The Back End Of The Obama Transition In Six Bullet Points

The usual caveats apply... there might never be such a thing as the Obama presidential transition. On the other hand...

1. Anyone who wants to work on Barack Obama's transition team has to sign a  non-disclosure agreement as well as affix their signature to an ethical code of conduct.  Not clear yet is whether they'll have to fill out personal financial disclosure forms.

2. The transition team will emphasis its transparency; although required to report to the FEC after the inauguration, Obama's committee will likely issue monthly reports. Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that an inaugural committee is open and will accept $5000 donations.

3. Still unclear -- at least to those on the outside -- is whether registered lobbyists have to de-register and abandon their clients if they want to participate. Lobbyists could bring an enormous wealth of institutional knowledge to the process, but Obama's political objection to their influence is well known.  It's almost certainly true that lobbyists will be able to give advice in some advisory capacity.

4.  There are more than 50 people working on the pre-transition right now, and they're tasks are fairly specified. Teams have been appointed to review major agencies in the executive branch. It's not clear whether professional staff personnels, as well as agency activities, are being reviewed. Other teams are looking at every executive order President Bush signed and are preparing recommendations.

5. John Podesta, the pre-transition team's chief, has been meeting informally with allies and friends to give them a broad sense of the process. He's not talking names or appointments, and he's not, as of this point, soliciting their advice about names or personnel. Podesta is known as a political liberal, and his role in running the transition -- or the pre-transition -- has been cause for concern among more centrist Democrats. These concerns have been conveyed to Obama, and lines of communication have been established between more centrist entities and the transition team.

6. Although it's been widely reported that a president Obama would announce his top picks for Treasury, Defense and chief of staff within the first seven days, Obama might want to take a bit more time, and he might not feel the pressure that some believe he will feel to make rapid decisions on these key posts.