Karl Rove and the Bush legacy

“The Architect” Karl Rove says he is going to “name names” in a book he will publish about how he feels that President Bush has been judged unfairly. Rove is now employed by Bush to establish and maintain his legacy. Given the Bush administrations dismal approval ratings, this will be a monumental task.

It is really popular to hate Bush right now, and many I think unfairly displace their anger and resentment toward Rove, who is largely responsible for Bush getting elected. While ruthless and ambitious, Rove is also a political genius. During the most recent election, I heard him on Fox News on several occasions saying in a seemingly unbiased way what Barack Obama needed to do to get elected. And he was generally right on the money, and more insightful than most of the other pundits.

Right now there is a tendency to love Obama and hate Bush. This is an inaccurate and non-sustainable position. The pendulum will swing the other direction.

Things are never as bad as they seem, and things are never as good as they seem.

Is Obama Changing Things Yet???

I haven’t been keeping up with the news like I was pre-election, but I’m likely not missing much. In an average 24 hour news cycle, there is probably 1 to 1.5 hours of actual news to report. The reporters and pundits have to fill up the other 22.5 hours with commentary and blather.

As Obama has been hard at work vetting and appointing members of his administration, there has been a frequently repeated commentary that is particularly irritating. It seems that whenever Obama picks someone that is older or that held a previous government appointment, the question is asked: “Does this mean that he is going back on his campaign promise of change?”

To accuse Obama of not creating change because he is choosing to work with experienced people is just nonsense. He is not perfect and it is likely impossible for him to fulfill all of his campaign promises. I’m sure some of his choices will turn out to be better than others.

Picking people based on their skills and not their loyalty is a huge change. The world is always changing, and we need leadership with the flexibility to foresee and prevent problems. By choosing people with experience, we are more likely to create policy that is based on information and expertise, not dogma.

The change has already begun!!

So far so good

I’ve been impressed so far with the graciousness of President Bush toward the transferring of power to the Obama administration. I know that this is all for the benefit of the media and that there will be some tense moments behind closed doors. But still, it makes me feel proud to be an american and proud to live in a civilized country.

I’m also impressed so far with how President-Elect Obama has handled things post election. He seems to have gotten right to work. I’m excited to see a president that has a strong work ethic. (I did not get the impression the Pres. Bush does.) I am also eager to see who he picks for his cabinet and other key positions.