By Jim Gerhaghty

On the topic of whether Obama's been a bit too quiet during his Christmas vacation, reader Greg writes in:

I must say that I was in the `give 'im a break, he's not president yet camp'. On further reflection, however, I think that a responsible adult should take a lesson from the recent past. Terrorist attacks came only 8 months into Bush's term, and if I recall, there was criticism of the transition and the communication, or lack thereof, between incoming and outgoing administrations. Even Biden has cautioned that we should expect Obama to be tested early. So, while Obama may not be president yet, but he is president-elect. It seems to me that he and the members of his staff that are already in place should be taking advantage of all of the access to the White house that the current administration will allow.

The hallmark of our country may be the regular, peaceful transfers of power in all of our branches of government, but we are now in a period where the incoming executive must be fully up to speed from day one. There may be a long honeymoon for Obama, the press, and the other Obamaniacs, but the rest of the world may not be so kind.

Look, maybe Obama comes out on January 20 with decision-making guns blazing, and we'll all be impressed and inspired by the way he handles all the issues on his plate. But right now, "well, we only have one president at a time" seems like a convenient way of not having to offer detailed responses to the Mumbai massacre, the auto bailout, war in the Gaza Strip, etc. . . .

Source:  National Review Online