The Washington Post’s Carol D. Leoning had an interesting pick-up yesterday: in October, then-candidate Barack Obama wrote letters to employees at seven federal agencies — Labor, Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans’ Affairs, the Transportation Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and the Social Security Administration. These letters addressed some of the biggest specific complaints federal employees have made during the Bush administration.

For example, since the airport security screeners became federalized as part of the Dept. of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration, screeners have not been allowed to form a union. Obama promised to change that. Obama also told EPA staff that the days of politics trumping science were over.

Rescuing the executive branch will be complex and will require a methodical approach. But there are a few egregious Bush administration practices that can be quickly reversed and their reversal will demonstrate a greater respect for the federal workforce. Good for Obama if he follows up on these late-inning campaign pledges.-MB

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