Obama Begins Planning Presidential Transition

[birdgirl73]

I know but this is usually put into place a bit closer to the general election...

Not true at all.

Talk to any campaign team from either party of the last 8 presidential elections or to the chairs of both the RNC and the DNC. The transition planning teams go into fully active mode just as soon as the candidates are determined after the primaries are over or even before, like in McCain's case, when the candidate becomes apparent at the end of the primaries. This is one of the many reasons why the party governance organizations want the candidates to be determined long before the conventions, in fact. So these transition teams can get operational sooner than later because it makes for a smoother transition into office once the general election is over.

It's transitional presumption/assumption of office that happens on both the Republican and Democratic sides. Has been this way for a long time and will continue to be. Nothing sinister here.