Three More Obama Nominees Withdraw

by Toby Harnden - March 6th, 2009 - London Telegraph

After a transition period that was hailed as one of the smoothest and best organised in the past two decades, Mr Obama has struggled to fill key posts amid signs of chaotic decision making and inadequate vetting.

He has lost two Commerce Secretary nominees – Governor Bill Richardson, who became embroiled in a corruption scandal and Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican who turned against Mr Obama's spending plans.

Nancy Killefer, chosen to be "chief performance officer", pulled out over unpaid taxes while General Anthony Zinni was told he would be ambassador to Baghdad only to learn that a diplomat had been appointed to fill the slot but no one had bothered to tell him.

According to the White House Transition Project, which tracks appointments, there are some 1,200 government jobs that require Senate confirmation about 360 of which are considered policy jobs. Only about 70 of those jobs have been filled so far.

Perhaps someone should have noted that the transition was organized by the outgoing Republican administration, not Obama. No one in the MSM ever suggested that the smooth tansition was a result of outgoing professionals in positions of responsibilty answering any and all questions Obama's people asked, but it was. The information was available quickly because these Republicans knew what they were doing. George W. Bush had ordered them to cooperate, and they did, magnificently.

Of course the press just raved about how smoothly the incoming amateurs handled the transition, because there was no way that they were ever going to give Republicans credit for anything.

Now that the transition is over and the Republicans are gone? The entire process has collapsed into a Chinese fire drill. Or is it politically incorrect to use that old expression? I am sure that the incompetence that Obama and his people are displaying will be ignored while someone takes me to task for using an "insulting" expression. My bad!

Incredibly, 60% of Americans are "impressed" with Obama and think he is doing a good job. The press never allows them to hear anything else. I don't know what is funnier ... or more incompetent; Obama, or the American majority that are abandoning the precepts that made us great and rich and free.