NJ Steve McMahon is a Democratic strategist, played a key role in the [Howard] Dean campaign -- stayed out of this one, although he is on the "Today" show it seems like every other day. Hi, Steve.

McMahon: Hey, Tammy. How are you?

NJ: I am good. I'm good. Just trying to figure out this Obama transition. Please take us inside what they are trying to do -- not just staff a government, but also prevent this crashing economic story from taking over.

McMahon: It seems like they are trying to do two or three things simultaneously -- you are absolutely right. They are trying to, I think, guide the Congress and the president on the economic bailout packages that are out there in a direction that's consistent with what Senator-elect -- or I am sorry, President-elect Obama -- would like to see done when he is president. And to some degree, I think the Congress and the White House are taking direction, but in large measure, they are saying, you know, "We are going to make our own decisions."

So, I think the incoming Obama administration would like to have seen a $25 billion assistance package come out of the bailout, go to the automakers in Detroit, and that didn't happen. I think they would have liked to see Congress step up and provide $25 billion, and that didn't happen. So they have a lot of enthusiasm, and they have, obviously, a great deal of influence in some measure, but they can go out and give a speech and they can captivate a nation, but they don't seem to be able to get the Democrats on the Hill or the Republicans in the White House to do what they want just yet.

NJ: I also wonder the impact -- we talked earlier on this show with Congressman Elijah Cummings, who was just furious at the CEO of AIG, in fact called for his resignation, because some of the money they have given them that bailed them out, they have given to various CEOs -- I think it's $500 million worth. He called for his resignation. And then we've got the automakers who were here. They all flew in separate private planes. Talk about people who don't get optics. But with that kind of pressure on the front pages every day, does that tamp down the ability of the Obama-elect group to get anything done?

McMahon: Well, it is interesting; you know, they don't officially have any power yet. At the same time, the American people are sort of looking to them as the salvation for America's economy. So all they really can do, I think, is what they are trying to do. Rahm Emanuel was up on the Hill yesterday meeting with Republican leaders, and I think that sends a great message. I think the president-elect's willingness to bring people into his Cabinet -- or apparent willingness, I should say -- people like Hillary Rodham Clinton and perhaps Bob Gates staying on -- suggest that he is going to bring a new tone and a new style of leadership to Washington.

NJ: But you say "new", Steve, and everyone is talking about the fact that not just Hillary Clinton herself, but so many Clintonites are now going to run the new government.

McMahon: Yeah, and that -- you know, that is a criticism that is certainly out there, and it's a storyline that the Republicans are driving. I think if you think about change and where it comes from, it comes from the top. And so what President-elect Obama is offering is a change of direction, a change of policies and a change of tone here in Washington that everybody seems to want, but what he needs in order to make that happen is people who can actually get his legislative package through the Congress. And that means bringing in people who have some experience in Washington and know their way to the bathroom at Capitol Hill. And I think that is what he is doing, and that is why you are seeing so many Clinton people coming back into government.

If you think about it, if you are looking to staff an administration with people who are experienced, it's the Clinton people or it's Jimmy Carter's people or it's John Kennedy's people, and there aren't very many of those folks around anymore.

NJ: You say that, but again, I am looking at the optics for all those folks who are logging onto the internet and going to the Change.gov Web site. Very interesting how Obama is talking directly to the American people. Not only did he give the radio address on video, which as a TV producer I love, but he also has Valerie Jarrett, his top advisers -- yesterday's video was the entire energy transition team on video talking about what they are doing. This transparency always, always works in a new administration, right? But will it come back and kick him in the end?

McMahon: I don't know if it will come back and kick him in the end. I mean, they're rewriting the rules, and I think, as a political consultant and a strategist, it's a wonderful thing to watch. They are, however, in some measure, being tripped up by the same old Washington parlor tricks. You know, they haven't announced a single Cabinet member yet, but everybody seems to know who they're going to pick.

NJ: Yeah, but they're telling people, Steve, right?

McMahon: Well, someone's telling people. I am not sure that it's the people who are at the top leaking this stuff. It's the people who are getting the third- and fourth-level phone call, because of the vetting process and the 63-page questionnaire that everybody has to fill out that seem to be leaking -- they would like to announce these in their own time, in their own way. They wanted to come out first with their economic team, and that didn't happen. And I think the Clinton folks have been pretty active participants in the conversation that's occurred on the front pages about Senator Clinton's interest or lack of interest in the secretary of State job. So it's interesting that the cone of silence that the Obama campaign was able to enforce among its folks has been pierced by the Washington media, and I think that...

NJ: We are very happy about that.

McMahon: That's an indication that they want to do things differently, but the folks in Washington are still doing things the way the folks in Washington do it. It will be an interesting culture clash, if you will.

NJ: Well, it's a different kind of transparency, because reporters want to know, they want to tell the American people what's going on, and also it tells you everything about the administration and how they are going to operate, because God knows, however they operate in the beginning is how they are going to operate in the end, right?

McMahon: [Laughter] That's their hope. I don't think it's been anyone's experience.

NJ: [Laughter] No, I think that's true. So we've got some Clinton folks coming in. We've got some Obama long-time staffers who are playing a critical role. I know throughout the campaign that there was a little bit of a challenge between Obama's long-time friends and advisers and the group that was running the campaign, although everyone's all friends and happy now. Can you tell us -- can you look into your crystal ball and talk about how Obama operated previously and what we're going to see him operate as soon as he hits 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

McMahon: Well, I think in a campaign, you are always dealing in hopes and aspirations, and you are looking forward and almost dreaming of what is possible. And when you are handed the reins of government, you are given the keys to the White House, suddenly what's possible is pretty far off in the distance and what you are dealing with right now is the reality of the situation. And because he is being given such a horrible economy by President Bush, and because Wall Street's melting down, and because the deficit is so enormous, and because of the number of bailout dollars that have already been distributed, he's coming into a situation where his ability to operate isn't as great as it might have looked a year or two years ago during the campaign.

Having said that, he doesn't seem to be backing off of any of his lofty aspirational goals. You know, he still wants to do health care reform so everybody has health insurance. He still wants to change the tone in Washington, he still wants to lessen the effect of lobbyists and special interest on outcomes that affect people. So, he is still saying all the things that he was saying in the campaign. I think, though, that as he gets closer and closer to January 20th, he is going to have to prioritize and make some choices, because he is not going to be able to do everything all at once.

NJ: What will the DNC do? Who do you think is going to lead it?

McMahon: Well, I hope that somebody leads it who is committed to the 50-state strategy that Governor Dean brought to the DNC and that the Obama campaign really executed beautifully in the primaries. I mean, the reason that they won the nomination over Senator Clinton is because they essentially ran a 50-state effort; they competed everywhere. And given the 10 million-person database that they bring in to government and the committed passionate supporters that they have, who can now be used to lobby Congress to get their legislative agenda enacted, I hope they are going to bring somebody who has Governor Dean's sense that the Internet is the future, small donors are the future, and this party needs to be competitive everywhere in order to be effective as a national party.

NJ: Let's go back to Senator Clinton, because she still has a debt to retire, and she has -- how big do you think her list is? 2 million? 5 million?

McMahon: I think it's probably about 2 million, is what I believe I've read recently.

NJ: Don't you think it is difficult for any politician, even someone who came to elective life late, to step away from 18 million people who just voted for you?

McMahon: It's very difficult to step away, and I think the goal would be to engage as many of those people as regularly as possible over the next four years, because if you think about the power of 8 or 10, or however many millions of people you can bring to bear on government, you know, it pales in comparison to what a corporate lobbyist can do.

NJ: So, if you are on her list, it will be something like this: "Hi, it's Secretary of State Hillary from Abu Dhabi. Today, we are blah, blah, blah." Is that what you do with them?

McMahon: Well, it's like: "It's Secretary of State Hillary from Abu Dhabi. As you may not know, there is a very important defense bill or there is a very important treaty or a very important this or that, that's being considered by Congress right now. And it's very important to me and it's very important to this administration that the Congress do the right thing, so please contact your elected official today. Go to this link. We will tell you who your elected official is. Write him an e-mail, and tell them that they need to do this."

And that's something that Congress hasn't seen before -- people actually engaging on issues and expressing a point of view and being directed by somebody that they have invested in and believe in. And I think it's going to change outcomes.

NJ: Really?

McMahon: I think it will. I mean, imagine for a second that you are a lobbyist for a big corporation, and you are standing there seeking one outcome and talking to all your friends on the Hill, and suddenly the Obama administration sends out an e-mail to 10 million people and says that we need to tell Congress to do just the opposite. I like the chances of the 10 million who are logging in from cyberspace more than the chances of the lobbyist from the big corporation who is standing in the hallway.

NJ: So, Eric Schmidt from Google said the other day here that it's not as much as Obama putting these videos up, but the fact that millions of people not just watch them, but engage in the conversation around it. That sounds pretty formidable.

McMahon: It's very formidable. And that in fact is the new democracy that I think the Obama administration sees. And it's one reason that you see on their Web site, Change.gov, the economic team engaging on economic issues. And it probably won't be long before you see similar kinds of things from Obama administration officials that are then sent out with links for people to express their point of view directly to their elected officials. It's going to be a totally different -- if they do this -- it will be a new day in Washington, and there will be new rules for getting things done.

NJ: Thank you, Steve McMahon.

McMahon: Thank you.

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