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The Note: Obama’s ‘Change’ Meets Reality

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November 13, 2008 8:51 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note:

Since the most transparent presidential transition in history is translucent at the moment, while the most open process ever is continuing behind doors marked “private,” here’s some of what the president-elect is learning:

1. Being more organized than Bill Clinton and less formal than George W. Bush doesn’t make a successful White House by itself -- but may be a good start.

2. A new politics requires old faces -- and those Clinton folks really don’t look so bad when it’s time to fill out a Democratic administration. (Even Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton herself may not be so bad to have around . . . ) 

3. That online army he brings with him doesn’t take orders from the top.

4. Being president-elect can mean acting like a president only when you want -- but there are some crises too big to avoid.

5. There are a few campaign promises that may not be so bad to ignore for a very long while.

As the Bidens meet the Cheneys, Hank Paulson meets reality, the GOP meets to ponder a new path, Sarah Palin meets a few more cameras, John McCain meets politics again, and Alaska’s Uncle Ted meets the real fallout of his actions . . . 

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.


The various political scenes playing out all over Washington and beyond lack a major player: President-elect Barack Obama.

The no-drama edict/reality of the Obama campaign has morphed seamlessly into the transition, no leaks, no errors.

But can it last? With each new issue, and with each new name, the realities of governing threaten to clash with the rhetoric of campaigning.

Change is so hard to track -- with new faces like Rahm Emanuel, John Podesta, Larry Summers, Madeleine Albright, Ron Klain, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, James Steinberg . . . (Think the Netroots are happy about this?)

Your new players (hope you kept your old program): “The Obama transition team yesterday rolled out a new list of officials who will help guide the process, singling out the Treasury, Defense and State departments as its first three areas of focus,” Anne E. Kornblut and Michael Abramowitz write in The Washington Post. “Three policy-oriented Democrats -- Melody Barnes, Lisa Brown and Don Gips -- will serve as co-chairs of the agency review process, the office of President-elect Barack Obama said.”

The list “sheds light on the types of people his administration will lean on and what institutions may claim clout in the new Washington,” The Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler and Jonathan Weisman report. “The group is filled with second-tier veterans of the Clinton administration and workers in the technology and financial sectors. It includes four former lobbyists, three top campaign fund-raisers and two former employees of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, with some overlap among them. Four people in the group have ties to the consultant McKinsey & Co. and two have experience leading high-tech start-ups.” 

“16 out of 19 of these folks worked in some capacity for the administration of President Clinton, which will no doubt cause some to question just how much ‘change’ can really come of these appointments,” ABC’s Jake Tapper reports. “But on the other hand, one can't expect Democrats who can be relied upon to help run a government to just pop out fresh from thin air.”

Get used to it, says ABC’s Sam Donaldson: “Successful presidents surround themselves with experienced people. That doesn't always work out – consider the outgoing Bush administration -- but when they don't do that, it almost never works out -- consider the Carter administration.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report. 

November 13, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Bill, Clinton, Hillary, Edwards, John, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Romney, Mitt, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (28)

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Marianne Pepitone: do you have even th slightest understanding of 7th grade civics? Obama can no more become a ruler than my dog can. Our system of government comes with a series of checks and balances to prevent that!

Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 13, 2008 2:42:19 PM

o rly, William? Like all the checks and balances that have restrained Bush, right?

Posted by: lol | Nov 13, 2008 5:18:40 PM

That Barack Obama is surrounding himself with many from the Clinton administration is what makes me feel better, more hopeful and positive about an Obama Presidency.
Bill Clinton remains the BEST and the only 2 term Democratic President in more than a generation and achieved so much with a capable team that he assembled.
Without these proven hands at the wheel- I would be real nervous with a rookie President with 20 something fringe left net-roots surrounding him- I am glad that Obama is not going down that road.

Posted by: American Voter | Nov 13, 2008 7:05:42 PM


I wonder if all the people that he has chosen to work for him would pass his application process....hmmm

Posted by: Carrie | Nov 13, 2008 10:13:13 PM

The Congress will be Democrat(filibuster-proof)
The President will be a Democrat.
There aren't any more Southern Conservative Democrats(Dixiecrats),
they are now minority party Republicans.
The US Supreme Court goes with the political flow.
If it walks like a duck,looks like a duck and quacks like a duck,it is a dictatorship.

Posted by: hal halop | Nov 14, 2008 7:04:18 AM

Reality! Politicians all lie to win. We will see the biggest change in America. More Taxes! Much More! More abortions! More gay marriages. This is what voters voted for. Now lets add the Clintons into this picture. After all their family resembles what we see in America today. The people from the Clinton administration will carry on their old ways of politics. Don't fool yourself into beleiving in change with these folks. OH! its to late if you voted for Obama.

Posted by: CHARLIE | Nov 14, 2008 9:51:46 AM

Rose Syzmanski:
We were at peace during the
Clinton years? I guess Kosovo doesn't
count for you! What about Oklahoma City,
Columbine, The first WTC Bombing, Waco?
I guess you forgot that Janet Reno
and Jaime Gorelick set up the
"intelligence wall" that prevented the
FBI and CIA from sharing information!
That led to the 9/11 plot not being
discovered in time!
Oh Yeah. Rose, everything was
Honky Dory when Bill Clinton was
president! Was your head in the
sand during the whole 8 years of the
Clinton Administration?

Posted by: reaganfan | Nov 14, 2008 1:41:52 PM

Here are some facts and reality about the change our new President wants to do with his tax plan.

According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, "without substantial cuts in government spending" Obama’s plan – and McCain's, too – "would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years." Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor told FactCheck.org that the Tax Policy Center's analysis "fails to take in account Senator Obama's spending cuts, including ending the Iraq war." That's true, but Obama's proposed cuts are dwarfed by the Tax Policy Center's projected deficits. Obama’s new spending programs might be completely offset by new revenue and spending cuts. But overall spending will still exceed overall revenue, and the nation would face at least 10 more years of annual deficits.

Get your wallets ready to pay more taxes. You can thank the voters.

Posted by: CHARLIE | Nov 14, 2008 4:37:19 PM

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