Bush, Obama, and the Transition

President George W. Bush speaks to employees of the Executive Office of the President Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, about the upcoming transition. (White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

America is a great country. Power is transferred in a peaceful fashion, with order and dignity.

Of course, the last time a new president took office, things were messy.

There was the recount in 2000. Oh, God, the recount. That limbo and the legal wrangling were a nightmare.

This time, the new president will have plenty of time to prepare to assume office.

I'm sure President Bush and his staff will cooperate fully to assure a smooth transition for Barack Obama, and I'm certain the gracious Mrs. Bush will welcome Michelle Obama and assist her in becoming the nation's next first lady.

In short, don't expect the letter "H" to be removed from computer keyboards.

From the New York Times:

President Bush, warning that terrorists “would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change,” said Thursday that he intended to talk to President-elect Barack Obama on Monday about issues that will face his administration, including the turmoil in the financial markets and the war in Iraq.

The White House is especially concerned that the nation will be vulnerable during the transition between the Bush and Obama administrations. In one sign of that, Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, flew to Chicago to present Mr. Obama with his first top-secret intelligence briefing on Thursday.

“For the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running,” Mr. Bush said in an emotional speech to hundreds of employees of the executive branch on the South Lawn of the White House. He urged them to “conduct yourselves with the decency and professionalism that you have shown throughout my time in office.”

Mr. Bush has said he is determined to conduct an orderly transition. The White House wants to avoid a repeat of the kind of news reports that plagued President Bill Clinton when he left office amid questions about whether members of his staff, irked at having to turn their offices over to Republicans, removed the letter W from some computer keyboards.

To that end, the president has established a formal transition council that has already sought advice from outside experts, among them a former Clinton chief of staff, Mack McLarty. In an interview on Thursday, Mr. McLarty praised the effort as “more formal, more focused, more intense” than any he had seen, adding, “The times call for it.”

The administration is already providing transition offices in downtown Washington to the Obama team. Congress provided roughly $40 million for transition-related activities in an omnibus spending bill signed by Mr. Bush in September. The money includes $8.5 million for the General Services Administration, which will provide office space, computers, telephones and support services to the incoming administration.

What a difference!

President Bush and his staff are giving Barack Obama the respect he deserves as the president-elect.

This transition is nothing like the one eight years ago.

Remember?

White House officials released a list Saturday of damage they say was done by outgoing staffers of President Clinton, including obscene graffiti in six offices, a 20-inch-wide presidential seal ripped off a wall, 10 cut telephone lines and 100 inoperable computer keyboards.

For months, Democrats had questioned the administration’s credibility because officials refused to document charges of vandalism they made in the week after President Bush’s inauguration. In April, the General Accounting Office said it was unable to confirm damage, in part because of what it called a “lack of records” from the White House.

Most of the incidents described Saturday by White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer were said to have occurred in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House. Pornographic or obscene greetings were left on 15 voicemail lines in the offices of the vice president, White House counsel, scheduling and advance, Fleischer said. As a precaution, all phones were disabled and reprogrammed.

The details were provided to the Washington Post after several days of inquiries about the degree of White House cooperation with the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress. The GAO said in April that it “found no damage” to White House real estate. The GAO prepared no report but said in a three-paragraph letter that it could reach no further conclusions because the White House said it had no written record of damage. The letter did not mention the Eisenhower building, where most of the damage was reported.

White House officials had said they did not release the information sooner because of Bush’s desire to “move forward.”

The vandalism brouhaha started Jan. 21, the day after Bush was inaugurated, with boasts by Clinton staffers that they had removed the “W” keys from computers, and escalated with televised charges by Fleischer on Jan. 25 that departing aides had “cut wires” and performed other acts that the administration was “cataloging.”

The episode seemed to deflate Jan. 26, when Bush said the only damage was that there “might have been a prank or two.”

Fleischer said Saturday that the written list was prepared Friday, based on the recollections of officials and career government employees, in response to Democrats’ “suggestion that the Bush White House made things up.”

“We tried to be gracious, but the last administration would not take graciousness,” Fleischer said. “By getting the information out, we hope to put an end to this.”

...The only incident Fleischer described in the White House itself was a photocopier in the West Wing that had pictures of naked people interspersed with blank photocopy paper so deep in the tray that they were still popping out weeks after the inauguration.

Unlike what President Bush experienced, I think Obama can count on all the keyboards being intact when his staff moves in to their offices.

...Even as he prepares to hand off his responsibilities to Mr. Obama, Mr. Bush has a full plate of his own. He is trying to wrap up negotiations with the government of Iraq on the continued United States presence there, is dealing with the worldwide financial crisis and will welcome leaders of 20 nations at a conference on the economy in Washington this month.

As he spoke on the South Lawn on Thursday, the president was joined by his wife, Laura, Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, and members of the cabinet. The White House was at his back; in front of him the South Lawn trees were ablaze with autumn colors under gray November skies.

The speech sounded like a valedictory. At the end, Mr. Bush vowed to keep his promise to “sprint to the finish,” a remark that seemed to push him to the verge of tears.

“As we head into the final stretch, I ask you to remain focused on the goals ahead,” Mr. Bush said, his lips pursed and his face reddening slightly. “I will be honored to stand with you at the finish line.”

Watch video.

Read "President Bush Discusses the Transition with Employees of the Executive Office of the President."

Excerpt

PRESIDENT BUSH: The people on this lawn represent diverse backgrounds, talents, and experiences. Yet we all share a steadfast devotion to the United States. We believe that service to our fellow citizens is a noble calling -- and the privilege of a lifetime.

This is an exciting time for our country. Earlier this week, more than 120 million people voted for a new President and Congress -- one of the largest turnouts in the history of the country. 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. (Applause.)

Just before our inauguration in 2001, Laura and I went back to Midland, Texas -- she was born there and I was raised there. I said that Laura and I would "never quite settle in Washington." I told them: "While the honor is great, the work is temporary." This is true for many of us here today. 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 over the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next President and his team can hit the ground running. For more than a year now, departments and agencies throughout the federal government have been preparing for a smooth transition. We've provided intelligence briefings to the President-Elect, and the Department of Justice has approved security clearances for members of his transition staff. In the coming weeks, we will ask administration officials to brief the Obama team on ongoing policy issues, ranging from the financial markets to the war in Iraq. I look forward to discussing those issues with the President-Elect early next week.

...As January 20th draws near, some of you may be anxious about finding a new job, or a new place to live. I know how you feel. (Laughter.) But between now and then, we must keep our attention on the task at hand -- because the American people expect no less. Earlier this year, I promised that I would sprint to the finish. I am keeping that promise, and I know I have given some of you a good workout along the way. As we head into this final stretch, I ask you to remain focused on the goals ahead. I will be honored to stand with you at the finish line. May God bless you.

During the campaign, Obama absolutely pummeled President Bush. That's politics.

Obama should note that President Bush isn't playing politics with the transition.

The American people should be aware of that as well.

This is the way for a president to leave office, with honor and respect for his successor.


President George W. Bush embraces an employee of the Executive Office of the President Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, after delivering remarks to his staff on the upcoming transition. (White House photo by Eric Draper)