White House Web Site Becomes Weapon in President Obama's Political War

When President Barack Obama took the oath of office today, his communications team flipped the switch on the brand new, redesigned White House web site. The Obama Administrations boasts that it's primary web presence will be the most technically advanced ever, with plenty of opportunities for ordinary citizens to engage in the day-to-day decision making process. Left unsaid by the Administration's new webmasters, is that the White House web site has also become a political attack site, with several ungracious references to the previous administration's record.

The site contains the Obama Administration's official statements about its policy aims in a host of areas. The incoming Administration was not content, however, to simply discuss its policies. It included some gratuitous shots at former President Bush on his way out of the Oval Office. On the recovery effort from Hurricane Katrina, the Obama Administration's statement reads:

"President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow the catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.

President Obama responded swiftly to Hurricane Katrina. Citing the Bush Administration's "unconscionable ineptitude" in responding to Hurricane Katrina, then-Senator Obama introduced legislation requiring disaster planners to take into account the specific needs of low-income hurricane victims.

Left unsaid is how exactly the Obama Administration will make good on its promise to rebuild, or what specifically the Bush Administration failed to deliver on.
On Iraq, the new White House web site says the following about the Obama Administration's policy [Hat tip: Moe Lane]

"In 2002, Obama had the judgment and courage to speak out against going to war, and to warn of "an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences." He and Joe Biden are fully committed to ending the war in Iraq.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war."

Unsaid, the specifics of how the Obama Administration plans to end the war, and what that ending will look like.

It is early in the life of the new Administration, but if the new White House web site is any indication. the Obama Administration will fail to uphold the spirit of its self proclaimed National Day of Reconciliation and Renewal. The petty nature of the Obama communications team's parting shots at President Bush, though, are in keeping with the last Democratic administration's actions in relinquishing power. President Clinton's staff vandalized the White House on its way out of office. Sadly, Barack Obama's Administration is not getting off to a much better start.