Articles

Topic A

March 03, 2009
The Obama administration is off to a strong start filling its ranks, having named 75 of the nearly 470 people who need Senate confirmation. But the pace of formally nominating them is moving much slower, with only 45 names sent to the Senate and just 28 confirmed. It's unlikely the administration will reach its goal of 100 officials being confirmed and in place by April 1.

Yes, the Obama administration is ahead of the confirmation pace of previous administrations, but it should be. Changes in law and the energetic cooperation of the Bush White House made it easier for Team Obama to get its people in place quicker than any administration in history. There have, however, been many more fumbles than should have occurred. These have generated bad headlines and a slower-than-promised pace in filling the government. For that, the Obama White House has only itself to blame.

The vetting process has been poorly executed and consistently sloppy. Were potential nominees asked the catch-all question all recent administrations have asked about anything in a nominee's background that could embarrass the president-elect? Or did this administration simply have an overabundance of office seekers with unpaid taxes or ongoing federal investigations? The White House that hired the Democratic Party's best opposition researcher to work in the Counsel's Office apparently didn't subject its own nominees to the same level of scrutiny it intends to provide its adversaries.

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/03/AR2009030303323.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Related Article

E49242238847efa4dec915c3d5b1085f
March 23, 2023 |
Article
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s looming indictment of Donald Trump should be judged on its legal merits. ...
276d91e2b7474d5765e97979c7485232
March 16, 2023 |
Article
Many Republicans wonder of 2024: Will they see a repeat of 2016, when a vast field of contenders allowed Donald Trump to win a majority of delegates with a plurality of votes in early contests? ...
07fb7405a00355ff8bdd7bafb415a198
March 09, 2023 |
Article
Every fish gets its turn in the barrel. That goes for both Republicans and Democrats. ...
269615efc94ab8b7abf0214968ac8bdd
March 02, 2023 |
Article
The 15 ballots it took for Rep. Kevin McCarthy to become speaker left an image of dysfunction and chaos. ...
Button karlsbooks
Button readinglist
Button nextapperance