05:19 pm
Transition: Constant Leaks or Conscious Tactic?
For all the talk today (both in the MSM and on the blogosphere) about leaks springing in the Obama campaign, I find it interesting that no one has noticed that each supposed leak (Emanuel, Craig, Daschle, Holder, Napolitano, and Geither) has happened on a different day. That’s pretty remarkable timing — if the ship is leaking, why is it that there is only one leak in any news cycle?
Either there’s a single source who is sharing information as it crosses his/her desk, or there’s something else going on here: a carefully timed series of sotto voce announcements designed to ensure that there are no problems with each candidate.
For example, reports that Eric Holder is the leading candidate for Attorney General helped surface Republican concerns about Holder’s role in Bill Clinton’s pardon of rogue financier Marc Rich. Obama’s vetters knew about the issue, but they didn’t know whether it would be a major problem. By leaking Holder’s name, they gave Republicans the opportunity to raise the issue fairly early in the process, thus helping the Obama team assess whether the pardon could sink the nomination.
This isn’t the first time the Obama team has done this. Think back to the veepstakes, when numerous media outlets reported that Indiana Senator Evan Bayh was going to get the nomination. Subsequent negative reaction to Bayh — including an online campaign opposing the pick — may have helped end his chances for the job.
A slow leak tactic also would explain why a transition team that has be so careful about process has repeatedly “surprised” Senate Republicans. For example, Arlen Specter, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee groused to the press that he had not yet been consulted, and was one of the first to raise the issue of Holder’s role in the Marc Rich saga (although he also said that he did not see it as an impediment to confirmation).
There is, of course, one outlier here: Hillary. Each day brings fresh reports — Hillary is unsure whether she wants the job, Hillary is changing her mind again, Senate Democrats are carving out a new senior position for her so as to keep her in the Senate, and this afternoon, Hillary is taking the job.
Meanwhile, every time the press reports that it’s a done deal, the timing of the announcement keeps getting pushed further down the road. Last week, it was this week. Earlier this week, it was before Thanksgiving. Now it’s sometime after Thanksgiving.
If you read these stories carefully, it quickly becomes apparent that Hillary is the exception that proves the rule. Most if not all of the leaks are coming from the Hillary camp; the Obama team has offered little confirmation other than to say that she is a candidate and that discussions remain “on track.”
I think the Obama team knows exactly what it’s doing. Stories to the contrary — including the one in today’s WaPo — are little more than idle speculation.
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