A Different Kind of White House

Wolffe: "Yes. I know they don't look at it inside the West Wing as saying, well, you know, it's a great stride for this country that we messed it up enough so that an African-American president could be elected.

"You know, I was speaking to a number of White House officials about this and it does seem very genuine. You've got to understand a couple of things, set aside everything that's happened over the last eight years for a minute, but here's a president who did appoint one of the most, if not the most, diverse cabinets in American history, two African-American secretaries of states. He likes to think of himself as being very open-minded particularly on issues of race. And, I think, there is a genuine admiration for what Obama has been able to achieve here."

More Grace

Bush today held what looked almost like a goodbye party on the South Lawn with members of his White House staff. Here's what he told them:

"No matter how we cast our ballots, this election gives us all reason to be proud of our democracy and our country. And I hope you will join Laura and me in congratulating President-elect Obama and wishing him the very best for his family and our country. . . .

"This peaceful transfer of power is one of the hallmarks of a true democracy and ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible is a priority for the rest of my presidency. We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in. This will also be America's first wartime presidential transition in four decades. We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us, and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people. So for the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running."

Bush also announced that he and Obama would be meeting next week. Nedra Pickler writes for the Associated Press that Obama "and his wife, Michelle, will visit the White House on Monday at President Bush's invitation, aides said."

Transition Watch

Anne E. Kornblut and David Cho write in The Washington Post that Obama aides "announced the first details of an ambitious plan for the transfer of power when he assumes office in January. . . .

"[I]n bureaucracies across the government, federal agency chiefs ordered their staffs to welcome the next president's aides and to begin preparing for an influx of appointees, a process that will place special emphasis on the departments of Treasury and Defense at a time when the nation is waging two wars and attempting to stave off further economic decline."

Warren Christopher, who was Clinton's transition director in 1992, writes in a Los Angeles Times op-ed: "Obama's key economic and foreign policy advisors should be selected by Dec. 1 and confirmed promptly after the inauguration. Congress should recognize the urgency of filling these posts and accelerate the confirmation process.

"The important sub-Cabinet-level appointees should be identified by inauguration day or soon after. The Bush administration had only 30% of its national security appointees in place nearly eight months after inauguration. In these times, such a lapse should not be repeated.

"Major policy agendas should be agreed on, legislation prepared and executive orders drafted -- all before the inauguration. It is a crucial time to set priorities and to demonstrate that key campaign promises will be fulfilled.

"One line, however, should not be crossed. The nation can have only one president at a time. The president-elect should not take responsibility for, nor appear to endorse, decisions that are properly those of the incumbent. This is especially true with an outgoing administration that seems bent on making profound and troubling last-minute changes in the rules and regulations affecting civil liberties, abortion rights and the environment."