No Drama Obama Is A-OK

Hannity's Picky Picky Litany

Sean Hannity of Fox News huffs and he puffs as he blows his infamous litany of sins committed by the Obama transition team. To hear him, one would think the Democrats are dead on arrival before Barack Obama even is sworn into office Jan. 20. Let's briefly examine these egregious acts in the minds of Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and others of his pedigree.

Take Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- please. He was accused by the U.S. Attorney of trying to sell Obama's vacant senate seat. Obama nor his team took the bait. Against everyone's objections, Blago appoints former state Atty. Gen. Roland Burris. After the race card was played and push came to shove, the Dems do a 180 and probably will accept Burris as senator. A PR nightmare for Obama and the Dems, but what the hell. Blagojevich gets the last laugh. A PR nightmare. But, no harm. No foul.

Then there's the reincarnation of Camelot, you know, about Caroline Kennedy's bid to replace Hillary Clinton as New York Senator. Her credentials, you know, may be suspect, you know, but she says she follows the policies, you know, of Obama, Clinton and other, you know, good Democrats. Gov. David Patterson is pressured from all sides of the political spectrum. But it is his -- not New York Democratic congressmen nor New York Times columnists nor Hannity nor Limbaugh -- appointment to make.

They say the Al Franken senate vote was in some instances counted twice which gave him the 250-vote margin of victory over the Republican incumbent in Minnesota. Every legal challenge has been ruled in favor of Franken by the state Supreme Court. Franken wins by a perfectly legal hair. Get over it guys.

Leon Panetta is unworthy as CIA director? Give us a break. The guy is a management guru and that exactly is what our intelligence system requires. There are plenty of spooks in that agency to do the work spooks do. The problem here is internal politics at play by the Obama transition team for ruffling the skirt of Sen. Diane Feinstein by not consulting with her in advance. Of course, they did consult with the House's Rep. Ron Widen who is more sympathetic with the Obama team on wiretaps and torture than his Senate intelligence committee counterparts. Simply a game of power politics and probably a preview of what to expect once the fun begins after inauguration.

With New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrawing his name as Commerce Secretary, the Obama transition team probably screwed up by not vetting him completely. The charismatic Guv could be involved in a pay-for-play scheme now under investigation by the feds and probably not resolved for months. Richardson, a good choice, can easily be replaced and join the administration later if he is cleared of those nasty charges.

Eric Holder, the attorney general nominee, will be toasted by Republicans in his confirmation hearings for his role in President Clinton's pardoning of several creeps. Holder's sin is he did what he was told. Was that as bad as Alberto Gonzales' bidding for the Bush-Cheney team?
Hannity's litany, of course, is much longer. The bottom line is nothing they are bemoaning rates much higher than two on a scale of 10. None mount to a hill of beans.

The Obama administration has more pressing matters at hand. Such things as a trillion dollar deficit, a stimulus plan which may or may not work, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and that 4,000-year pack of troubles between Israel and Palestine.

Here's MSNBC's First Read account of the situation:

"No drama Washington? It appears that all the preparation we in the media have been doing to cover controversy -- be it Burris, the recount in Minnesota, or Panetta -- is beginning to fizzle somewhat. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suggested yesterday that the Illinois secretary of state’s signature is all that’s standing in the way of Burris being seated (“If Mr. Burris takes possession of valid credentials, the Senate will proceed in a manner that is respectful to Mr. Burris”). It looks like Franken will eventually be seated, too, although Minnesota will possibly have to endure weeks of additional legal wrangling. And despite a second day of criticism, it seems that Panetta might be able to survive a confirmation hearing to head the CIA, thanks to liberal support and an Obama apology to Dianne Feinstein. In addition, Jeb Bush made the “no drama” decision yesterday by announcing that he won’t run for Senate in 2010. Perhaps the best drama left, as the New York Times notes today, is Kennedy vs. Cuomo in New York. (Was Cuomo behind all the upstate criticism Caroline received?) Has “No Drama Obama” become the mantra for all of Washington? Then again, with a struggling economy, war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and conflict in the Middle East, that’s probably enough drama to report.