I just did it. It takes about a minute.
There's also a link to the transition directory.
Coincidentally, at dinner last night, there was a discussion speculating on what Obama would do in foreign policy--especially over whom he might pick as Secretary of State. I mentioned that the only foreign policy expert on Obama's team I had seen in person was Susan Rice, years ago at an event at the National Press Club in relation to the 2004 election. She impressed me at the time as the only panelist who sounded like a normal human being. So, it was interesting to read that she seems to be in charge, according this leaked email from Politico.com:
TO: Obama Foreign Policy ExpertsA reminder of the Washington truism not to write anything that you don't want to see in the Washington Post the next day...
FROM: Tony Lake and Susan Rice
DATE: November 7, 2008
RE: Thank You
We want to thank you, and thank you again, for all that you have done to help elect Barack Obama President of the United States. Your wisdom and expertise have been invaluable. We will remain extremely grateful for your incredibly hard work and for your many personal and collective contributions.
We are obviously entering a new phase now with the transition. The transition will be a separate operation from the campaign, which is now disbanding. So too must our foreign policy expert teams disband.
The transition operation will be brief and comparatively lean. Given the need to complete this work expeditiously and efficiently, please understand that only a limited number of people will be able to support those activities. But, please also be assured that participation in the transition is in no way a prerequisite to, nor an assurance of, being offered any position in the Obama-Biden administration.
For those of you interested in applying for a position in the future administration, a transition website has been set up where you can (and, in fact, must) apply by filling out a form and submitting your resume. It is: www.change.gov. We hope very much that you will apply. You should follow the instructions to indicate your interest in being considered for a position in the government. This is a real website, which will be used to fill important positions in the government below the cabinet level. There will be no other channel through which applications will be accepted. Please also feel free to copy Mona Sutphen who will be tracking your applications at: REDACTED, with any resumes and materials you submit in the official channel.
Finally, and importantly, we ask each of you please do not under any circumstances speak to the press, any foreign officials, or embassies on behalf of the transition or President-elect Obama. Please also do not encourage solicitation of such contacts. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of this request. It would be highly damaging for foreign governments or media to receive information that they believe falsely to represent the views of the President-Elect.
If you receive any inquiries, please refer them to:
Dan Pfeiffer, REDACTED (for press inquiries)
Denis McDonough REDACTED or Mark Lippert REDACTED (for any inquiries from foreign officials and embassies)
Their new email accounts should be active by next week.
Thank you again for all that you have done to help make this historic moment possible.
Susan and Tony
BTW, If Google's electronic news clippers are pulling names from blog posts for Obama, I'd like to see Susan Rice as Secretary of State. If not Rice, my other candidate is Bill Richardson--he has experience as UN ambassador, energy secretary, and governor. Richardson might send a strong signal to Latin America that the USA takes anti-American developments in the Western Hemisphere more seriously than President Bush appears to have done...
More information on Obama foreign-policy aide Mark Lippert in this Newsweek article. Wikipedia entry here.
A little bit on Dennis McDonough here. I see from the bio that he worked for Sen. Tom Daschle for years...perhaps Sen. Daschle is in the running for Secretary of State, as well?
