Obama is getting a lot of praise right now for how he is handling the transition. His cabinet is not only diverse, but impeccably qualified. He has displayed a down-to-business attitude saying “Let’s work fast, but let’s not make mistakes”. His flurry of press conferences have signaled a return to the principles of open government, while his aversion to political hacks and blinding ideology have shown that an Obama administration will place a premium on competency and sound policy. Openness and competency have been sorely lacking for the last eight years.
While Obama is taking great pains to distinguish himself from the current administration, he is also taking one page from Bush’s playbook — discipline. Although the number of leaks from the Obama camp has greatly increased since the election, the overall level of drama has been remarkably low. I don’t anticipate a repeat of the drama of the Clinton years, even with Hillary at the State department and Bill Clinton continuing to…well…be Bill Clinton.
The transition is fun to watch, but I think it will be more interesting to see how Obama governs, particularly when something goes wrong. Can he salvage a bill headed to a narrow defeat in congress? How open will he be if a scandal erupts? Will any poorly performing or scandal-plagued advisers or cabinet member “enjoy the full confidence of the president” until they retire to “spend time with their family”, or will Obama fire them to show everyone where the buck stops?
Bush came into office claiming to be the first CEO president and maybe he was right. Unfortunately for the country, he was more like the CEO of a big three automaker than a Steve Jobs or a Warren Buffett.
If Obama is successful, it will be because he is able to be something we haven’t seen in quite a while — a presidential president.
sneaky
