Why does the USA leave itself with a crippled President for so long after an election?
The time is called the “transition’ and it takes a while to get everything in place. Until the 1930’s, it actually was from Nov. until March, not January, so it’s shorter. Most President-elects have not had their cabinets and key positions announced so early, some apparently would wait until the New Year to announce many of their choices. And it takes time, especially in a case like this, with 2 school age kids, etc. for the family to get things settled. The President in this time period is usually referred to as a “Lame Duck”. Especially with a Democratic Congress he would not get much done if he wanted to. But of course, right up until noon on Jan. 20, George Bush is President and has to know what’s going on (OK, I don’t know if he ever does) but with this new outbreak of war in the Mid East, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc. President Bush is President up to the second that Obama is sworn in.
