Mr. Cool

The Washington Post is doing some more federal government coverage these days, including offering advice to the new administration. Washington Sketch columnist Dana Milbank apparently thinks that snark, delivered via one of his signature video commentaries, is the proper reaction to government's image problem. His recommendations for making government “cool”? Louis Vuitton carrying cases for federal employees, along with Nintendo Wiis, iPhones, and catering by celebrity chefs. I can't believe the Partnership for Public Service hasn't thought of this one already. Get this guy an OPM deputy secretary gig, stat!

In all seriousness, though, federal workforce issues are a real public policy issue, and it does disservice both to the problem of federal recruiting and to federal employees themselves to mock federal agencies as inherently unsexy. I understand that what Milbank does is sarcasm via video, but it seems like he doesn't know a lot about what federal employees do. Not to get all boostery, but I happen to think the folks who are managing the mission to Mars, working on the financial bailout, and designing new ways for federal agencies to be more open and inclusive are working on some pretty nifty stuff.

I don't think Obama's mission will be so much to revamp the federal government so it looks like "Wall Street" gone federal. Nobody wants to turn federal employees into gadget-flashing pseudo-i-bankers. The truth is, Obama is kind of a nerd. He thinks the stuff that government does is pretty cool, and his challenge will be to get that message out, not to give feds makeovers.