by Lucinda Gunnin

Created on: January 27, 2009

Because of the sheer number of members of the former Clinton administration that have been selected to serve in the cabinet of Pres. Barack Obama, many analysts are claiming that this is nothing more than a third Clinton presidency. Nothing could be further from the truth.

While Pres. Barack Obama has chosen many former Clinton insiders to serve in his cabinet, it is already clear that the Barack Obama presidency will be very different than the Clinton presidency. Perhaps the most striking difference was visible at the inauguration as the President and First Lady Michelle Obama escorted former Pres. George Bush and his wife Laura to the helicopter waiting to take them to Andrews Air Force Base to meet their plane back to Texas.

Former President Bush and his wife decided the Capitol steps as one might expect, a sophisticated couple to do, with Laura holding the former president's arm. The Obama's, on the other hand, descended the stairs hand-in-hand. The obvious affection between the first couple is a welcome change in something we would never have seen during a Clinton presidency.

Another obvious difference between the Obama presidency and its Clinton predecessors, was the willingness of of the new president to get to work immediately. On only his second day in office, Obama signed the executive order for the closure of the American military prison at Gunatanamo Bay, Cuba, and signed an executive order, opening the records of all former presidents to inclusion in the freedom of information act.

Perhaps because Clinton was a more experienced statesman, or perhaps because of the difference in ideological viewpoints, Obama seems committed to standing by his promise of transparency in government. As a more experienced statesman, it seems likely that Clinton would have avoided signing of the FOIA Executive Order. Clinton would likely have understood the need to protect his predecessors as a means of protecting himself.

In addition, it appears that Pres. Obama has every intention of giving credit where credit is due within his administration. While signing Executive Order for the closure of Guantnamo Bay, the president referred often to White House counsel Greg Craig for clarification of what the document contains and the projected administration policy.

Ultimately, although the two presidents have similar values and will have some overlapping administrative assistants, there can be no doubt that during his first week of office. Pres. Obama has successfully differentiated himself from his most recent Democratic predecessor. If Obama continues in the manner of his first week, it seems likely that the further differentiation between the two presidencies will be in the moral value of the newer president.

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