One Smart Hire: John Podesta

I've been following John Podesta's career ever since he did some of the smartest progressive moves of The Clinton Presidency, at the 11th hour. 

A conservative watch-the-left site puts it acidly:

Project Podesta enabled the President to bypass Congress through the use of executive orders, presidential decision directives, White-House-sponsored lawsuits, vacancy appointments to high federal office, selective regulatory actions against targeted corporations, and a host of other extra-constitutional tactics.

(Which reminds me -- Bush's last two months are going to be a farrago of executive atrocities -- gird yourselves.)

He then founded a progressive mirror to The Heritage Foundation -- The Center for American Progress -- a rapid-acting thinktank devoted to injecting progressive frames and talking points into the political dialogue.

Now Obama wants him.

In these disappointing days of Obama's centering for the general election,' this is a sign of hope.