Chill, Joe

by Patrick Appel
Joe Klein is upset:

...there has been a casual, slightly confused quality to these first hours of the Obama Administration. The executive order on torture needed to be accompanied by a strong, firm statement on the part of the President, making clear that the Army Field Manual is the operating standard now, and that the deviations from that standard in the last Administration were reprehensible.

Also needed was some clearer guidance on the economy. I know the Economic Team is working through the regime for the implementation of the next $350 billion of the bank bailout--but with the banking system teetering, and home foreclosures mounting, there was a need for a clear statement of defining principles--a headline, a soundbite, something for the worried people of the country to talk about at dinner tonight. Ditto for the stimulus package.