Dubya and Obama: Unaware of the Difference Between Campaigning and Governing

One of my concerns in the upcoming Obama Administration has been that Obama and his closest advisors will make the same mistake made by George W. Bush and Karl Rove. I’m referring to the confusion between campaigning and governing - apparently Dubya never learned the difference.

How many times did you come across the claim in the blogosphere during the final months of the general election that Obama was qualified to be president because he ran a good campaign?

Posting this morning at the Washington Post on the Obama-Biden transition, Garance Franke-Ruta writes:

“The Obama-Biden transition office this morning issued an unusual -- and unusually campaign-like -- statement pushing back against an Associated Press report on its transition efforts.

‘“The A.P. had reported that ‘a senior administration official said former Secretary of State Warren Christopher would advise Obama on his State Department transition’ -- a description meaning that a Bush administration figure, rather than an Obama-Biden transition one, was the source.

‘“Obama-Biden Presidential Transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter, who was quoted in the original A.P. story, said in the additional statement: ‘Secretary Christopher is deeply respected in the United States and throughout the international community. However, he is not playing a role in the transition process.

‘“There's a lot of disinformation out there. We're working hard to put the agency review teams together and expect they'll be announced this week and inside the agencies by the end of the week.’

‘“The original story also suggested that former senator Sam Nunn would have a prominent formal role in the process, describing him ‘as the leader of Obama's defense transition,’ attributing that to anonymous sources.

‘“Said Cutter in the push-back statement: ‘Senator Sam Nunn will play an informal senior advisor role throughout the defense transition process. His expertise and the respect he has earned will be invaluable to ensure a smooth transition.”’

I posted in late January on the commonalities of Bush and Obama, and it would seem that not knowing the difference between campaigning and governing will loom large. Does this mean that Americans are doomed to suffer four more years of Bush during the Obama Administration?