Is Obama a co-president with Bush?

Does America really have two President's right now? America has never seen anything quite like this: The president and president-elect are really acting like co-presidents, consulting and cooperating on the day's biggest crises. There are a lot of unique forces converging which have forced this unprecedented situation:

— The 24/7 nature of the global economic crisis, which demands timely reaction.

— Incoming and outgoing presidents who have personal and political reasons to show that they can manage a crisis.

— A president-elect who believes in strong government and wants to get things under way immediately.

— A lame-duck president who's pretty much surrendered his responsibilities as President.

It's not unusual for presidents and their successors to talk and consult each other, but this particular crises has brought a shared spotlight this time that takes these consultations to a whole new level. With 24-hour cable news channels, Internet videos and markets gyrating on the slightest hint of news, and President Bush's low poll numbers, President-elect Obama has really had no choice but to assume greater leadership. People feel a need for immediate action, whether they are on Wall Street or on Main Street. When the media began suggesting last Friday that Obama had picked New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, or 6.5 percent. At the same time a recent poll showed that 65% of people responded highly favorably to Obama's response to the economic crisis so far.