Obama’s first moves

Re “So far, it’s in with the old,” Nov. 22

At least the Republicans remain consistent. Through their spokesman, Alex Conant, they continue to practice negative and divisive politics.

Did anyone expect Barack Obama to pick Cabinet members with no experience in the midst of the worst financial crisis in 75 years? For the last 16 years, experience has been obtained under Bill Clinton or George Bush -- would critics rather Obama picked members of the Bush administration?

As anyone who follows sports knows, the performance of a team is determined by the leadership. Obama is selecting a seasoned and knowledgeable team and has demonstrated his ability to inspire and to lead in pursuit of his goals. He has been given a mandate by the American people to do so. It is a time of national crisis when unity and confidence are essential. For the good of the country, let’s show support for Obama and the team he selects.

Whether meaningful change occurs will not be determined by the people selected, but rather by the actions they take. Let’s wait for those actions.

Darrel Miller

Santa Monica

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If early signs are an indication of future actions, Obama will be our first green president. He’s sure done a swell job of recycling Clinton’s used employees.

Gerald Wright

Los Angeles

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It appears to me that one plus for President-elect Obama of selecting Hillary Clinton as secretary of State is that her fingerprints will be nowhere on his healthcare proposal.

Ron Samuels

Studio City

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Re “Obama picks Geithner to run Treasury,” Nov. 22

Now that President-elect Obama has designated Timothy F. Geithner as Treasury secretary and Lawrence H. Summers as a senior economic advisor, how about the incoming White House taking an hour of prime-time TV to have these respected experts explain what exactly are the problems facing the economy and what they plan to do about it?

I would love to see that -- no matter how arcane the discussion might be or how much like Ross Perot’s old pie charts it might look. I’ll bet a few million of my fellow clueless-but-terrified citizens would be profoundly soothed, no matter how dire the news. It would mean a lot in the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself” category if we felt that somebody understood what was making the sky fall and had a plan for putting it back in its proper place.

Steven Pressfield

Malibu