The Note: Gonna Do Him Good?

Nov. 13, 2008— -- Since the most transparent presidential transition in history is translucent at the moment, while the most open process ever is continuing behind doors marked "private," here's some of what the president-elect is learning:
1. Being more organized than Bill Clinton and less formal than George W. Bush doesn't make a successful White House by itself -- but may be a good start.

2. A new politics requires old faces -- and those Clinton folks really don't look so bad when it's time to fill out a Democratic administration. (Even Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton herself may not be so bad to have around . . . )
3. That online army he brings with him doesn't take orders from the top.
4. Being president-elect can mean acting like a president only when you want -- but there are some crises too big to avoid.
5. There are a few campaign promises that may not be so bad to ignore for a very long while.
As the Bidens meet the Cheneys, Hank Paulson meets reality, the GOP meets to ponder a new path, Sarah Palin meets a few more cameras, John McCain meets politics again, and Alaska's Uncle Ted meets the real fallout of his actions . . .

The various political scenes playing out all over Washington and beyond lack a major player: President-elect Barack Obama.

The no-drama edict/reality of the Obama campaign has morphed seamlessly into the transition, no leaks, no errors.

But can it last? With each new issue, and with each new name, the realities of governing threaten to clash with the rhetoric of campaigning.

Change is so hard to track -- with new faces like Rahm Emanuel, John Podesta, Larry Summers, Madeleine Albright, Ron Klain, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, James Steinberg . . . (Think the Netroots are happy about this?)

Your new players (hope you kept your old program): "The Obama transition team yesterday rolled out a new list of officials who will help guide the process, singling out the Treasury, Defense and State departments as its first three areas of focus," Anne E. Kornblut and Michael Abramowitz write in The Washington Post. "Three policy-oriented Democrats -- Melody Barnes, Lisa Brown and Don Gips -- will serve as co-chairs of the agency review process, the office of President-elect Barack Obama said."

The list "sheds light on the types of people his administration will lean on and what institutions may claim clout in the new Washington," The Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler and Jonathan Weisman report. "The group is filled with second-tier veterans of the Clinton administration and workers in the technology and financial sectors. It includes four former lobbyists, three top campaign fund-raisers and two former employees of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, with some overlap among them. Four people in the group have ties to the consultant McKinsey & Co. and two have experience leading high-tech start-ups."

"16 out of 19 of these folks worked in some capacity for the administration of President Clinton, which will no doubt cause some to question just how much 'change' can really come of these appointments," ABC's Jake Tapper reports. "But on the other hand, one can't expect Democrats who can be relied upon to help run a government to just pop out fresh from thin air."

Get used to it, says ABC's Sam Donaldson: "Successful presidents surround themselves with experienced people. That doesn't always work out – consider the outgoing Bush administration -- but when they don't do that, it almost never works out -- consider the Carter administration."

Setting the tone: "The transition provides an early glimpse of how the Obama team will conduct itself in power -- and a test of how much change it really will bring to Washington," Time's Karen Tumulty writes. "As the cascade of crises grows -- the collapse of General Motors being the latest -- the President-elect won't have time to settle in before making big decisions. In a real sense, the moves Obama makes in the next six weeks may help define what kind of President he will be."

Key insight: "The greatest challenge of all for President Obama will be the one set for him by candidate Obama," Tumulty writes.

Make room for Republicans, too -- real Republicans, not a few token choices. Newsweek's Richard Wolffe: "While reporters were focused on lobbyist rules and speculation about new cabinet names, Podesta dropped this nugget about the president-elect's intentions during the first transition briefing. 'There's sort of been a tradition of having at least one person from the other party at the beginning of an administration in the cabinet. His commitment is to deepen that and to look even just beyond the cabinet, to try to bring people who agree with the direction that he wants to take the country and, regardless of party, to serve in the government.' "

Want to join the fun? "A seven-page questionnaire being sent by the office of President-elect Barack Obama to those seeking cabinet and other high-ranking posts may be the most extensive -- some say invasive -- application ever," The New York Times' Jackie Calmes. "The questionnaire includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants' spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps."

(Even Facebook pages -- one world where it's not good to have too many friends.)

As for how to find those jobs -- some great details from the Plum Book: "The 209-page paperback, officially titled 'The United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions,' is exciting reading for people coveting jobs in the incoming Obama administration," Lyndsey Layton and Lois Romano write in The Washington Post.

"The Marine Mammal Commission has three openings, each paying $100,000 a year. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation will need a new executive secretary who will earn $139,600 to $191,300 a year. And at the Department of Health and Human Services, there's an opening for a confidential assistant to the deputy director of child support enforcement in the Administration for Children and Families (whew), for an annual salary of $48,148 to $62,593, depending on experience," they write.

They don't list David Axelrod's new job -- but is he sure he wants it? "If David Axelrod decides to join the Obama White House, he'll have to do more than move to Washington. He'll also have to take an enormous pay cut and possibly reveal the extent of his lucrative corporate public relations work," Politico's Kenneth P. Vogel reports.

In: Ron Klain: "Vice President-elect Biden has asked veteran Congressional and White House staffer Ron Klain to be his chief of staff in the White House, according to Democratic insiders," Keith Koffler reports in Roll Call. "Klain, who served in the same position for former Vice President Gore, also worked from 1989-1992 for Biden when Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is known to be close to the vice president-elect. . . . The selection of Klain could signal that Biden intends to play a strong role within the White House and guard whatever turf he can carve out for himself."