Obama to reverse stem cell order

“I’m confident his administration will include people from all perspectives,” said Jarrett, a close aide to Obama who served as his Senate campaign finance director in 2004.

With the US military engaged on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a key question has been whether Obama would keep on Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

“I think everything is a possibility right now,” Jarrett said when asked if the new administration would consider keeping Gates in his post.

Jarrett also defended Obama’s pick of tough-talking Congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, saying he brought political savvy to the incoming administration.

“No one can hit the ground running faster than Rahm Emanuel. He embraces president-elect Obama’s philosophy. He’s going to do an outstanding job,” she said.

House minority leader John Boehner has assailed Emanuel as an “ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the centre”.

Bush’s chief of staff Josh Bolten said the White House was also working hard to ensure a seamless transition.

“Because if a crisis hits on January 21, they’re the ones who are going to have to deal with it. We need to make sure that they’re as well prepared as possible,” Bolten said on C-Span.

On Saturday, Bush applauded Obama’s election victory as a “triumph” and said “he can count on my complete cooperation as he makes his transition to the White House”.

But while the president and president-elect have taken the high road, partisanship has not entirely disappeared among lawmakers, as Democrats revel in the seats they snatched from Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate in last week’s election.

Asked whether he agreed with the notion of keeping Gates as defence secretary, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said on CNN: “Sure. I think we need a good transition there”.

“Why wouldn’t we want to keep him? He’s never been a registered Republican,” he added.

AFP

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