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Transition roundup starts with Politico looking at some AG prospects, continues with one AG prospect’s wry lessons for Obama, and a look back at the Clinton admin as various observers weigh in on what not to do:
The big money on who becomes the next attorney general is split between two distinct camps: consummate Washington insiders with serious policy credentials and prominent political backers of President-elect Barack Obama, according to leading insiders from both parties.
The most-bandied about name among elected-officials is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. A former U.S. attorney and the state’s first female attorney general, the Democrat has the requisite law enforcement experience and would help Obama bring gender balance to his Cabinet.
Other politicians who make the Washington speculation lists are Democratic Govs. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.
Vetted as a possible Obama running mate, Kaine campaigned hard to swing his home state from Republican to Democratic. Patrick and Obama are kindred spirits. And an offer to serve his friend as attorney general might be attractive enough to convince Patrick to leave the Bay State halfway through his term.
Inside-the-Beltway candidates include two former deputy attorneys general under President Bill Clinton: Eric Holder and Jamie Gorelick.
Holder, an Obama confidante who helped lead his vice presidential search, is a favorite among insiders. A former U.S. attorney, Holder is a respected prosecutor who falls neatly into the role of top cop.
Patrick, who has two years left in his term, has insisted he likes his job and he’s staying in Massachusetts. There are prospects of Senate races coming up but it may have more to do with what the wife wants and/or needs. There have been issues.
Meanwhile, some people think the best thing Patrick has to offer Obama is some examples of what not to do. The Corner Office drapes, the new gubernatorial Cadillac and using the State Police helicopter as a conveyance for His Nibs aren’t exactly issues that translate to the White House, though the general principle of avoiding lordliness while asking others to share their wealth is. More Herald:
Barack Obama took inspiration and advice from Gov. Deval Patrick throughout his historic campaign and experts say the president-elect would be wise to continue to turn to his Massachusetts friend to avoid early term mistakes.
“One thing (Obama) has learned from Deval Patrick is he’s got to hit the ground running,” said University of Massachusetts at Amherst political science professor Ray La Raja. “Deval made some early mistakes that Obama can’t afford to make.”
Patrick served as a national co-chairman for Obama’s campaign and often hit the trail for the Illinois senator. They also shared the same campaign strategist, David Axelrod, and insiders say Obama could raid Patrick’s team for his administration. Among the names being floated for possible Obama administration posts include Patrick’s health care czar Judy Ann Bigby, Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh and Patrick’s Chief of Staff Doug Rubin.
Rubin and Walsh orchestrated Patrick’s surge from little-known political outsider to the state’s first black governor using a grassroots strategy widely viewed as a template for Obama’s campaign.
“Doug Rubin is very highly considered by the Obama committee,” said one Patrick insider. “He’s considered proven.”
Patrick has shot down speculation he might join Obama’s administration. “He hasn’t asked me,” Patrick said yesterday, adding, “I intend to stay in my job. I have a lot of work to do. If the people will have me, I intend to run for a second term.”
Bridgewater State College political science professor Dr. George Serra said one lesson Obama can take from Patrick is to seek early victories without bruising egos in the Legislature. He pointed to Patrick’s failed casino bid as an example of an early misstep that rubbed lawmakers the wrong way.
“You want to be careful what battles you take,” Serra said.
Pundits also warned that the Washington media will be digging for hypocrisy stories on Obama similar to reports on Patrick’s taxpayer-funded Cadillac and pricey drapes, which suckerpunched the governor in his first days in office. Another key will be to pick a strong chief of staff, unlike Patrick, who scrambled to hire Rubin after his initial top adviser, State House outsider Joan Wallace-Benjamin, proved ineffective and resigned.
“Expectations are increased when you’re running for office and making all these promises,” Serra said. “But there’s a huge difference between campaigning and governing. And now Obama is going to have to govern.”
La Raja added that like Patrick, Obama will be challenged to “keep his popular support while making people understand that things aren’t going to happen overnight.
“(Patrick) has managed expectations pretty well. Obama’s going to have to do the same.”
Patrick is seen as having moving to the center, with an effort to curtail police details and a $1 billion budget cut package. The limited bite out of details … in this state cops on overtime are required at all roadwork projects, a massive expense on taxpayers, ratepayers and construction in general for work done elsewhere by civilian flaggers … was symbolic. He had no choice on the budget cuts. They were forced by the economic downturn and unlike Obama and the Dem Cong, he can’t borrow his way out of it. And it’s unclear whether he’ll seriously attack Massachusetts’ massive hackerama or take it out of people who actually work.
Speaking of examples, a Financial Times transition thumbsucker looks at the Clinton administration:
Many Democrats believe with hindsight that Bill Clinton’s hazard-prone first term was derailed even before inauguration day in January 1993. A brilliant but mercurial leader, Mr Clinton was also chronically undisciplined. Much of the time that should have been spent fastening the nuts and bolts of an incoming administration was wasted on in-fighting between his campaign team, which decamped to Little Rock, Arkansas, and his ineffectual transition team in Washington DC.
The mistakes came thick and fast. Mr Clinton expended a lot of political capital on trying and failing to have his nominee as attorney-general approved by Congress. The first two – Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood – were discovered to be employing illegal immigrants as domestic servants. By the time he nominated Janet Reno for the role, the young president-elect already had a reputation as being sloppy.
Other mistakes, such as a stray remark about supporting gays in the military, which was to suck the oxygen out of Mr Clinton’s broader economic agenda, resulted from a failure to prepare sufficiently for the interregnum. With 3,000 appointments to make, Mr Clinton lacked a process to vet all the names being submitted. It took more than a year to get all his people in place.
But here’s where it gets interesting. We only have one president at a time, as Obama noted the other day re the sticky subject of Iran. But he’s also indicated he’s ready to get pre-presidential on what is fast becoming his signature issue. The economy, stupid. It’s looking like a tar baby.* FT again:
The first big test of Mr Obama’s readiness will come in the next few days. On Monday, the president-elect will call on George W. Bush in the White House. The outgoing president has signalled a strong reluctance to support a second economic stimulus package to help a rapidly crumbling economy. Mr Obama supports such a package. Because he is also still a sitting senator, Mr Obama may choose to design and market the package himself in the “lame duck” congressional session this month.
Plenty of things could go wrong. Mr Bush could veto the bill. Mr Obama’s victorious Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill could stuff it with “pork barrel” projects that would have little economic merit. Or Mr Obama could suffer an early clash with Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, who is arguably the second most powerful Democrat in America.
Washington Post: Not so fast with the housecleaning. Some Bush appointees Obama might want to keep around.
Cautionary note from Krugman: The New Deal was a lefty dream come true, but it didn’t end the Great Depression.
Damn the torpedoes! Strap in, hang on for the big social and economic reform package, says Emanual. Financial Times.
Welcome Instapundit, etal. Always so good to see you. Come on in. If you’re feeling cosmopolitan, by the way, you might want to test drive What Not To Do (Foreign Edition).
* Tar baby: traditional American saying for something attractive that you grab and gets stuck all over you. Mistaken by morons in recent years for a racial pejorative.
Topics: Obama
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:27 am on Monday, November 10, 2008
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