Those 4 steps sound a bit Rovian, no?

I read the article and found it interesting, but not half as interesting as the comments.

Obama ran a divisive campaign? Really? Even when compared to the McCain/Palin ticket?

Amazing.

RHM

The Liberal Response typically looks like this:
1) Make an unfounded accusation (without reading/listening to the actual content and context)
2) Use vulgar language and call names to start off the personal attack(s)
3) Make baseless comment to distract from what the content and original intent truly was
4) Repeat

That’s what I’ve learned this election year.

The whole Office of the President Elect thing, in general, isn’t bad – as alluded to by our author. What’s bad is the way that Obama is carrying on as if he is the Commander in Chief. He isn’t, at least not yet, not until he takes the oath. What Obama is doing, in fact what he has been doing this whole time – during his campaign (I’ll spell it out for our slower friends here) – has been undermining the office of the presidency, the very office that he seeks. He has acted from the get go as if he can go around the world and make policy decisions as a candidate and now as the president elect.

I suggest that the commenters here take the time to actually read this post, and our authors other posts, before leveling some very serious accusations and insults.

However from a brief skim, like many Republicans you want it both ways, the freedom to run a dirty campaign against Obama, while crying foul when your own candidate is treated with less than reverence. The Office of President Elect is necessary for strictly practical reasons. Unlike most other democracies, the U.S. does not have an extensive politically neutral civil service, and indeed the current administration has politicised a far wider range of advisors and administrators on the fringes of government than anything seen previously. This means that a new President cannot take over the day after the election, and the OPE is necessary to ease the transition, by enabling the new President to assemble his team and get them briefed by the outgoing administration. I am afraid that I suspect that you only find problems with this, because the you would like as many obstacles in the way of the next administration as possible, and if the situation was reversed, and it was a Republican taking over from a Democrat that you would find no problem.

I would take your high minded concern about the ability of the Presidency to unite the nation rather more seriously, if the Republicans had not run the most divisive and intransigently partisan administration in US history, just one of the reasons GWB is regarded by many as the worst President in living memory. National unity will only come when the Republicans are able to show as much flexibility intellectual curiosity and open mindedness as President Elect Obama has already done. In Reagan’s time the Republicans were the party of ideas which challenged the orthodoxy, while now you have become much more orthodox and rigidly ideological than the consensus you replaced, while suffering from a paranoid persecution complex, believing you cannot get your ideas discussed, or point of view across to the majority. You need to get back to your Reagan roots, which means examining many of your core beliefs with as much detachment and intellectual daring, as you had about that tired post war consensus, and coming up with new ideas about how to build a better world. Sadly though I suspect that like the Conservative Party in the UK, you are far more likely to take refuge in that strict orthodoxy, and will only begin to acknowledge your problems after a lot more punishment at the polls.

I’ve noticed that the media coverage has increased and I’ll probably be watching the news even less than I currently do (unless it’s local). I noticed just last night that Obama smiled and winked at the camera in this smug manner that just makes you want to cringe. It was like a five year old at a birthday party. On the other side, I’m sure a lot of people fainted out of sheer intoxication.

I agree, Ashok, the whole idea of this President-Elect is divisive and misleading. He’s not THE president yet so he needs to quit acting like it already (although, his presidential seal has been ready for quite some time). I think that the concept of President-Elect allows for less accountability as Obama, like others, will place blame on the previous administration if things went bad and take credit for things that went well (even if there’s no evidence to prove it). I’ve already grown weary of hearing about “President-Elect Obama” when the media purposely calls President Bush “Mr. Bush.” There’s a complete lack of respect towards a conservative in office.

I don’t think there is any way that PEBO (President-Elect Barack Obama) will unite the country as he was dead set on dividing it even during the campaign. There’s no way that the most liberal senator, that votes against bipartisanship 100% of the time, will unite anyone unless they agree with him on everything. That’s anything but bipartisan.

As my wife pointed out, I think it would be interesting if we went back to electing only a president with the runner-up becoming vice president. Now, that would require true bipartisanship.

ROTFLMAO.

The Messiah has accomplished less than nearly any politician ever in the history of America!
Every one of his ideas require productive Americans to work harder and produce more just to stay at whatever level they were.

Obama is the bee keeper and the productive in America are the worker bees….so he can create a hive of slackers.

Obama doesn’t inspire the poor, the downtrodden, the slackers, the losers, the lazy, and those who wasted all their time in public school to greatness. The Messiah is telling them to hold on! …. Help is on the way to bail out their lazy behind.

Any yet millions like Sarah offer that Obama is “Awesome” without anything of substance to back up their argument.

I agree, however. Obama is awesome: An Awesome Deceiver!

but as for the media coverage, the majority of americans don’t like bush. people want the media coverage on obama.

and while it’s a lot of hype, i think you are overexaggerating a LOT. the only stuff i’ve heard is stuff that it’s good to sort out before you take office. ie briefings on…stuff, cabinet members etcetc. my other theory would be is that people are really starting to freak about the economy. in ohio, it’s just starting to really sink in. the general thought is that bush will do the whole lame duck thing so obama has to get his act together on the economy now to try to immediately start enacting things once sworn in. it’s the economy that won this election and it’s going to keep the media focused on him.

besides the fact that he’s awesome…