Thursday's Notes

* It appears that many central Ohioans greeted Republican John Kasich's announcement to run for Ohio governor with little interest. Kasich, a former congressman and former employee of the failed Lehman Brothers, had a crowd of just over 1,000 (according to police reports published in snponline.com). Yawn...

>> There is a very interesting article by Caleb Hannan from the Nashville Scene that compares President Obama and former President George W. Bush:

This week's New York Times magazine features a Matt Bai cover story about how President Obama and his staff are using their Senatorial contacts to push through key legislation, including the health care reform package that will dominate this fall's session. If all of that sounds like one big snoozefest, have no fear. Cuz we're about to talk about how former President Bush is no different than an eight-year-old at a tea party.

Here's the background. Bai is talking to Montana Senator Max Baucus, chair of the powerful Finance Committee.Thanks to the dual-whammy of Tom Daschle's tax troubles and Ted Kennedy's ailing health, Baucus has become the Obama Presidency's go-to guy in the Senate. Bai wants to know the difference between the new POTUS and the last guy:

When I asked Baucus, who worked with George W. Bush to pass his tax cuts in 2001, what kind of impression he had formed of Obama to this point, he looked down at his hands and thought for a moment. "How do I say this delicately?" he asked. "President Bush, he liked being president. You know, there are be-ers, and there are doers. And I think he liked being president, as opposed to doing." Obama, on the other hand, strikes Baucus as a doer. "You've really got to work at it, rather than just enjoying the job," he said....

I guess the title of the article by Caleb Hannan predicted the jist of the story:
"Oh, Now It Makes Sense: President Bush Just Liked to Play Dress-Up"

* I hope you've had the chance to see the NBC special about the Obama White House. It appears that the White House staff and the President are really working hard. The President even reads his briefing material! If you watched it, you'll come to the same conclusion that I did---- President Obama is working harder and putting in more time to try to fix our problems.

*If you are looking for work in central Ohio, you might want to check out the Safe Auto careers web page.