CIO back on the job

Vivek Kundra came back to the Obama Administration this week - his brief leave of absence came on the heels of an FBI raid of his old office and two arrests.

Before his gig as the Chief Information Officer of the country, Kundra served as the Chief Technology Officer for the District of Columbia. He wasn't the target of the FBI investigation, but his information systems security officer was arrested on bribery charges.

Privacy and online security will be among the biggest communication issues faced by the Obama Administration - with Google, a key Obama Administration ally, at the center of the storm. When taken along with the former lobbyists appointed to departments they used to lobby and cabinet nominees who couldn't be bothered paying taxes, the trend of lip service over ethics is more than a little disturbing.

Smile and grin at the "change" all around me

Every time Barack Obama announces a new cabinet appointment, I get The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again running through my head. Obama's picks seem to echo the song’s classic closing lines: “Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss.” Team Obama is largely made up of Clinton Administration and Democratic Party retreads.

Potential new Commerce Secretary Bill Richardson was President Clinton’s Secretary of Energy. Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder was a key official in the Clinton Justice Department. Clinton Tresury Secretary Lawrence Summers will head the National Economic Council. Reported Secretary of State Hilary Clinton… well, I suppose she didn’t technically serve in the Clinton Administration. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was a policy adviser in the Clinton White House.

Combined with Tom Daschle's appointment to be Secretary of Health and Human Services and even dating to the selection of five-term Senator Joe Biden as his Vice President, Obama has demonstrated a consistent preference for surrounding himself with people who are very comfortable inside the beltway. Not that any of these people are unqualified for their positions, but their selections make the campaign mantra of “change” ring a little hollow now.

There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-by.