The Swarm Of Careerists

Thomas P.M. Barnett on transition hires:

There is always the feeding frenzy when a new president takes office, especially if the break for the party in question is 8 years or more. You have this entire universe of super-talented, ambitious and supremely focused players who’ve gone into the exile of think tanks for the long winter, cranking all manner ofadmittedlypretty dull books (you want to say careful things) and attending conference after conference to network like crazy, and never turning down any commissions or what not. So when the floodgates open, it’s not pretty. I mean, you’re talking about true addicts to poweras in, people who’ve organized their entire lives around these moments of possibility.

Yes: it's not pretty in DC right now. But at least, unlike the Clinton transition, people aren't openly buying their appointments.