted by rckayla, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 4:12 pm Come on, give the guy a break! President-elect Obama is not even our President yet and already the Republicans are critizing him. Unbelievably sore losers! Whatever happens after January 20th, President Obama will do a much better job than Bush ever could. I feel bad for President-elect Obama, that he will have to clean up the mess Georgie boy made while in office for 8 loooooooong years.
Posted by Michael, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 4:17 pm Sheesh... sour grapes coming from BOTH sides of the aisle. here's a novel idea... let's give the guy a chance to GET INTO OFFICE... The rep's really can't throw stones about obama's gaffes since they have been living in a glass house for eight years... bush was a gaffe-master. the dem's are already putting the disclaimers out there should he not clear up the world's problems in 20 minutes... In his victory speech, Obama himself said that this will take time... i'm sure none of us could do any better. So let's let him get into office before we punch his ticket.
Posted by Randolph, Thursday, November 13, 2008, 6:35 pm You can't say that he insulted Nancy Reagan. How do you know she was insulted. The comment wasn't even that insulting, but I will laugh for at least the next four years everytime the right-wing nutjobs are "outraged" by Obama. The tides have turned a little.
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