Have you ever heard the old saying "don't count your chickens before they've hatched?" It seems that Obama has already counted his, even before the election has hatched, because according to a story on FOX News today Obama's Cabinet has already been decided. John Podesta, who is a veteran of Washington and Bill Clinton's former chief-of-staff, is heading up Obama's transition team and has spent months putting together a group of people that will be in place to make a smooth transition if Obama wins the election. In fact, Podesta has already put so many members of Obama's potential team in place that most of his senior appointments could be announced shortly after election day. I believe in preparing for any possible scenario, but being ready to name your entire Cabinet right after the election is really taking a win for granted.
In related news, Obama's advisers have also been working on lowering expectations for Obama's presidency if he wins next week. It seems that a lot of his supporters are under the wrong, unrealistic impression of just exactly what Obama can achieve once in office. Apparently the refrains of "hope" and "change" lifted people's expectations of an Obama presidency, and now he has to burst their bubble.
The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of "hope" and "change" are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy.
One senior adviser told The Times that the first few weeks of the transition, immediately after the election, were critical, "so there's not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair."
When Obama was asked by a radio station in Colorado what his goals were for his first hundred days in office, he replied that he would need more time to take on issues such as Iraq, global warming and health care reform. Obama thinks it will be "the first thousand days that makes the difference." I wonder if it will take him a thousand days to raise taxes, or will he be able to accomplish that task sooner?
In related news, Obama's advisers have also been working on lowering expectations for Obama's presidency if he wins next week. It seems that a lot of his supporters are under the wrong, unrealistic impression of just exactly what Obama can achieve once in office. Apparently the refrains of "hope" and "change" lifted people's expectations of an Obama presidency, and now he has to burst their bubble.
The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of "hope" and "change" are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy.
One senior adviser told The Times that the first few weeks of the transition, immediately after the election, were critical, "so there's not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair."
When Obama was asked by a radio station in Colorado what his goals were for his first hundred days in office, he replied that he would need more time to take on issues such as Iraq, global warming and health care reform. Obama thinks it will be "the first thousand days that makes the difference." I wonder if it will take him a thousand days to raise taxes, or will he be able to accomplish that task sooner?
