Avoiding Power

In Barack's presser on Friday, he mentioned a couple of times that there can only one president at a time. Was he pressuring for the Bush administration to move toward a co-presidency during transition, or was he trying to create distance from Bush - to make it clear to Americans that there would be no collaboration?

In an earlier conflict, when the country was on the brink of civil war, Lincoln took a hands-off approach during a four-month lag between his election and inauguration, staying mum so as not to inflame tensions in the North or the South... Lincoln maintained what became known as an attitude of "masterly inactivity," said Harold Holzer, who recently wrote the book "Lincoln President-Elect."

FDR took the same approach.

Roosevelt, who picked members of the opposing party for Cabinet spots, was as noncommittal as Lincoln as he was about to be sworn into office amid a banking crisis. When Herbert Hoover asked him to sign on to a bank holiday — a temporary closure of banks — three days before inauguration, Roosevelt famously looked up and said, "The drapes look very pretty. I'm sure Eleanor will want to keep these just as they are."

That made Hoover furious. Soon after taking the oath of office, Roosevelt declared the banking holiday on his own.

We may see Barack borrowing more moves from his predecessors once he assumes office.

In his first fireside chat in March 1933, FDR said: "We had a bad banking situation. Some of our bankers had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their handling of the people's funds. They had used the money entrusted to them in speculations and unwise loans. ... It was the government's job to straighten out this situation and do it as quickly as possible, and the job is being performed."

Sound familiar?

"He wanted to do it himself. A clean slate is what Lincoln wanted. It's what Roosevelt wanted," Holzer said. "The lessons of history are there. The most successful transformative presidencies were patient between the election and the inauguration."

Maybe history is repeating itself in that regard. When President Bush announced before the election that he was hosting a global economic summit in Washington on Nov. 15, the Obama camp said the presidential hopeful wouldn't be there. "He understands there is only one president," an Obama adviser said.

Lying, Actually

Want to see a malicious campaign? Remember how Biden claimed a couple of weeks ago that Barack would be tested, like a young John Kennedy was, if he's elected. It was a shockingly stupid thing to say, but also something that you'd expect to hear out of a McCain supporter, not Obama's running mate. Look at the nasty trick used by Barack to try to escape responsibility for Biden's true words.

Biden did wrap up by saying that Barack would respond well to the threat, but that's not what he "actually" said. Here's what he actually said.

Barack has built great trust in his followers which he betrays on a daily basis. But they follow with religious ferocity, and their eyes no longer see.

Biden Missile Crisis

Joe Biden has issued a warning that electing Barack will lead to a deliberate international incident designed to test him. This was an allusion, it seems, to the Cuban Missile Crisis, an attempt by Russia to take advantage of the perceived weakness of the young JFK.



Debate Week

This is a big week in the presidential race, as debates kick off Friday night. A single moment of a single debate can create a defining moment - something that John McCain has to be careful about. There are more subtle pitfalls that Barack is more likely to succumb to - will he come across as arrogant, lacking in passion, or too intellectual, turning off working class voters once and for all?


Jerry Ford and Mike Dukakis virtually blew their elections with simple blunders on easy questions. Ronald Reagan won America over with his sense of humor, defusing the age issue with a one liner. TV was so new and untested as a political tool that Richard Nixon lost over five o'clock shadow and shifty eyes.

Get the popcorn ready - Friday night will be bigtime fun.