Al Kamen, back from vacation (finally!), is thinking ahead to the mechanics of the presidential transition

"The personnel chief needs to be someone who's working 'totally below the radar,' said Colby College professor G. Calvin Mackenzie [right]. 'Otherwise he becomes a magnet for resumes.' The best pick would be 'not a political person,' but someone who 'knows government, the pitfalls, the ethics,' and someone who can answer 'what are the key positions for our constituencies that we're going to get a lot of pressure on. Vacuum invites all kinds of pressure.' Not to mention lengthy infighting."

--from Al Kamen's "In the Loop" column in today's Washington Post

I've leaned to live with Paul Krugman's seemingly limitless vacation days, which sometimes appear to verge on the Chimpy-esque.

(Say what you will about Chimpy Our Prez, the man knows how to vacation. Even under what most people would consider the most adverse circumstances, like that spell of rain that fell on New Orleans a few years back.
Did he let it spoil his fun? No, he took the attitude "Let me -- and my snackin' buddy McCranky -- eat cake!")

But when Al Kamen goes on vacation, he takes, you know, real vacations, and I get really antsy. Thank goodness he's back today!

The item that interests me in today's "return" column is one that isn't intended to be humorous. He's thinking ahead to the transition to a new presidential administration, and has gathered some interesting thoughts.

What's Won, Lost in Transition

The Washington chatter is all about whom Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are going to pick as their running mates. (Yes, we've got your Loop "Pick the Veep" contest entries pending.)

Obama calls it "the most important decision I'll make before I'm president" -- a bit strange when you consider Bush I's pick of Dan Quayle.

But there's another job that both candidates should focus on fairly soon: transition director. Sure, some snarky columnists will gig them for presuming victory by gearing up preelection. But solid transition planning -- and initial personnel decisions -- are simply too important to put off until after the election.

McCain, who would be engaged in a mostly friendly takeover, probably could wait a bit before focusing on this. Obama, looking at a hostile takeover and the need to quickly get his picks in place, will want to move rapidly.

Transition experts single out as the model to follow Ronald Reagan's transition operation, run by former Nixon attorney general Edwin Meese, and the personnel planning of former Nixon aide Pendleton James, who was later a professional headhunter. (The Bush II transition, run by Dick Cheney, with a personnel shop run by Clay Johnson, comes in a close second.)

The personnel chief needs to be someone who's working "totally below the radar," said Colby College professor G. Calvin Mackenzie. "Otherwise he becomes a magnet for resumes." The best pick would be "not a political person," but someone who "knows government, the pitfalls, the ethics," and someone who can answer "what are the key positions for our constituencies that we're going to get a lot of pressure on. Vacuum invites all kinds of pressure." Not to mention lengthy infighting.

Most observers cite Bill Clinton's operation as the worst transition. The Clinton White House, transition expert Paul C. Light observed, would pass potential candidate lists from one official to another, instead of having a joint review, prolonging the process endlessly. Then came the "bean-counting" exercises over appropriate percentages of women and minorities in each department.

The incoming president, Light said, should also "limit the number of transition teams to a bare minimum, if they have any at all." In addition, he should "put someone in charge of transition planning who's going to move into the White House with him . . . and who'll oversee the personnel process." Someone whose decisions would rarely, if ever, be overturned.

McCain, as it turns out, has a solution to at least part of the problem. He joined with Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) in the 1990s to sponsor legislation that would cut in half the bloated number of presidential appointees -- 3,000 -- which could save taxpayers more than $100 million in salaries and benefits.

In addition, as Light points out in his new book, "A Government Ill Executed," the government would actually work more efficiently, with fewer political hacks in federal jobs.

Maybe McCain could get Obama to sign on to the bill?

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