Taking Off On a Wing and a Prayer

Taking Off On a Wing and a Prayer

GAO Report Blisters Bush on Administrative Debris

OhioNewsBureau

with John Michael Spinelli

Columbus, Ohio: Columbus, Ohio: Coming In On a Wing and a Prayer was a popular patriotic song during World War II that depicted an anxious but jubilant Allied bomber crew limping home from a mission with only one engine working as their airfield came into sight. Migrating the song across time and redirecting it to the flight path confronting President-elect Barack Obama, a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) depicting the deplorable state of the federal government after eight years of George W. Bush shows Obama will be taking off on a wing and a prayer into headwinds of gale force velocity.

The report was issued in response to a request by the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia,
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the U.S. Senate, also known as Ohio senior senator George V. Voinovich, for background research that would help elicit views on management challenges within agencies and across government by the political appointees of Obama early next year. Going far beyond what Voinovich thought he would receive, the report turned out far more extensive and painfully embarrassing and frightening for both Voinovich, who may run in 2010 for a third term, and his party's lame duck president, George W. Bush.

In a letter signed by Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States, Voinovich was told that "The incoming administration will face challenges in implementing its policy and program agendas because of shortcomings in agencies’ management capabilities."

An expose by Jonathan Stein writing in Mother Jones Magazine of the 155-page report, shows why Obama will need more wings, engines and prayers if he's to get aloft and above the troubled storm clouds of bad management that are swirling as we speak.

The report is divided by department and is limited to "basic management capabilities," in that it raises questions about personnel, resource distribution, IT, and "results-oriented decision making."

Stein says the politicization of the Justice Department, a situation that arose and forced US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales from office, is not mentioned. Straight foreword and non-partisan as it it, the scope and depth of the report is a clear window into the labyrinth of internal problems of the Bush Administration that show Obama the extent to which Obama is flying into a storm packed with mismanagement, inefficiency, and faulty communication practices.

For example, Stein notes that The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Agriculture have no plan to work together in the event of a food-borne disease outbreak or terrorist attack. The Department of Defense's security clearance process takes so long, the GAO says, that it jeopardizes classified information. The report observes that the Environmental Protection Agency's chemical risk assessment program is improperly influenced by private industry.

Given President Bush's repeated reliance on lobbyists and others from the private sector, who often had no skill set or experience that matched up with the requirements of certain positions of power, it's little wonder that the Chicago community organizer is willing to anger far left stalwarts of the Democratic Party by appointing experienced Washingtonians, regardless of whether they served with former President Bill Clinton.

In a timely post that addresses the importance of the report, Obama's deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand, writing in the Huffington Post, advised the battle-hardened members of his party's progressive, activist branch to understand the mine field that lay ahead, and to cut their nominee, now president-elect, some slack for picking the cadre of appointees he has, who have largely won plaudits from Republicans and independents alike.

"Now comes the hard part - assuming the presidency at a time when there are more major problems facing our country and the world than at the beginning of any administration. Our economy is in shambles, affecting people at every income level. Nearly 500,000 jobs were lost during November alone. Retirement and investment accounts were shattered as the Stock Market dropped by historic proportions. Record numbers of families are being forced from their homes. Banks are hardly making loans to anyone right now. Auto manufactures and auto dealers have seen their sales drop between 30 and 40 percent.

"We have a war with Iraq that needs an exit strategy and attention by our new president and his foreign policy team. There is unrest with Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and a host of other countries. We desperately need to repair our Nation's reputation around the world. And we need to do all we can to protect our soldiers overseas and our people here at home.

"Nearly fifty million Americans have no health insurance, left vulnerable and one catastrophe away from bankruptcy or worse yet, death. This number will increase if we see unemployment continue to grow." [Steve Hildebrand, HuffPost]

Now that the election is over, we can look back on the contentious and silly debate pitting judgement against experience. Obama ran with judgement -- especially on Bush going to war with Iraq -- while his primary rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, now his nominee for Secretary of State, chose experience as her jousting lance.

We can only count our lucky stars that the duo of so-called mavericks of John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- who just wanted to be elected they could "shake up Washington" but whose judgement and experience were her downfall -- were not elected, given the daunting challenge the results of the report represent.

John Michael Spinelli is a former Ohio Statehouse government and political reporter and business columnist. To send a tip of comment, email ohionewsbureau@gmail.com