Obama Team Moves to Keep Its Distance From Lobbyists

Members of the review teams will be announced by the end of the week, and their names will be posted on Obama's transition Web site, Change.gov, as they are given security clearances to begin their work.

Obama moved rapidly last week to name his chief of staff, plucking Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois from Congress less than two days after winning election. No other major personnel or Cabinet announcements are expected until next week, at the earliest. But aides said Obama still intends to move faster than most of his predecessors, with several top Cabinet posts filled quickly, perhaps by the end of the month. The first Cabinet announcements are widely anticipated to include the Treasury and defense secretaries.

Podesta said no president other than George H.W. Bush had announced a Cabinet choice before December. And he said prior presidents have seen a maximum of 24 members of their Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials confirmed by the end of March, a number he called "simply inadequate" for a country that is facing major economic and foreign policy challenges.

"This is a process that will require the cooperation of both parties in Congress, and we hope and expect to receive that," Podesta said. "The country's experiencing two wars. We have ongoing threat from al-Qaeda. We've got a financial crisis that we need to cope with, and we've got to get the economy moving again. So, we intend to move with all due speed, and we hope that the Senate will, as well."

Podesta refused to speculate about people Obama might pick for key positions. Asked about Obama's view of Bush's defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, who is the focus of intense speculation about whether he will remain in his post under Obama, Podesta said only that Obama "has great respect for Secretary Gates, but beyond that I think that, you know, he intends to engage, as I suggested, across the board with the agencies."

He also declined to say which Bush-era executive orders Obama plans to overturn once he takes office. "When we have announcements about specific executive orders, we'll make those," he said.

Obama's relatively low profile is striking in part because of the candidate-centered campaign he ran, using the force of his personality to win over voters. The financial crisis heightened expectations that he would move quickly to try to influence the country's economic policies.

The day before the election, Obama said in Jacksonville, Fla., that "tomorrow, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street."

But once he was elected, Obama turned cautious. Friday, in his first news conference, the president-elect made it clear that he would not presume anything until Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.

Podesta reinforced that view at yesterday's news conference. "The president-elect will respect the fact that we have one president at a time," he said.

Staff writer Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.