WAY OUT OVER HIS SKIS:

And Now Let the Jockeying Begin (PETER BAKER, 2/01/09, NY Times)

In her first days as America’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton found the Middle East portfolio handed off to a special envoy. Afghanistan and Pakistan were assigned to a special representative. And administration officials expect another special envoy to be tapped soon to deal with Iran.

So with much of her turf already parceled off, Mrs. Clinton made a bid to take over the China file, which in recent years has been primarily the responsibility of the Treasury Department since the major issues with Beijing tend to be economic. Mrs. Clinton said the administration needed “a more comprehensive approach.” The only trick is Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has no intention of giving that up.

The opening phase of any administration involves a certain amount of jockeying as new players struggle to define their territory and establish boundaries with colleagues. The lines and boxes in organization charts are only the starting point. Force of personality, political heft and relationships among the power elite can be just as important in determining who really takes the lead in various priority areas under a new president.

Under Mr. Obama, that may prove even more complicated. More than any president in years, Mr. Obama came into office creating new White House czars and special envoys to supervise various hot-button issues at home and abroad, overlaying an additional set of actors upon a bureaucracy already scratchy about who’s in charge. Mr. Obama concluded that new high-powered figures were needed to force change but they pose a delicate management challenge for a president with no real management experience beyond his presidential campaign.

Far be it from us to try to instruct the Obamessiah, but here's a free bit of advice: if you're going to try and reinvent the wheel, don't make it square.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 1, 2009 10:41 AM