Wednesday, November 5, 2008 6:04 PM

Obama Team Nets High Marks

Reporting on the announcement of Barack Obama's transition team, Government Executive's Elizabeth Newell and Alyssa Rosenberg found many observers pleased with the speed and orderliness of the rollout:

Paul Light, a professor at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, said the quick announcement of the transition team was a sign the Obama camp was shifting smoothly from campaign mode to transition mode.

"Moving political people quickly into positions of significant influence is a good sign they're integrating rather than infighting," Light said. "That the day-to-day activity people were all people involved with the campaign is a good sign for a smooth transition."...

John Kamenky, senior fellow at the IBM Center for The Business of Government, said he did not know the advisers, but was "pleased" and "relieved" that the announcement was made so quickly after Election Day.

"They've thought this through and are not having any internal dissension about getting this started," Kamensky said.

And John Palguta, vice president for policy at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, said he thought the structure and composition of the team were promising.

"Having three co-chairs, it's looking like this is a divide-and-conquer effort," he said. "Speed and quality are so important."

Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, also praised the group. "Many of the team members have significant government experience which will serve President-elect Obama well," she said.

And writing on GovExec's FedBlog, Rosenberg evaluated the changes announced today at State and looked ahead to how the incoming White House can repair the country's standing abroad.