Beltway Snark

It would certainly be an, er, interesting way to start his presidency.

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition.

In some instances, Obama would be quickly delivering on promises he made during his two-year campaign, while in others he would be embracing Clinton-era policies upended by President Bush during his eight years in office.

The two main bones of contention are going to be the rolling back of the federal ban on embryonic stem cell research funding and the reinstatement of the idea that federal money could be sent abroad to fund abortions. Why in the world Obama would wish to kick off his presidency by tacking two of the hottest political potatoes out there (and ticking off a bunch of people) is beyond me. Support for embryonic stem cell research has waned in light of new technology that allowa for harvesting of stem cells from adults, and I don’t know many people who would be thrilled at the idea of our broke asses sending money abroad to fund abortions.

Governing from the center; the first of many Obama flip-flops we’ll see over the next four years.