Sometimes Continuity Trumps Change

[Neil D]

Food for thought...Continuity doesn't always work out for the new administration....or does it? From the Washington Post-

As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to fill top positions for his incoming government, he faces a stubborn reality: Some of the key individuals he will rely upon to tackle the country's most serious challenges are holdovers from the current administration -- a trio of Bush appointees who will likely stay in place for at least the first year or two of Obama's presidency.

In confronting the financial crisis and weakening economy, Obama must turn to Ben S. Bernanke, a Republican and former chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, who will lead the Federal Reserve for at least the first year of the new administration.

In assuming control of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama must work with Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was appointed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for a two-year term that will end in late 2009 and, by tradition, can expect to be appointed for a second term as the president's top military adviser. Mullen shares Obama's belief in focusing more on Afghanistan but is wary of a timeline for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

And in guarding against terrorist attacks -- while correcting what he considers the Bush administration's excesses -- Obama will rely upon FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, whose term expires in 2011.

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Obama has made it a point of pride to seek consensus with those who do not fully agree with him, and he is even considering keeping Gates at the Pentagon to ensure a smooth transition. But the need to rely heavily on officials who served in the Bush administration -- an era from which he promises a sharp break -- underscores his constraints. His campaign's success was based partly on the selection of a team he personally trusted, but in his first years in the White House, he will not be able to rely solely on advisers of his choosing.

"It's a challenge," but not an insurmountable one, said William A. Galston, a domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. Bernanke, Mullen and Mueller "appear to be genuinely public-spirited civil servants and not rabid partisans," he said, adding that "if you're thinking about how to deal with someone like J. Edgar Hoover, this is not what we're talking about."

And Obama might be uniquely suited to the task, said Galston, a governance expert at the Brookings Institution. "This is not someone who feels comfortable [only if] he has constructed his own cocoon around him. We've had presidents like that, but he's not one of them. His life has trained him to move through different environments and adjust accordingly."

The Fed's Consensus Builder

Few officials will be as pivotal in Obama's first years in office as Bernanke, a leading authority on the Great Depression who is helping lead the country through a likely recession.

Bernanke was appointed by Bush to a four-year term that began in early 2006, under a system designed to keep the Fed independent from political pressure. But the Fed chairman also serves as the economist in chief, routinely meeting with the president to offer advice and collaborating closely with the Treasury secretary.

Obama and Bernanke have spoken on the phone several times, and met in person once, at Obama's request. In that meeting, held in Bernanke's office, Obama stressed that he respects the independence of the Fed. That suggests he will follow the recent precedent, set by Clinton and Bush, of not jawboning the central bank toward his preferred monetary policy, as aides to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush did.

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[phkrause]

I see no problem with what he has to do. So now that you have elected the man you are now going to critisize him. Do you already think that he has no brains. Than why vote for him. I think that he is going to do what he thinks is necessary. I for one think that he will do a great job.

pk

[John317]

I didn't vote for him but for the sake of all America, I certainly hope he turns out to be a great and successful president.

He will almost certainly meet extreme tests in his first year of office, and let's hope he meets them well.

[Dr. Shane]

Some Bush holdovers may help with the transition. The Federal Reserve chairman is a big one. Bill Clinton inherited Greenspan and re-appointed him when his first term was up.

[Neil D]

I see no problem with what he has to do. So now that you have elected the man you are now going to critisize him. Do you already think that he has no brains. Than why vote for him. I think that he is going to do what he thinks is necessary. I for one think that he will do a great job.

pk

Hey Pk....I just brought you the article....I didn't give my opinion...Instead, I asked what YOUR opinion was....I voted for him...and my opinion is that he will meet all the crises as he sees fit. Time will tell us all...

[phkrause]

Sorry about that. I just double checked your original post and saw that you got that from an article. I think that he will do what's best. Some will be OK with it and others will not.

pk