Leaks Spring Eternal

The Washington Post's Shailagh Murray and Chris "The Fix" Cillizza take a look at the Obama operation's switch from airtight campaign to transition leakfest:

"There is nothing they can do about it -- vetting and FBI background checks require a lot of calls, and that leads to leaks," explained Steve Elmendorf, a longtime aide to former House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) and now a lobbyist in Washington.

And unlike in a campaign, there is now simply more information to disseminate and more outlets chasing the ever-elusive scoop. "It's the era of the Internet; what do you expect?" joked a former Clinton White House senior adviser who is not involved in the transition process.

Luckily for the Obama camp, most of the names floated thusfar have been seemingly well-received -- with the exception most notably of campaign finance chair (and Hyatt hotel heiress) Penny Pritzker, who took herself out of the running for Commerce Secretary yesterday when it became clear that her business entanglements would create problems in the confirmation process.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: Another wave-making potential appointment...John Brennan as CIA director. Not a popular choice among the netroots left given his ties to the George Tenet legacy.

1:07 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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