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Five Ways Obama Has Already Changed Washington
Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty
In a few short weeks, he has ended the score settling tradition, eased Congress' inferiority complex—and made Stephen Colbert welcome again.
President-elect Barack Obama doesn’t take office until January 20, 2009, but his win has already affected the nation’s capital. Here are five indications that Obama has already changed the company town.
1. Competence over competition.
The Bush administration made enemies quickly and made them for life: Dick Cheney wasn't above personally quashing the careers of those who had wronged him. From sitting down with John McCain to appointing a roster of Clinton cohorts to administration positions, Obama has signaled to his colleagues that he is not interested in settling scores or drawing out rivalries that flourished just weeks ago. While his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has reputation for fierce loyalty, one should not confuse that with blind adherence to a party line; he met last week with both conferences in Congress and impressed both sides with his willingness to listen and eagerness to work together. "He and Obama want to do big things," said one Republican attendee who is optimistic about finding ways to work with the administration. "They are not interested in small ball."
2. MoCs are BMoC (Members of Congress are Big Men on Campus).
Relations between the Bush White House and Congress were notoriously frosty—even before Democrats retook it in 2006. With Karl Rove running things, the legislative branch was seen as a hindrance not as an equal branch of government (of which there were actually four by their count, remember?). Now, the White House is stocked with legislators, from the president on down, and they'll be working closely to make the most of their majorities in both houses. This means that congressmen might actually be as important as they think they are. One way to tell: All the attention that's been given to Obama's appointments comes in part from the delicious anticipation MoCs feel for the upcoming confirmation hearings—none of which will be quite the same without Joe Biden, but they probably won't take as long.
3. The press corps has a new dean.
David Broder is, of course, Dean Emerita, but the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet will probably be taking over the daily duties. What do those entail? The unofficial position is part institutional memory, part guardian of journalistic purity: the walking, talking conscience of the press corps, there to remind them that he's just a president. Sweet, already a well-regarded reporter and infamous for her acerbic personality, has been covering Obama for years and never really swooned for him as so many of her colleagues did.
4. The celebrities are coming! The celebrities are coming!
The last eight years have seen only the dimmest stars at Washington events, a phenomenon particularly noticeable the annual White House Correspondents' Association gala, where D.C. journalists often settled for the thrill of seeing an American Idol cast off or a random Republican country star. This year, publicists have already begun making inquiries on behalf of their clients and the event's organizers are prepared for an avalanche of requests when tables go on sale. Will Oprah liven up C-SPAN's usually drab red-carpet pre-show? Will Washington's least fashionable finally have a reason to upgrade from Ann Taylor? At the very least, maybe Colbert will come back.
5. Working in government is cool.
Not "cool again," because for many of the 300,000 or so people who have applied for a job in the Obama administration (there are about 8,000 openings), government has never been cool. Bill Clinton was personally cool, perhaps, but as president he was like the high school prom king who deigned to visit Model United Nations. Obama promises a government identified with the digital age, not red tape.
Wonkette emerita, political junkie, self-hating journalist, and author of Dog Days. She has worked for Time, Mother Jones, Suck, and most recently, Radar. Follow her on Twitter.
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Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
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Wonkette emerita, political junkie, self-hating journalist, and author of Dog Days. She has worked for Time, Mother Jones, Suck, and most recently, Radar. Follow her on Twitter.
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Wonkette emerita, political junkie, self-hating journalist, and author of Dog Days. She has worked for Time, Mother Jones, Suck, and most recently, Radar. Follow her on Twitter.
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Wonkette emerita, political junkie, self-hating journalist, and author of Dog Days. She has worked for Time, Mother Jones, Suck, and most recently, Radar. Follow her on Twitter.
cajola
Obama is a breath of fresh air all around...this country needs lifting up right now and he seems to be doing that already and he's not even President yet.
We are going to see such a difference in the way this country is run and I feel we can all be very hopeful about our future in more ways than one.
I am full aware the task he has before him is very very hard, and patience will be required, as we all know....Rome wasn't built in a day!
I do feel very confident in our new President elect and look forward to Jan 20th to see him sworn in.
pencilbox
Interesting that these five items are all positive examples (with the possible exception of the celeb bit- political celebrities are kind of... windy?)
I'm partial for sure, but I can't think of 5 changes Bush made before his 1st inaug., or really 5 *good* ones since. NCLB had promise, until he decided not to fund it. Nothing else comes to mind.
Oh- guest workers. What ever happened to that?
And I agree with Cajola- right now is a good time to be an idealist.
statusquomustgo
He has already done so much good for this country just
JeepRover
It's nice to see DC working together again. I just hope it last. Mr. Obama has a long row to hoe.
hasenpfefferb
Many Americans, especially younger ones, are getting their first taste of what a team of people consisting (for the most part) of the brightest and the best looks like. Granted, it doesn't always end up working out, and often the reality of making great things happen is a LOT stickier than the public is generally aware of, but that much talent and ability working together is a thrilling thing to behold, no matter what arena it's in. Let's hope this administration 'supergroup' is more like Led Zeppelin or Cream, and less like The Highwaymen (which included Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson) or The Dirty Mac (which produced a grand total one (albiet BRILLIANT) performance for 'Rock and Roll Circus', and one shitty Yoko Ono backing track).
EllenKonar
David Broder is a woman?
strangeboy
Good things, all.
Perhaps the most effective yet subtle change we can attribute to Obama and his "flow" is our renewed belief that CHANGE can actually happen.
The idea that "if something doesn't work, we can fix it" is back in style.
Right on.
Forestroot
I'm caught up in this too. I am an old man and I have never been this excited about a new administration in my life. And so many others on line have expressed that feeling. There are right wingers and just plain nuts who are complaining about everything.I can feel for them a little because I found myself in total despair--at least until 2007 when Grandma Pelosi showed her new gavel to her grandchildren. It is like we have had two years to prepare for this. I feel like I am part of a brand new nation. I cannot even feel embarrassed about this new feeling.
mrcreosote
Depending on which criteria used, Obama is the first 'Generation X' president. Also, there seems to have been a generational skip, with both Bill Clinton and GWB born in 1946, and Obama in 1961, skipping the 1950's. There were similar jumps when Kennedy, Carter and Clinton were elected. Kennedy's was the most significant, being not only the 2nd youngest at the time, but the first president born in the 20th century (almost post WW1).
drkaza12
6. Notice to the supreme court. We have a constitutional Lawyer in the Oval office. Boys and girl, be on your P's, and Q's.
magicspin
Coming in at No. 7 -
Barack and Michelle bump each other. And in public, too!
StarDust
A RESPONSE TO: "Obama promises a government identified with the digital age, not red tape." I've been a supporter of President Obama, worked on his Rapid Response Network since the beginning, and I am now going into my second month of trying to reach someone in the Obama camp regarding my contribution song for their Inaugural Ball. I'm beginning to see every star and famous celebrity listed on websites as performers and attendees. Apparently, they can get through to our new president, but what about the little guy? I've written to all the website addresses that have been provided for contacting President Obama, as well as setting up my webpage on the Obama-Biden "official website". After 60 days of trying to make contact with the Obama camp, with NO RESULTS, I'm beginning to feel as though big government is STILL not so accessible after all. What will it take to get this message out to President Obama? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tia253AMjHA
tomfarr
A sixth way Obama has changed Washington is that he has changed a snide, satirical critic, Ana Marie Cox, into a
starstruck sycophant.
penscott
StarDust, you poor fellow. You drank the Obama koolaid, chanted "Yes we can", and never really took an objective look at the Community Organizer. He has a history of using people and then dropping them, or even turning against them.
Look for another hero to idolize.
wfleet
Forget going Big. Go HUGE. Even Ban Ki Moon, SecGen UN, is calling for a Global Green New Deal. Suppose we turned 1/2 the War-so-called-Defense moneys to getting solar panels on every gov building in the nation solar panels over every parking lot in the nation in 2 years. The key is the ramping up the methods for getting small amounts of power into the grid.
Our commitment to Green (NOT ethanol -- we're already at Peak Soil) has to be napoleon/alexander/caesar/machiavelli/we gotta conquer green in desperate profligate haste. No joke. Green is the new Gaul.
Forget rocket science -- Here we come solar science. THEN I would know that DC has been changed.
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