The Washington Post’s Shailagh Murray and Carol D. Leoning report that Barack Obama has put together a 135-person team wearing yellow badges that has been roving federal agencies in order to improve the presidential transition. The people have divided up into units that ask questions to both top officials and staff members about agency priorities and performance and what might change under the Obama administration.

Given that Obama has not laid out any overarching good-government policy like the Bill Clinton/Al Gore "re-inventing government" reports on the transition efforts are so far a bit shapeless. It’s interesting, though, to hear that some Bush administration officials– at the Transportation Dept. and Dept. of Homeland Security– tell staff to check with them before answering questions. With five weeks to go the Bush administration is still silencing federal employees.-MB

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