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"We Have Two Presidents Now"

November 25, 2008 11:42 AM

Ap_bush_obama_economy_081124_main From Senior Producer Tom Nagorski:

Snapshots from a Tuesday morning:

The President of the United States thanks returning troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. His Treasury Secretary speaks about the latest measures to battle the credit crisis. The President-elect holds his second news conference in as many days, to discuss plans to right the economic crisis. Mr. Obama  plans yet another news conference tomorrow. His nominee for Treasury Secretary is garnering more attention than the man currently running the department.

The period of transition is historically a time of hiring and planning for the president-elect, a winding-down for the occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The 1963 Presidential Transition Act was designed to give order to the process, to "promote the orderly transfer of the executive power." The statute also warned that "Any disruption occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce results detrimental to the safety and well-being of the United States and its people."

Orderly transfer is one thing. But it is hard to recall a time when the President and President-elect were both so engaged in crisis management, hard to remember a time when the words and actions of the President-elect seemed to trump those of the outgoing man. That's less a function of George W. Bush and Barack Obama than a reflection of the times. Clearly Mr. Obama realized in the last week or so that the usual slow pace of Presidential transitions, and deference shown to the sitting President, would not be enough to mollify the markets. January 20, in this context, seems a light year away.

Hence the sensation, real if not exactly right: We have two Presidents now. Both are trying to navigate some very rough and unpredictable waters.

November 25, 2008 in President 44 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (43)

User Comments

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I don't know about '2'

More like 1.25

Posted by: Deep Release | Nov 25, 2008 12:15:01 PM

Bush & his administration should just resign now and allow the new President to come on in and start to work on trying to clean up the mess they have made. The Bush Adminstrationis doing nothing more than making things worse than they were before he passed the stupid bailout.

Posted by: spring | Nov 25, 2008 12:22:07 PM

I didn't think Obama had graduated from President 101 class yet.

Typical, Mr Celebrity thinks everything is about himself.

Posted by: HH | Nov 25, 2008 12:30:23 PM

Unusually trying times call for unusual action. Hopefully the stimulus package will be enacted and ready to sign into law on innauguration day.

Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 25, 2008 12:39:20 PM

"...Mr Celebrity thinks everything is about himself."

No, that would be John McCain, who has now become Mr. Irrelevant

Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 25, 2008 12:40:23 PM

HH: Why are you pretending not to understand?
Does it cost you anything to exercise "respect"?

Posted by: FM | Nov 25, 2008 12:41:26 PM

Can we drop one now, you know the do nothing lame duck one the one named George W Bush, the one that has nearly Destroyed and Bankrupted this country him can we rid ourselves of him NOW? And keep the smart lets do things one Barack H Obama can we have him now please?

Posted by: ANGIE | Nov 25, 2008 12:44:03 PM

He is not the savior even though he thinks he is. He can do no more than is already being done. He is not smart at all, look at the people he puts around him, and they tell him what to say. At least, President Bush was his own man. Also, OUR President Bush will always be criticized because he is a Christian. And do you think he cares? Not at all he knows whose side he is on and who is on his side. Obama is not very bright, at all, I feel sorry for us.

Posted by: Janice | Nov 25, 2008 12:46:20 PM

Janice, you must enjoy living in La La Land! Obama is a HARVARD LAW GRADUATE! Not smart? That is Bush all over. Bush should resign from christianity. He lies, manipulates, does everything that a real Christian loathes. He and Cheney, Rice and the rest of them are truly evil. Thankfully we will have a true, smart, able Christian in the white house after innauguration day.

Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 25, 2008 12:50:09 PM

FINE, AND THE REAL PRESIDENT CAN JUST RELAX AND VISIT NOW. SOMETHINGS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE.

Posted by: JOANNN TYAN | Nov 25, 2008 12:52:07 PM

Bush is to being a good christian as Hitler is to being a great humanitarian. Bush is clearly evil incarnate.

Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 25, 2008 12:52:35 PM

Real Christian of him
Murderer of Innocent Iraqis
Torture
Spying on the American people
Bush is no Christian he is more like the Anti-christ!!! you should be ashamed to call him Christian all the lying evil things that man has done!

Posted by: Janice | Nov 25, 2008 12:54:16 PM

I just watched Hasselbeck on the View complaining about Obama's "President Elect" sign (it seems to irk her terribly), and then I switched over to the Fox News website (to see what the crazies were up to today) -- lo and behold, that same 'story' is front and center headlines there. I knew Hasselbeck was far right, but I didn't know she got her talking points from Fox everyday. Why doesn't ABC just send her ass over there? She could pick up with ED Hill left off.

Posted by: hang | Nov 25, 2008 12:54:28 PM

For the McCain and Bush haters: give it a rest; move on. Obama did.

Now, for the 'two' president thing:
I think somebody likes the limelight.
Obama does not have to give a big press conference everytime he appoints someone.
Obama needs to do what he has to do. It will ALL be reported by CNN, ABC, and all of the others, too.

I'm sorry, but anyone who does what Obama is doing just appears a bit boorish. Yes, appoint your cabinet people, etc. Do a press conference if you must; but don't call the press every day.
People will start to tune out if Obama keeps giving press conference after press conference.

Now Obama people, don't be hating.
You'll live longer.


Posted by: we hear you | Nov 25, 2008 12:56:53 PM

Mr. "Wonderful Christian" Bush's record:

spying on American citizens
tapping phones
manipulating evidence for phony war
lieing to the public
torture
Extraordinary Rendition program
"Mission Accomplished" 2005


Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 25, 2008 12:57:57 PM

you are right, "we hear you." I just get so angry when people cite Bush as this great, moral Christian.

Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 25, 2008 12:58:52 PM

The ironic thing is, that Obama was being criticized for not meeting enough with the press!

Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Nov 25, 2008 1:00:29 PM

LOL, listening to this you people sound like the followers of the various TV Evangelists. Handing out their last few pennies...

If you gave, good for you. If you did not understand the process of how the FEC handles these things, thats your own issue. Don't whine about it after, hell...your guy won. It just kinda of hard to take the fact he is no different than any other politician in how he got there.

Posted by: Mike_C | Nov 25, 2008 12:43:36 PM

========================
That's simply because no one spent much time vetting Bush's faith when he was running for President. If someone would have spent HALF the time they did with Obama, they would have found out that Bush was a sham when it came to christianity.

No Christian can do what he has done and still call themselves a christian.

Posted by: Omentum | Nov 25, 2008 1:06:52 PM

Of course Obama will get criticized by Fox and their followers. And Elizabeth Hasselbeck is about 1 step up from Sarah Palin and that's not saying much--two airheads who say absolutely nothing of any value. Obama is trying to restore some confidence in our economy and this country, and feels that by communicating with the public, we will see some hope for our future. Bush hardly ever gave a press conference. He was too inarticulate to answer questions. Obama wants to communicate with the people of this country. What's wrong with that? You haters just can't accept the fact that he is an intelligent decent person who was elected by a huge majority of voters and he is our President for the next 8 years. Get used to it.

Posted by: geecee | Nov 25, 2008 1:10:35 PM

YOURE DAMED IF YOU DO, AND YOURE DAMED IF YOU DONT.

Posted by: DIMPLES | Nov 25, 2008 1:14:07 PM

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