The policy and management contours of the Obama Administration are starting to emerge and, given our troubled times, every positive sign they give of assured and competent behavior is seized upon as a reason for hope.  Granted, Obama campaigned as the candidate of “hope” and “change,” but did he — or anyone — expect that his choice of economic advisors would be the proximate cause of a 500-pt. jump in the Dow?  Lame duck presidents are normally eclipsed by the news that presidents-elect make, but has any president been so eclipsed by his successor's statements as has President Bush?  Obama had his second weekly media address to the nation as president-elect yesterday, and it was, in its mise en scene, just as though he were already president.  The Oval Office may still be in Washington, but it seems to be in Chicago, just beyond the sight line of the broadcast image, now on YouTube.

In other circumstances, Obama might have been criticized for having usurped the sitting president's authority.  Not now.  It may not be fair, but there seems to be more authority in the statements coming from Change.gov than from WhiteHouse.gov.