Andrew Sullivan, who got some face time with Barack Obama writes:

Lots of emails from readers asking about the chat with the president-elect this morning. It was totally off the record and I’m a stickler for those rules. I can say, however, the following: it’s hard to express the relief I feel that this man will be the president soon. I realize that’s what I feel above all else: relief.

and:

The main impression I get from the various Obama peeps and appointments and, well, vibe, is that their fundamental interest is in governing. For eight years, we had an administration interested entirely in politics. These incoming people have actually thought about what to do with respect to actual, practical problems.

And this from Joe Klein (I know, I know):

It was several hours into the hearing that the full force of the new Administration hit me. Clinton was being asked by Senator Benjamin Cardin whether we could exert our influence on mineral-rich countries to share their wealth with their people. The Secretary of State-designate immediately brought up Botswana’s “excellent work” in this area, the education and infrastructure programs that had been funded. And I thought: Botswana? Wow. We’ve got people who are really interested in governing–who really love public service, who understand that foreign policy means more than simply issuing threats–coming back to your nation’s capital! Enthusiasm and care don’t always result in wise policy-making, but we’ve seen how fecklessness and carelessness works.

Years ago, I read an article that distinguished between hacks and wonks. Hacks are the political people who are concerned with the game of politics – they see everything through the lens of politics (How will it play? How can we sell it? What is the sound bite?). Wonks, by contrast, are the policy nerds – the people who are consumed with details, who can quote chapter and verse of obscure reports and who are convinced that what matters is not the politics but the policy. I think of it in these terms: Hacks argue good politics is good policy and wonks argue good policy is good politics.

Good policy is hard work; it requires research and mastery of the problems being solved; it requires actual understanding of the real world and a willingness to delve deeply into the details. We can actually have people who care about policy in charge, we can find the actual common ground of good policy and implement it. It’s about time.