And to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever played this game.
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You Are Scrabble |
 You are incredibly clever and witty. You can talk your way out of (and into) situations easily. You are an excellent decision maker. You are good at weighing the options in front of you. You’re the type of person who can make something out of nothing. You are very resourceful. You know a lot of things. Most importantly, you know when people are wrong – even when they won’t admit it. |
I’ve always wondered about the application process and the background check people high up in a presidential administration goes through. For the most part, I think these people are sought out, so they don’t need to fill out an application and all that mess. But the ABC News political blog provides us with a glimpse of that process for the folks that want to be top ranking officials in the Obama administration.
“If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an email, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-elect if it were made public, please describe.”
So asks question 13 of the questionnaire for potential top-ranking Obama Administration officials.
The mind reels.
The seven-page, 63 question intrusive and extensive list of queries, first obtained by the New York Times and confirmed as legitimate by the Obama Transition Team, offers a revealing glimpse into both the Obama team’s determination not to repeat the mistakes of its predecessors (Any nanny issues? Any discriminatory club memberships?) as well as the new era on which Obama will lead (“Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.”).
Applicants are asked if they or any immediate family members own a gun, if they have ever been charged with sexual harassment or malpractice, if they have ever had any alimony or child support issues, “any writs of garnishment,” or any bankruptcy problems.
As George Bush prepares to move out of the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, and Barack Obama prepares to move in, I thought I’d take a virtual trip around the country and see what’s going on at other locations with the same address.
