Barack Obama's transition is off to a good start, said David Broder in The Washington Post. "His few public appearances have been gaffe-free, and his initial decisions in setting up his administration have been strongly reassuring." Obama's victory speech, his meeting with President Bush, and his pick of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff suggest the skills he used to put together his campaign, which was "a model of efficiency and innovation," are helping him build an administration that will be able to get things done.
Let's hope so, said Karen Tumulty in Time online. "Even in the calmest of times, the transfer of presidential power is a tricky maneuver"—with two wars and a deep financial crisis in the works, Obama really has to hit the ground running. "That's why Obama has been quicker off the blocks than any of his recent predecessors were, particularly Bill Clinton, who did not announce a single major appointment until mid-December."
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