Posted: Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:00 am
It's not enough just to change the players. We've got to change the game."
President-elect Barack Obama frequently said just that on the campaign trail over the past 18 months.
But as Obama starts to fill out his governing team, it appears the players won't change much.
So far, much of the Obama administration looks like the Bill Clinton administration.
It started with John Podesta, head of Obama's transition team and also Clinton's last chief of staff. In the transition role, Podesta and his connections play a major role in shaping Obama's early days in the White House.
Rahm Emanuel, known for moderate politics, but also fiercely partisan with a reputation as a pit bull, served in the Clinton administration. He will serve as Obama's chief of staff.
Eric Holder, a deputy attorney general for Clinton, was selected for the top justice position in the Obama administration.
Tim Geithner and Lawrence Summers, tabbed for two key economic positions, both served under Clinton. Both come with potential baggage related to the current economic meltdown, through work on the bailout for Geithner and pushing for fewer regulations in the case of Summers.
Obama looked to Peter Orszag as budget director. Orszag was an economic adviser to Clinton and served as head of the Congressional Budget Office.
Tom Daschle, picked as health secretary served a combined 24 years in the Senate and House of Representatives, including stints as Senate majority leader.
Bill Richardson, whom Obama wants to serve as commerce secretary, served as a United Nations ambassador and secretary of energy under Clinton.
And lastly, reports indicate Hillary Clinton has been offered the secretary of state job.
It seems the Washington outsiders are few in Obama's team, with longtime advisers Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod joining Homeland Security nominee Janet Napolitano as the few people selected with less extensive Washington connections.
In setting up an inner circle filled with Clintonites and other Washington insiders, Obama doesn't necessarily toss aside his change mantra from the campaign.
But the appointments do ensure that all the responsibility for changing Washington falls squarely on his own shoulders.
After being elected with only eight years in the Illinois state legislature and three in the United States Senate, it should come as no major surprise that Obama selected a seasoned team to join him in Washington. Voters were hungry for change, but many were also leery of electing a president with little national experience.
For all the strong wills on the Obama team, these positions still do the bidding of the president. If Obama truly meant his message of change, he should be able to get them to carry out his ideas.
People in Washington are realizing the type of people Obama has begun surrounding himself with as pragmatists. He's finding people who know how to get things done.
But for all the change rhetoric, the actors remain the same. Obama is bringing in people who have a reputation for doing the hard work and getting results.
But the question remains, can he make use of them to get done what he wants accomplished? Can he bring real change with a core group of establishment types?
Now it falls on Obama to steer them in the right direction. It's up to him to change the game.