709 days after Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States of America, he will finally assume that office. The campaign, which began for Obama in Springfield, Illinois, was the longest in history; the 12-week transition remains a legacy of America’s geographic size. In the first 150 years of the Republic, the changeover lasted four months allowing representatives from the frontier to put their affairs in order and make the lengthy journey across thousands of miles and tricky terrain to the capital.
The period was shortened in 1933 after the delay had prevented FDR from rapidly addressing the Great Depression with his new ideas. Nonetheless, the American transition is an oddity in the today’s world. In no other established democracy is there such a long “lame duck” period. In France, Nicholas Sarkozy waited nine days from winning the election in May 2007 to being sworn in as president. Nine weeks were necessary in Germany for Angela Merkel to take up the Chancellorship in 2005 but that was to allow time to establish a ‘Grand Coalition’ between the two main parties. And in the United Kingdom, of course, the transfer of power lasts just a few hours leaving an exhausted new Prime Minister with no time to collect their thoughts and prepare for government.
Obama has used the last couple of months wisely. His transition is regarded as being the smoothest in history and a new poll shows 84 per cent approval for how he and his team have performed. He listened to veterans from the Clinton era who regarded it as an error to have focused on the Cabinet appointments before the White House was staffed. Once his core team was in place he acted swiftly to announce who would head up the most important departments and agencies. He was careful not to undermine Bush’s final weeks in office while also making clear what he would do to address the most important issues – such as the recession – once his term began.
But the interlude has not been without difficulties. Obama’s decision to emphasise that there is only one president at a time has sensibly avoided any damaging battles with Bush. But it has also created a foreign policy void at a time of intense fighting in Gaza. Indeed, some Middle East commentators have condemned Obama for his silence on the issue. The vacuum also contributed to the international community’s failure to conclude the multilateral Doha trade round before Christmas. Finally, a number of world leaders were disappointed that communication channels that had been established during the campaign with Obama and his advisers, closed down as soon as McCain conceded defeat.
Maybe these difficulties are an aberration caused by the enormity of current events and the juxtaposition between Bush’s ineptitude and Obama’s evident gifts. Certainly all will be forgotten if the 44th President lives up to his promise and brings a genuinely new approach to domestic and foreign policy. But those considering the lessons from this transition may consider 12 weeks to be too long for the world’s greatest power to lack real leadership.