Countdown: Seven Days

My official countdown to the beginning of Barack Obama’s presidency begins today. The 44th President definitely has his hands full. He has to figure how to spend the $350 Billion dollars on a bailout package that will revive our stagnate economy, close Gitmo quickly while securing the several hundred detainees in a manner that won’t cause future political or national security problems, AND balance the expectations of change that he has initiated with the practical realities of governing as President of the United States.

His first real test begins today with the confirmation hearings of Senator Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State. Senatorial courtesy usually trumps any misgivings regarding the confirmation of one of their own to a post in the Executive Branch. However, a sitting Senator has never been the wife of a former President. Obama’s first test of influence with the heavily Democratic Foreign Relations Committee is to get Mrs. Clinton confirmed as quickly, and with the least amount of televised drama as possible.

For the past several weeks, we have heard names and seen smiling faces on our television screens introducing the world to Obama’s management team. In seven days, Obama needs his people in place within the bureaucracy of the national government… the countdown has begun.

Cartoon by Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE