Touchdown: Obama reaches out

While I won’t talk about Ottawa, I will discuss a political leader who is reaching out to his rivals to share power in an attempt to make government work for the people and focus on fixing the economy: President-elect Barack Obama. He named former Democratic presidential rival Bill Richardson secretary of commerce, after naming arch-rival Hillary Clinton secretary of state. Consider too that Obama is keeping President George W. Bush’s appointee Robert Gates on as defence secretary, a signal that he’s prepared to reach across party lines. “I think people are going to say this is one of the most diverse cabinets and White House staffs of all time,” Obama said. “But more importantly, they’re going to say these are all people of outstanding qualifications and excellence.” Indeed, the impression left in terms of a communications play is that Obama is thinking less about his own political advantage and more about getting the best people in place to fix the economy and help the American people. That’s a Touchdown tinged with envy.