On Tuesday morning, the Bush administration unveiled a set of new programs intended to pump an additional $800 billion into the economy and thaw still-frozen credit markets.
Just hours later, President-elect Obama introduced two new members of his economic team and vowed to overhaul the federal budget process to address bigger deficits and the staggering economy.
The events in Washington and Chicago were not choreographed to dovetail but nonetheless underscored the unprecedented degree with which the incoming and outgoing administrations are moving to simultaneously address the financial crisis.
Newly elected presidents customarily stay on the sidelines during transition periods to avoid being associated with their predecessor's policies. That's especially true when the administrations belong to different political parties. But the worsening financial crisis has forced Obama to dispense with such calculations and forcefully demonstrate that he is taking charge.
Obama introduced members of his economic team at press conferences on Monday and Tuesday during which he outlined plans for a stimulus package he said would save or create 2.5 million jobs. He plans another economy-themed event on Wednesday.
Beyond rolling out the new programs to ease credit, President Bush and his administration worked out a rescue plan for Citigroup over the weekend. Bush spoke with Obama about the bank rescue on Monday, and administration officials say they are in constant touch with the president-elect's transition team.
"They're keeping each other informed and their staffs are working closely together," White House press secretary Dana Perino said on Tuesday. "We are working hand-in-glove with them."
Presidential scholars say Obama is taking considerable risks assuming the burden of governing eight weeks before he takes the oath of office. By collaborating with the Bush administration on the economic recovery, Obama prematurely ended his post-election honeymoon and made himself a target for criticism should the recovery measures prove inadequate.
By outlining his expectations for a stimulus package to a lame duck Congress, Obama also might be seen as overstepping his bounds.
"He's setting himself up to lose very seriously if these efforts tank or don't achieve much, because whatever policies are enacted are going to be Bush-Obama policies," said Tim Blessing, a professor of history and political science at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa. and author of "Greatness in the White House."
"He literally could have gone back to Chicago, work on assembling his team and leave the mess in Bush's hand," he said. "This is truly unprecedented."
Karen M. Hult, a presidential scholar at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, said Bush and Obama have been pushed into the singular partnership by the severity of the crisis and the 24/7 news cycle, which has provided a seemingly non-stop accounting of jittery financial markets.
"What we're seeing is a mix of continuity and a commitment to solving problems," Hult said. "Both sides have incentives to appear they're responding thoughtfully and seriously to the economic crisis. Obama's appointments have come quicker than the norm. Given what we think we know about the president-elect, this response will keep up, but be dependent on what's happening outside world."
Some past government officials believe Bush and Obama should work even more closely, perhaps by forging a new oversight regime to ensure the long-term stability of financial markets.
"Nothing would do more to create confidence and eliminate the fear and anxiety that's out there . . . than to see the incoming president and outgoing president get together on some sort of a proposal or program over the short-term," former Secretary of State James Baker said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
Blessing, the political scientist, says the hand-in-hand response to the financial crisis might even prompt other collaborations in the coming weeks, perhaps to coordinate strategy in the war in Afghanistan.
However, Obama does appear to be taking pains to keep at least a little distance with Bush while showing some deference to the beleaguered commander in chief. At his Tuesday press conference, Obama reiterated that the nation can't have co-presidents, but stressed that he hopes to get off to a fast start.
"There is only one president at a time. That president is George W. Bush, and he will be president until I'm sworn in on January 20," Obama said. "Given the extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in, however, I think it is very important for the American people to understand that we are putting together a first-class team and for them to have clarity that we don't intend to stumble into the next administration.
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Topic: Obama's High Profile on Financial Crisis Poses Political Risks (Read 485 times)