Parallel Government

While one was prematurely acting like the president, one was doing what memorable presidents have done.

---

Can you imagine the hell that would've been raised by the left if George W. Bush publicly jumped the gun and tried to seize power as visually as Barack Obama has?

Under the Constitution, there is no such thing as the Office of the President-elect. Technically, Obama will not even become the president-elect until the Electoral College convenes after the second Wednesday in December and elects him based on the results of the Nov. 4 general election, as stated in the Constitution. So what is Obama's executive authority in the weeks leading to Jan. 20? The "Office of the President-Elect," while critical in building the future government, has no official power — which Obama himself acknowledged during his victory speech in Chicago on Election Night.

Sure, these are challenging times, but this is pure show for the "hope" and "change" crowd who are probably unaware of the fact Obama won't be officially Commander-in-Chief until mid-January. So, for appearances sake (complete with the very American flags he refused to wear on his lapel until there was an uproar), he's throwing press conference red meat to his followers, whom he's keeping mobilized through MoveOn to pester those who may oppose his future policies. From my memory, I can't remember President Bush holding daily press conferences during the transition period. Then again, Democrats have been competent in breaking long-held traditions. Former president Bill Clinton broke the tradition when he began openly critcizing sitting President Bush, and later Jimmy Carter not only piled on, but began conducting his own unauthorized foreign policy manuevers. Now Barack Obama is acting like he's in charge. And we all know what liberals think about the military. Barack Obama went to the war zones during the campaign when it was politically expedient for him to do so. But now that he doesn't need them anymore, except to win a war that soon may end well (if he doesn't come in a screw things up), he can't even take the time to spend Thanksgiving with them as President Bush and president before have. Maybe this is part of the change we can believe in.