Inside Politics

OH-BAMA

Please. Let’s take a breath here before the whole country blows a gasket.

We know that the Bush administration and the Obama transition team are playing nice together. And we know that everyone thinks it’s prudent for President-to-be Barack Obama to be boldly pro-active in these troubled times. But wait a minute.

He’s not president. Yet.

A Fox News editorial is taking lofty trappings to task:

“President-elect Barack Obama is looking very presidential these days. When he makes an announcement, he is ringed by American flags and stands behind a lectern that has a very presidential-looking placard announcing ‘The Office of the President-Elect.’ But the props are merely that. Under the Constitution, there is no such thing as the Office of the President-Elect.”

PARSING PARDONS

“Will law and order conservatives attack Bush for his 14 pardons?” asks soon-to-be ex-Fox News host Alan Colmes in his “Liberaland” blog.

“They never stop talking about the Clinton pardons. I wonder if any of these will bother them? I mean, it’s not like these crooks were as bad as [Marc] Rich. All they did was drug offenses, tax evasion, wildlife violations, bank embezzlement, hazardous waste, food stamps and the theft of government property,” Mr. Colmes points out.

President Bush pardoned 14 people, and more are likely to come. But some Colmes readers question his logic.

“Your comparison of the Bush and Clinton pardons is absurd. You’re free to make any arguments you wish, but you lose credibility when they are not rooted in fact, but rather your liberal prejudices. None of President Bush’s pardons have gone to fugitives that fled the country, as did Marc Rich. None of Bush’s pardons, I presume, have been done at the behest of the estranged wife of said fugitive, who also happened to be a major fundraiser for Clinton,” noted one critic.

JANET PLANET

Need background on Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, possibly our next Department of Homeland Security czarina, who is approved by none other than Sen. John McCain? Here’s insight from More magazine:

“Napolitano fairly hums with intensity. She’s pugnacious, fiercely opinionated, thin-skinned and hooked on goofy one-liners. Supporters say she has perfect political pitch in a swing state that’s an economic and social blueprint for a changing America. Critics call her a chameleon, willing to embrace any position that bolsters her approval ratings. But nobody sells Napolitano short. As Jana Bommersbach, a veteran Arizona journalist, says, ‘Janet is easily the smartest person in the room in any situation.’”

PENN CENTRAL

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