Impressions of the Obama Administration -- So Far

Well, it's been a month since I've last blogged... life gets in the way sometimes, you know? Nothing horrible -- in fact, some good things politically -- but that's a topic for a future blog. In the meantime, I wanted to pass along a few tidbits of information as well as my impressions of President Obama's first few weeks in office. They have been eventful, to say the least.

The Stimulus/Recovery bill: The media is calling this a great victory for the new administration. Maybe, but at what cost? Yes, we needed both a stimulus and recovery package, that would create and save jobs and pour needed funds into our frozen economy. But the Obama Administration sold a lot of progressive ideals down the river in the name of bipartisanship -- a pipe dream at best given the tenor of congressional Republicans -- and the bill was hugely weakened as a result. It's too heavy on tax cuts and not enough pure spending -- which pretty much all economists say we need to make this plan work. They even agreed to cut some of the food stamps to try to lure Republicans -- food stamps that not only feed the increasingly hungry masses but also, dollar for dollar, are the most stimulative program you can fund. On the plus side, Obama went on the road and sold the plan campaign-style -- very smart, very well done, and just want the country needed to hear. My greatest fear about Obama all along was that he'd pull a Jimmy Carter and be too nice by half in the name of bipartisanship. I am hoping that after this experience, he will begin the uncomfortable realization that it takes two to tango, and while Obama has been extending his hand in friendship the Republicans have been sharpening their knives to cut the new president off at the knees.

Ledbetter: President Obama made the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act the first bill he signed -- mostly because the Recovery Plan and S-CHIP weren't ready. But it still sent a powerful message that pay equity was an issue the new president took to heart -- he speaks about it quite eloquently, recalling his grandmother's experience. Indeed, Ledbetter campaigned for Obama -- making several well received commercials and speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. She also rode the inaugural train, and was the second woman to dance with the president -- second only to his wife -- at the inaugural balls. The Obama's treated Lilly Ledbetter wonderfully well -- and like the shero she is. But Obama could have pushed the recalcitrant Senate to also pass the Paycheck Fairness Act -- a Clinton bill the then-Senator from New York wanted to finish before she changed addresses, and that had been passed in a good bipartisan vote in the House just a week before the Senate took up Ledbetter. Granted, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is a wuss of the first order, and Ledbetter lead sponsor Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) was a huge roadblock -- she only wanted her bill, the sure thing -- but the president could have pushed more. I will do an entire blog on this issue when I have more time -- I am that disappointed in both the Senate Democrats and the president on this one. It was a change for true economic justice -- and a stimulus hit, too.

Cabinet Nominations: Well, gotta cut the guy a break here. No president gets them all through without some stumbles. It makes the leader of the free world more human, I think -- and shows early on how they will deal with such problems. Obama stepped up and owned mistakes -- good for him. So, generally a good cabinet. LOVE Hilda Solis. Her husband's minor tax issues are his alone -- they file separately, she has nothing to do with his business. Of course, the Republicans hate her because she is pro-labor. Well, tough shit. You lost the election -- what did you expect? The Senate needs to get off their ass and confirm her pronto, and the Republicans need to remember they aren't in charge any more (well, only Snowe, Collins and Specter are in charge, but I digress. Ha!). They already roughed up Attorney General Eric Holder -- they got their pound of flesh -- time to move on. As for Tom Daschle's withdraw -- I was not unhappy. I didn't think he was a great choice anyway -- all he cared about was health care and HHS is sooo much more and needs so much repair after the Bush years. I was not all that happy with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's confirmation. Granted, unlike Larry Summers he seems to think girls can do math, but his excuses about his taxes -- like Daschle's -- were disingenuous at best, flat out lies at worst. Truthfully, if Daschle has gone first he would have been confirmed, and Geithner would have gotten the brunt of things and might still be at the New York Fed. Timing, as they say, is everything. Last but not least, I was glad to see Obamanites throw Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) under the bus after his unexpected withdrawal. Gregg never should have been nominated, so this worked out for the best -- and showed Gregg for the climber he is. The bad news is, well, Gregg is still awfully smart and awfully conservative and now a hero in the Senate -- ugh -- which means we still have to deal with his smarmy ass. Give it two years and New Hampshire will send him the way of John Sununu.

White House Staff: Obama's White House Team is generally quite good and accessible. I see a lot of energy and commitment in these folks, and that's refreshing. I am especially partial to Melody Barnes, the Chief Domestic Policy Advisor. Not only is she good people, but she's smart as well and a progressive at heart. You can read more about his West Wing team, and get a layout of the offices, in this great interactive feature from the Washington Post called
Inside Obama's West Wing. The First Lady has also put together a good team, a clear indication she will be doing more than Book Festivals -- not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, her first official act as First Lady was attending the signing and speaking at the reception for the Ledbetter bill. You can see some of her staff and the president's as well in this great spread from Vanity Fair.

VP Joe Biden: I love Joe, I really do. It's only been a few weeks and he's already spouted off with some zingers that have made the boss uncomfortable. Everything from poking at the Chief Justice for screwing up the oath of office to welcoming Big Labor back to the White House to jesting about how the openness and transparency of his office will be a big change from the last VEEP. He was a busy man working is home away from home, the Senate, on the recovery package. He has also been very involved in foreign policy matters -- no surprise there, and good for all of us. Lastly, he has been named the chair of the Middle Class Task Force, a new White House entity to look at pressing issues facing the middle class -- from jobs to balancing to work and family to pay equity and retirement -- and the executive and legislative measures needed to address these issues. He's a good choice for the job.

Well, I think that's enough for now. No doubt there will be more later. :)


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Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.

Got a Question? The Obama Transition Team has Answers -- and Plenty of Sunlight

The Obama Presidential Transition continues to be one of the speediest ever -- this bodes well for the new president's ability to decisively govern in these chaotic times. While the team as tried to keep some things -- like the vetting of potential cabinet officers -- close to the vest, in other ways the transition process has been one of the most open and interactive in history. The Obama team is playing it smart, and converting their grassroots machinery from that of a get-out-the-vote operation to policy participation. This also bodes well for the new president's style -- because when it's all said and done, people just want to know they've been heard. Folks want a forum to vent, share ideas, connect -- and even if they are not happy with the end decision they are still much more likely to be supportive simply because they were part of the process. I expect this formidable machine will also soon be aimed at Congress -- in the form of constituent email and phone calls -- as the Obama administration seeks to implement some of its proposals.

Have you been participating in the transition process? I have -- through work via many many meetings, but also personally through the change.gov website. My professional interactions with the team have been productive and useful. The Transition Team clearly wants to hear from constituency groups, and are interested in concrete ideas -- not rhetoric. I have found this to be very refreshing -- I don't have to prove to them there's a (healthcare, economic, housing, crime, education, etc,) crisis -- they know this already. What the team cares about are serious suggestions for righting the ship. These meetings are public, in a sense, because of the Your Seat at the Table feature. Here you can view information submitted to the Transition Team -- they post EVERY document they get, so much so that advocacy organizations are now careful about what they give the team in writing. At the very beginning of the transition process, some stuff that was intended to be confidential -- that details strategy and opposition research, for example -- was posted, much to the senders' chagrin. Still, is there such a thing as too much sunlight? People are adapting, trust me.

The agency review teams are also drawing to a close, and their work has been critically important. The reviews teams are responsible for essentially evaluating the agencies to see what is happening as well as what is NOT happening, including what has been discontinued, shelved, overly politicized, or just plain screwed up beyond all recognition. From the web site:

The Agency Review Teams for the Obama-Biden Transition will complete a thorough review of key departments, agencies and commissions of the United States government, as well as the White House, to provide the President-elect, Vice President-elect, and key advisers with information needed to make strategic policy, budgetary, and personnel decisions prior to the inauguration. The Teams will ensure that senior appointees have the information necessary to complete the confirmation process, lead their departments, and begin implementing signature policy initiatives immediately after they are sworn in.

Impressively, most of the folks on the review teams are volunteers. Highly connected, very experienced, committed volunteers. Many used to work for the federal government before the Bush administration scared away anyone who was even remotely progressive, cared about good government, disagreed with them or, god forbid, were "out" Democrats. Yep, openly blue Democrats were often ousted after witch hunts -- you think it only happened at the Department of Justice? If only that were the case -- these last eight years have seen the most severe, crippling brain drain and loss of institutional memory the federal government has ever experienced, brought to you by Bush/Cheney and their minions. Now, these good people on the agency review teams -- some Democrats, some not, but all part of a Democratic government in exile -- have returned to try to clean up the mind-boggling mess that has been left for Obama and company.

You might already know that the Transition Team has also recently launched a new feature called Open for Questions. Thousands of people responded, asking more than 10,000 questions and voting nearly a million times on questions from others -- dictating which ones people most want the Transition Team to address. Now that the team has answered some of the most popular queries from the last round, the team is up for Round Two. You can ask whatever you like -- and are encouraged to go back to vote on the questions submitted by others. Answers to this latest round of questions will be posted after the New Year.

The Transition Team is also particularly interested in personal stories and feedback about the healthcare system, and ideas for reform in that area. Now through Dec. 31, healthcare discussions are being held throughout the country to help inform the new administration's plan. If you can't make it to one of these healthcare house parties, you can submit your own comments quite easily through the website.

You really should take a gander at the transition web site if you haven't already. You'll be pleasantly surprised -- perhaps even amazed -- at the open, interactive process that's been constructed. I think all this sunlight -- after eight years in the dark, being force fed fertilizer like a mushroom -- will make for a refreshing, productive change. But, it only works if you take part -- and speak your mind!


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Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.

The Zaftig Redhead's Considered Opinion on the Selection of Rick Warren to Deliver Inauguration Invocation

A lot is being made in pundit-land about the selection of conservative super church Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at Barack Obama's Inauguration. But the move has sparked a furor in the gay community, who overwhelmingly voted for Obama. This is also a community that is pissed off and ready to fight after their Proposition 8 loss -- a measure that Warren endorsed.

Obama's selection of Warren absolutely reflects Obama's lofty intention to govern in a less partisan, less divisive way -- to disagree without being disagreeable. To be inclusive and be every one's president. A conciliatory gesture to evangelicals for taking an ass whuppin' at the polls. Fair enough, if that was the only goal.

But I also think Warren's selection is also very much a purely political calculation. Triangulation, folks, pure and simple. Obama needs to show that he's not beholden to any of the special interests that aided his election. Trust me, right now, Emanuel, Plouffe company are loving the controversy, because it shows the nation that Obama is not simply going to cave to a liberal agenda or special interests groups. It will not be the last time he appears less than sensitive to a key constituency -- in fact, he'll throw folks under the bus if he has to -- the only question is -- which group will be next, and on what issue?


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Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.

With the Naming of Hilda Solis, the Obama Cabinet is Complete -- and in Record Time!

It's not even Christmas, and they're done. Finito. Like clockwork. The Obama presidential transition team has set a record for the speediness in which it named all its designates for cabinet positions, not to mention some agency/commission brass as well. This includes my favorite, Melody Barnes -- the incoming chair of the Domestic Policy Council. She is a Kennedy Senate office alum, and her appointment bodes well for a host of civil rights, women's and labor issues. I'm also kinda jazzed about Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) as Labor Secretary. She has moved up the ranks in the House, and is a former Democratic Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women's Issuues -- again, great for the issues I care most about.

It is important to remind folks that no one will be formally nominated to fill these cabinet slots until President-elect Barack Obama is sworn on January 20th. However, these early nods do serve to give the Senate time to do all the leg work, preparing for confirmation hearings in a timely fashion. This good advance work will likely result in the Obama Cabinet being confirmed at a record pace as well. Given that the new Congress is sworn in Jan. 6th, the Senate will be able to hold confirmation hearings even before Inauguration Day -- and then simply hold the roll call votes until Jan. 20th or later. Expect to have at least one nominee teed up for a vote that first week. It was thought that lucky first might be Attorney General-designate Eric Holder, whose hearings are scheduled to begin Jan. 15th. However, given some bumps in his nomination related to his involvement in Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich, Holder might be, well, held off.

The cabinet includes four former Obama rivals -- Clinton, Richardson, Vilsack, and Biden --- and at least two Republicans. It's more than a little light on women -- only five of the long list below, six if we count Barnes -- I guess women are supposed to be so over the moon about Hillary we weren't supposed to notice the lack. But that's another blog. The list below shows those folks who have accepted the President-elect’s invitation to join his cabinet:

Former Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA), Agriculture
Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), Health & Human Services
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY),S tate
Sec. Robert Gates (R), Defense
Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ), Homeland Security
Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), Commerce
Timothy Geithner (New York Federal Reserve President), Treasury
Eric Holder (former Clinton DOJ official), Attorney General/Justice
Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, Veterans Affairs
Peter Orszag (former Clinton advisor/CBO director), Office on Management and Budget
Arne Duncan (Chicago schools superintendent), Education
Shaun Donovan (New York City housing commissioner), Housing and Urban Development
Dr. Steven Chu (scientist/scholar/Nobel prize winner), Energy
Lisa Jackson (Chief of Staff for NJ Gov. Jon Corzine, former EPA staff), EPA
Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO), Interior
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL), Transportation
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), Labor
Gary Gensler (Clinton treasury subcabinet), Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Mary Schapiro (former regulator), Securities and Exchange Commission
Ron Kirk (former Dallas mayor), U.S. Trade Representative
Susan Rice, United Nations Ambassador

Go Team!

Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.

Sock and Awe: Need to Release Some Pent-up Aggression as the Bush Administration Limps to a Finish?

President George W. Bush likes to say that his administration is "sprinting to the finish." Well, I suppose if you count the continued trampling of our civil rights -- right up until Jan. 20th -- a form of sprinting, than he'd be right. Bush and his cronies are wasting no time in pushing through horrible new regulations -- as a lovely parting gift to the nation, including the President-elect who will have to clean up this mess.

From a horrible narrowing of the Family and Medical Leave rules, to the disastrous expansion of so-called "conscious exemptions" related to workers providing reproductive healthcare (simple stuff like birth control and referrals, not just abortion), to new permissible -- and scarily intrusive -- techniques for collecting information on Americans even where there is no evidence of wrongdoing, to new environmental regs that create significant exceptions to rules requiring scientific review of any federal project that might harm endangered species or impact climate change. These rushed through regulations are a case of so little time, so much damage. Actually, here's a great chart of all the midnight regs coming down the pike.

So, if you're feeling a little additional antipathy towards W. and company in light of about 100 new regulatory missles aimed our way in these last weeks, I have a great suggestion for you to work out that aggression. Inspired by the now infamous Iraqi shoe hurler, some creative folks have created the Internet game, Sock and Awe. It's kinda like whack-a-mole, only you get to launch shoes at the president himself. At the time of this blogging, 33673756 shoes have successfully found the mark -- and presumably left one. The site also lists the top 25 "Bush Shoeing Countries;" not surprisingly, the United States tops the list, with France a close second. But you might be interested in the other 23 countries making up the list. Even the peace-loving Swiss are getting into the act.

Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.

Gov. Rendell: Beware the Open Mic When Putting Your Foot in Your Mouth

It is truth universally acknowledged that an open microphone in a direct feed to a 24-hour news outlet must be in want of a clueless politician. In this case, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), also chair of the National Governors' Association, was the clueless pol.

While chatting near the podium Tuesday at the NGA's meeting in Philadelphia, Rendell made free with his opinions about Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) -- President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Homeland Security Secretary. Said Rendell, most conveniently into the open mic:

"Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it."

Now, I am particularly suspicious that Rendell was pontificating about this specific position -- a post for which he himself had been rumored a candidate. Is he trying to excuse why HE didn't get the job?? Because he has family and so thus is not a good candidate? Um, not so much.

Rendell apologized for his foot-in-mouth disease today, saying: "What I meant is that Janet is a person who works 24/7, just like me." Pardon my French, but that's horseshit. Rendell did not misspeak initially; he said exactly what he meant, and he meant what he said -- that women without kids are the only kind of women able to take on the big time jobs. Or, by definition, that women with kids can't do such critical work because of family obligations. Of course, such obligations or lack thereof don't seem to recommend or disqualify men -- but for women, the mommy track is alive and well. It just goes to show that as far as women in the workplace go -- well, we've not come as far as we thought, baby.

CNN's Campbell Brown used her platform on her show No Bias, No Bull to present a marvelous commentary, politely but clearly given Rendell all kinds of hell. Way to go, girlfriend, and what an excellent example of why having women in high places does make a difference -- if only to call the boys on their crap. Watch the video, below.



BTW, if you know the famous book from which this blog's leading sentence is derived/paraphrased, you get brownie points!

Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.

Obamas on 60 Minutes: First Post-election Interview

Here it is, folks. President-Elect Barack Obama's first post-election interview, with Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes. How very presidential to have his first interview as President-Elect be with the venerable news magazine. This is not a clip -- it is the whole enchilada. Our next president is calm and confident, and Michelle Obama joins in for part of the conversation. Enjoy!

Obama and the Presidency


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The Personal Transition


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Puppies, Mothers-in-Law, and College Football Playoffs!


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Copyright 2008 (text only). The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.