By JIM VANDEHEI & MIKE ALLEN
Congressional Democrats are firing a surprising number of unexpectedly sharp brushback pitches at President-elect Barack Obama and his staff over policy plans and personnel picks, making him look embattled during what was to be a triumphant debut week in Washington.
The honeymoon isn't over — the president-elect remains widely popular, even among some Republicans — and his Inauguration on Jan. 20 will be a signature event in the lifetime of most Americans, giving his opening days a greater lift and pop than any president since at least Ronald Reagan.
But as Obama buckled down his week heading a shadow government across Lafayette Park from the waning one in the White House, Democrats hit him with daily fast balls reflecting two realities: His team is smart but not perfect, and Democrats are supportive but not supine.
Consider:
• Obama ended his troubled search for CIA director by naming Leon Panetta. The immediate response: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) fired off a statement of disapproval, giving a negative tilt to most coverage of the pick.
• Obama floated his plan to name TV star Dr. Sanjay Gupta as surgeon general. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers didn't even wait for the official announcement before leading a public campaign to kill the nomination. Gupta "lacks the relevant experience," Conyers wrote to colleagues.
• As Obama makes plans to roll out a sweeping economic plan, Majority Leader Harry Reid gave interviews with Politico and The Hill newspaper and made clear he won't take marching orders from Obama. "I don't work for" Obama, he told us.
• Even before Obama's plan was formally unveiled, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made plain her displeasure with parts of Obama's emerging fiscal plan, which she believes does not move fast enough to raise taxes. "I couldn't be more clear," she said Thursday at her weekly news conference. "Put me down as one in favor of repeal [of the Bush tax cuts] as soon as possible."
• Finally, once the package was unveiled, Obama's adviser got a frosty response to some provisions from Senate Democrats, who were kind enough to go public with their concerns. "I just don't think it works. I don't think that's going to give much lift to the economy, as well-intended as it is," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, told Politico's David Rogers.
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