White House, candidates plan power transfer

WASHINGTON, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The Bush administration and the two main presidential candidates are working together to ensure next January's presidential power transfer goes smoothly, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The campaigns of Republican presidential contender John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama are compiling lists of potential nominees for dozens of national-security and counter-terrorism positions so would-be policy makers can be vetted and confirmed as quickly as possible, the report said. Given the inevitable gaps, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked senior Pentagon officials to be prepared to stay in their jobs for the first few months of 2009. The Obama campaign has endorsed the idea. Obama aides say the Illinois senator is considering asking Gates to stay as defense chief if he is... [read full story]