If you watch Reagan-era SNL, all the jokes are about how he can't remember anything and/or has no idea what's going on around him. It's kind of creepy in retrospect.

I just got an email from David Plouffe/Obama telling me that:

For the first time, transition efforts won't be financed with donations from Washington lobbyists and PACs -- which means we'll need to keep asking for your help.

a) huh

b) I was just thinking this morning how nice it was not to be inundated with emails asking for more money.

I still remember talking to a co-worker who was a big fan of Reagan's - before the Alzheimer diagnosis was made public - when he'd gotten a book signed by Reagan. He was so thrilled, because he could tell it had been signed personally. He said something along the lines of "you know how I can tell he signed it personally?" and I snapped back with "by the drool marks?" sigh ... the diagnosis was made public later, so I felt kind of bad about it.

I just heard they were giving campaign staffers a month's pay as a bonus, because they have so much extra money.

I could wrong on this, but I think "Obama for President" may have extra money, but the DNC, nsm.

I just heard they were giving campaign staffers a month's pay as a bonus, because they have so much extra money.

I think by law they can't use any campaign money towards the transition, though. OTOH, I didn't realize that the president elect had to fund his transition. I would think it would be in the best interests of the country to make sure a transition went smoothly.

I could wrong on this, but I think "Obama for President" may have extra money, but the DNC, nsm.

Yeah, it's the DNC that's 12 million (or something) in debt....

There was a thing on the news ... last night? sometime recently ... about the online application for a job with the new administration. It's multiple pages, some 63 questions, and they go into a lot of detail. Now ... there have been complaints about it infringing on applicants' privacy but it occurs to me that it's probably a good way to avoid embarrassing information coming out later. And the plum book's out, if anyone's interested.

If you watch Reagan-era SNL, all the jokes are about how he can't remember anything and/or has no idea what's going on around him. It's kind of creepy in retrospect.

Yeah it was noticed. Thatcher comment about him was: "Poor dear, there's nothing between his ears". Aside from right wing pushback, Reagan was famous for ignorance and outrageous lies long before he showed any Alzheimer's symptoms. So the Alzheimer's lapses were not that out of line with Reagan in peak mental health. Which goes back to the point that we've had plenty of Presidents and Vice Presidents who were not qualified to run a lemonade stand. The awfulness of the Bush years did not come just from unique evil and stupidity on the part the administration. It came in part from a shell-shocked opposition who never stood up to it the way it could have even as a minority party, and certainly never made full use of the power it had when it took control of Congress in the past two years.

OTOH, I didn't realize that the president elect had to fund his transition. I would think it would be in the best interests of the country to make sure a transition went smoothly.

Congress funds it, but the funding level was set some decades ago IIRC, and is not adjusted for inflation, so it taps out at 5 million and change.

ETA: Funding level was set at $5 mil in 1988 and the only adjustment since then was the addition of a few hundred thousand directed specifically for training.