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Hanging Oval Office Drapes & Other Tasks of The Transition
November 12, 2008 12:41 PM
ABC's Ann Compton reports from Washington:
Transparency, promised by Team Obama, has not been typical of Presidential transitions. If anything, we reporters have found this phase of power politics to be a high stakes game of hide and seek, in part because most of the action took place well away from Washington.
Jimmy Carter literally bussed potential cabinet choices through the Georgia countryside to his home in Plains for interviews at his mother's secluded Pond House. That was 1976, when long-exiled Democrats nudged Republicans out of the White House.
Governors also used their Executive Mansions as transition home base when Democrat Bill Clinton in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Republican George W. Bush in Austin, Texas, set to assembling a new administration. Both of those elections brought the out-of-power party back into control.
A lot of the reporting centered on the bold face names that would take up cabinet and West Wing jobs, but the most significant choices are for the deputy and mid-level appointments that will make policy work. There are more than 7,000 jobs a President must fill.
And some transition secrets aren't discovered until after 12 noon on Inauguration Day. I remember watching huge gold draperies being unloaded and installed in the Oval Office at the very moment all eyes were on the swearing in on the steps of the US Capitol a mile away.
November 12, 2008 in President 44 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (8)
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At least we already have the measurements.
Posted by: Yukon Sam | Nov 12, 2008 1:06:01 PM
Let's just hope that Bush doesn't tell Obama any more secrets that he doesn't want broadcast immediately to the liberal MSM. If this is what we have to look forward to over the next four years, then we're in for a long row to hoe. Obama and his leftist illuminati cabinet are going to ruin us!
Posted by: Jeff | Nov 12, 2008 4:54:53 PM
Eagerly counting the days until Obama's inauguration are the dredge of society prisoners at Gitmo. Because soon after that historic day, incompetent juries of their "peers" will set them free to roam the streets of America along side millions of illegal immigrants who will flood across Obama's welcome mat at our boarder. Coming to steal identities and Obama's New Deal style "infrastructure jobs" Ain't America great.
Posted by: jb | Nov 12, 2008 6:53:03 PM
>>>Yukon Sam said: Obama and his leftist illuminati cabinet are going to ruin us!...
Uh, right, moron. What has GW and the GOP Neocon(men) left for him to ruin? It looks to me like your type already bankrupt the nation. You're such an idiot.
Posted by: Soldier Dude | Nov 12, 2008 7:33:13 PM
I am just going to sit back and watch while Obama DOESN'T End the War in Iraq, Doesn't send everyone a big Welfare Check, Raises everyones taxes and Taxes the "Rich"...(basically, anyone making over 50k a year single and 80k a year couple), promises to fix our public education system as he carts HIS kids off to some private school...
Too funny!!!
Posted by: Angelgrace | Nov 12, 2008 11:20:03 PM
Not to worry. Most of the thugs he needs to fill those 7,000 jobs won't be able to be vetted for a White House clearance.
Posted by: coastie | Nov 12, 2008 11:34:17 PM
I doubt that you will find any missing "O" keys on keyboards during the transition... or trashed offices... or missing china.
Posted by: TimB | Nov 13, 2008 9:54:41 AM
Soldier Dude; Don't give W. all the credit for the screwed up economy. Consider this:1. Congress sets the spending; the Prez can only try to veto, or go along. 2. The collapse started with Fammin Mae, what started as a government bank. one of its top dogs was Barney Frank's boy friend, and Barney's on the congressional committee charged with keeping Fannie Mae honest. The top dog until very recently was Frederick Raines, Clinton's old director ofthe budget. He gracefully (?) left Fannie Mae with a $90,000,000 million payoff in his pocket.
Last comment: Fannie Mae's "mission statement" was "to democratize home ownership". "democratizing" something is the new euphenism for socializing. Sure looks great for the dems to "clean up". I just wish it was Washington that they were going to clean, not us taxpayers.
Posted by: tom beebe | Nov 13, 2008 1:38:23 PM
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