So What IS McCain Going to Do?

When Obama and McCain announced they were going to meet today, and said that "t's well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality," some of us joked around the office about what kind of position in the new administration that statement might be signaling for McCain. We concluded that it seems possible that Obama will ask McCain to lead up government reform efforts of some kind. But I suggested that the efficiency bit didn't really seem like McCain's bag; he seems a lot more interested in issues of waste (earmarks!) and corruption than in converting federal agencies to the Church of Six Sigma.

And true to form, the joint statement from Obama's meeting with McCain doesn't really give details:

At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time. It is in this spirit that we had a productive conversation today about the need to launch a new era of reform where we take on government waste and bitter partisanship in Washington in order to restore trust in government, and bring back prosperity and opportunity for every hardworking American family. We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation’s security.

The "government waste" line looks like a nod to McCain's anti-pork inclinations. But otherwise, not a hint. And certainly no mention of the implementation issues that divided the former candidates on the things they jointly identified as national priorities today.