The Transition

The 44th President takes office in 3 days. That's roughly 72 hours for those suffering from Bush derangement syndrome.
I have to say I have been impressed with the President elect's transition. There have been a couple of stumbles along the way. First, I was shocked (shocked!) to see that Democrats also avoid paying their taxes. When the Secretary of the Treasury (remember the Steve Martin comedy bit "I forgot"?) and the Vice President ("time to get patriotic" and pay more taxes) sit down for a chat it should be interesting.
Second, another Cabinet member to be fell prey to those pesky little federal investigations of his gubernatorial administration. He may ultimately be cleared, but generally that is the type of thing you mention to your potential boss before accepting the position.
Now the good. While I realize the name "Hilary Clinton" causes a derangement syndrome amongst some on the right, I think she was a brilliant choice for Secretary of State. She brings a stature to the office. All to often in recent years Presidents have tried to appoint lesser lights to this job in order to make the President the focal point on the world stage. They were capable people, but clearly designed to play a secondary role.
Hillary will not play a secondary role. What Bill will spend the next four years doing is the subject of another post, but Hillary will be a forceful voice for the United States. She is the type of Democrat who understands that occasionally we have to use force to protect our interests and she will not waive the use of force in any of her diplomatic negotiations. In the primaries she impressed me by stating in no uncertain terms that the U.S. would respond strongly and militarily to an Iranian attack on Israel. The President elect had a little more difficulty with that question. I give the President elect credit for appointing someone with as much stature, if not more in some circles, than him.
The economic team appears to be a responsible group. While they have jumped on board the massive spending train, I cannot fault them too much for that as the Bush Administration started us down the track. The Treasury Secretary designate may not have paid a few taxes, but most of us can sympathize with trying to reduce their tax burden. The incoming team seems to have moved away from this "spread the wealth" idea they advocated in the campaign to a "create some wealth" model of governing.
On January 20th however, it all becomes real for the Obama Administration. The campaign is over, the transition done. While the appointments seem to have been sound, they have spent a lot of time "talking down" the economy. Instead of trying to increase confidence, they seem to be focused on lowering expectations. That's politics, but it is not what the country needs. I hope the new President, once the keys to the White House are turned over, will change the tone. We know things are not good, now convince us they are going to get better.