Breaking from the conservative pack, I saw the Emanuel appointment as a (hopeful, though not definitive) sign the Obama administration would operate in a centrist fashion. But, hope has its limits.

Ellen Moran, Executive Director of EMILY’s List, has been tapped by Obama to serve as White House Communications Director, a largely behind-the-scenes position, but one which invariably sets the tone for the Press shop. Look no further than Moran’s current and former employers as an indication of what to expect from the new White House communications office. EMILY’s List is a progressive organization working to elect pro-choice Democratic women who, under Moran’s guidance, has been instrumental in electing 78 pro-choice Congresswomen, 15 Senators, and 9 Governors. Adding insult to injury, Moran worked for the AFL-CIO, coordinating “Wal-Mart corporate accountability activities.”

So, we have a virulent abortion rights activist who favors strict “corporate accountability” measures on our hands. Great.

Obama’s new Communications Director could not be more partisan. President-elect Obama ran a campaign of fresh faces and supposed “new ideas,” but his transition team and Administration resemble a hyper-partisan Clinton reunion. Moderates and Washington outsiders need not apply.

Gaspard’s and Moran’s appointments signal the start of a new parlor game in the upper echelon of Democratic politics, one leaving moderates and centrists in the dust. The Obama Administration promises to be a sordid sampling of the most unsavory Clinton figures (i.e. Greg Craig, Eric Holder), including even those who Teflon Bill couldn’t stomach.

Strap in for a long, divisive four years, my friends.

UPDATE: Townhall’s Matt Lewis has thoughts on some of Obama’s other (controvesy-plagued) appointments, as does Mike Memoli (filling in for Marc Ambinder).