The Regulator Shuffle

By Al Kamen
Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The usual bureaucratic response to adversity is to rearrange the deck chairs as the ship goes down. But the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose task had been to regulate the now-defunct -- okay, transformed -- investment banking industry has come up with a creative variant.

As the economy faces the biggest meltdown in three score and 10 years, the SEC has launched its new "Restacking Project." This is a six-month, $4.1 million reshuffling of offices that will require most of the 1,900 headquarters employees -- lawyers and accountants, for the most part -- to move their offices. Even better, at least 170 may have to move twice, once to temporary office space for a few months and then to their permanent offices.

It's not that the headquarters is decrepit. In fact, the agency just moved into its two leased buildings near Union Station in 2005. And the headquarters was built, with only a $19 million budget overrun, to SEC specs.

The agency's special newsletter, the Restacker -- there's also a hotline number, a help desk in Room 3465, and an e-mail address to handle computer or communications problems -- explains that the current musical chairs were planned long before the meltdown. It is a response to "a recurrent complaint" from various offices that people were "frustrated by the time it takes to communicate," even with people in their own divisions, who might be on different floors.

The goal was to get everyone together on the same floor, which certainly isn't a bad idea. As one newsletter notes, you'll no longer "be forced to use space on another floor" to store your files. Yes, "you'll have what you need where and when you need it!"

Of course, most staffers apparently communicate largely by e-mail. And many of them telecommute for a significant part of their workdays, presumably taking their needed files along.

Construction is scheduled to begin next week and should be done by May. So you may think the SEC folks are hard at work regulating and such. But actually, they're picking up moving supplies, getting packing crates, packing, unpacking, repacking . . .

And, because the investment banking industry isn't what it used to be, there's chatter about the SEC merging with other government agencies. Probably best not to throw out those boxes.

Pass the Poison Darts

Very little of note has been written about President-elect Barack Obama's meeting with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), his former rival, other than how it was respectful and amicable as they talked about climate change, Guantanamo Bay and immigration. (Remember that issue?)

But it's most likely that Obama would have asked for -- and received -- solid advice from McCain on the latter's secret plan to catch or kill Osama bin Laden. "I'll get Osama bin Laden, my friends. I'll get him. I know how to get him," McCain said during their Oct. 7 debate in Nashville.

"I'll get him no matter what, and I know how to do it," he added. "But I'm not going to telegraph my punches, which is what Senator Obama did."

Now that Obama's got the info, it's just a matter of time.

Speaking From Experience

Speaking of Osama bin Laden, remember senator Max Cleland? In 2002, the Georgia Democrat was infamously linked to bin Laden and Saddam Hussein in a campaign ad by Republican opponent Saxby Chambliss, who questioned Cleland's patriotism because of his votes against some of President Bush's homeland security measures.

The ad cost Cleland his seat, and now the veteran who lost three limbs in the Vietnam War is seeking revenge.

"Sadly, the power of well-funded lies can be hard to overcome with the under-funded truth," Cleland wrote yesterday in an e-mail plea to Democrats.

Cleland -- a former secretary of veterans affairs who is said to be a top contender for the post under Obama -- asked supporters to contribute to the campaign of Democrat Jim Martin, who will take on Chambliss in a runoff election Dec. 2.

"I know first hand that the runoff campaign in Georgia will get nasty," Cleland wrote.

Whatever Branch That Is

Also on the meeting front, the visit of the Bidens and the Cheneys at the vice presidential mansion was reported as civil and friendly, despite some decidedly unfriendly things that Vice President-elect Joe Biden said about his predecessor during the campaign.

But no follow-up meeting is scheduled, a transition source said yesterday. Too bad. Cheney might have explained his creative use of detailees from the Pentagon, the military and the State Department and those academic fellows to pad his staff and enhance his reach. Some may quibble about legal time limitations for vice presidential use of such shadow staff, but Biden must understand that those laws don't apply to the vice president's office.

Then there's the nifty move to just bump up the staff in rank and have them go to higher-level meetings, gather info and report back. Dubbed the "Watchers," they would sit there quietly, not say a word -- and really freak everyone else out -- as recounted in our colleague Bart Gellman's book, "Angler."

With Philip Rucker

Barack Obama yesterday displayed once again the power of the vast online network he built during the presidential race, giving prominent display on his campaign and transition Web sites to efforts to help the victims of wildfires burning across Southern California.

"Throughout the campaign, we saw time and again that when ordinary people act together, they can make a huge difference," said a notice on http://www.barackobama.com that urged supporters to go to http://www.californiavolunteers.org to read about ways to help.

Obama's plea contributed to a surge in visitors to the site, a branch of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office that helps coordinate disaster relief efforts. The number of daily hits on the site increased from 15,000 Monday to 179,000 Tuesday, said Karen Baker, Schwarzenegger's secretary of service and volunteering.

"Our governor and President-elect Obama know how to leverage technology," Baker said. "They understand that if you want to reach everyday Californians and everyday Americans, you have to leverage technology."

On Sunday, Obama called Schwarzenegger (R) and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa (D) to express his concern about the wildfires and receive an update on the situation. It's unclear who suggested mobilizing Obama's online network on behalf of fire victims. Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear demurred, saying his boss would not disclose the details of the private conversation.

"The governor has said he wants to partner with President-elect Obama because the more successful he is, the more successful all of us will be," McLear said. "Partnering President-elect Obama's vast volunteer network with our nation-leading volunteer agency to help with this tragedy is a great example of that partnership."