President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Rep. Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff drew fire Thursday from Republicans, and a few Democrats, who noted that a candidate elected on a call for change had turned to a veteran partisan pugilist for his first appointment. Rep. Rahm Emanuel's selection as chief of staff for Barack Obama drew criticism by Republicans and some Democrats.

The Obama transition team also announced Thursday, in a joint statement with the White House, that Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, will meet President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush on Monday afternoon at the White House.

"No matter how we cast our ballots, this election gives us all reason to be proud of our democracy and our country," Mr. Bush said to White House employees.

Mr. Obama also talked by phone with leaders of nine countries, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

But the first major task of the emerging administration was settling on a staff chief. Mr. Emanuel hinted at the difficult decision in his acceptance statement. In taking the job, the Illinois Democrat has left behind a career in Congress that began just six years ago but included engineering the Democratic takeover of the House in 2006 and rapidly ascending the ranks of leadership.

"I'm leaving a job I love to join your White House for one simple reason -- like the record amount of voters who cast their ballot over the last month, I want to do everything I can to help deliver the change America needs," he said. Mr. Emanuel, an Obama friend from Chicago's insular political world, brings to the post a hard-charging, sometimes profane voice that contrasts sharply with Mr. Obama's unflappable demeanor. He spent much of the Clinton administration inside the White House political office, shaping message and policy with a keen eye on its electoral impact. His legislative attention was focused on tax and health-care issues. But he angered some Latino organizations by steering the House away from a fight over an immigration-law overhaul.

By George F. Will
Washington Post
Tuesday, August 12, 2008; Page A13

Richardson, auditioning to be Barack Obama's running mate, disqualified himself. Clinging to the Obama campaign's talking points like a drunk to a lamppost, Richardson said that this crisis proves the wisdom of Obama's zest for diplomacy and that America should get the U.N. Security Council "to pass a strong resolution getting the Russians to show some restraint." Apparently Richardson was ambassador to the United Nations for 19 months without noticing that Russia has a Security Council veto.

Asked in 1957 what would determine his government's course, Harold Macmillan, Britain's new prime minister, replied, "Events, dear boy, events." Now, into America's trivializing presidential campaign, a pesky event has intruded -- a European war. Russian tanks, heavy artillery, strategic bombers, ballistic missiles and a naval blockade batter a European nation. We are not past such things after all. The end of history will be postponed, again.

The Obama campaign informed its supporters that it would break revolutionary new ground by emailing them first when Obama made his veep selection.  So I signed up on the list, under a pseudonym of course.  I was quite disappointed to receive the email some 9 hours after everyone else knew!  But the email was very interesting.  Here is what it said:

Bobbie --

I have some important news that I want to make official.

I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.

Joe and I will appear for the first time as running mates this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois -- the same place this campaign began more than 19 months ago.

I'm excited about hitting the campaign trail with Joe, but the two of us can't do this alone. We need your help to keep building this movement for change.

Please let Joe know that you're glad he's part of our team. Share your personal welcome note and we'll make sure he gets it.

It sounds a little terse doesn't it?  "I have some important news.... I've chosen Joe Biden."  It seemed odd that there was not a single word of praise for Joe in Obama's announcement email.  Very strange indeed.

I mentioned this to a friend who is an ardent Obama supporter.  My friend wrote back and said, "His terse announcement, what did you expect?  A lengthy discourse full of gushy language?"

Well, yes... I did!  I set out to write my friend what I thought Obama could have said, and that's when it hit me.  He couldn't say anymore than he had.  Anything else would have only served to highlight Obama's own weaknesses. 

At a campaign event in Elkhart, Ind. on 8/6/08, a 7-year-old girl asked Barack Obama, "Why did you start running for president?"

Obama replied by saying,  "America is, is no longer, uh, what it could be, what it, it once was," Obama said haltingly. "And I say to myself, I don't want that future for my children."

(Audio here :07)

A presidential candidate should talk up the country they lead.  What great leader has ever denigrated and bashed the thing he led?  When did it become fashionable for presidents and presidential candidates to denigrate their country?  Great leaders and great presidents lead by inspiring, lifting up, motivating by appealing to our best side.  You can't lead a country, an organization or even a company if all you can say about it is negative.