Obama didn't break Bush record for speed of appointments

A quick start put President Obama on track to break George W. Bush's modern-day record for getting his appointees in place. But with the first-year statistics now complete, the latter administration's mark still stands.

The Bush team, after a transition shortened by hanging chads and such, managed to fill 348 of 508 positions (just under 69 percent) that were tracked by the Brookings Presidential Appointee initiative. Seventy-two more people had been nominated for such jobs -- which did not include ambassadors, U.S. marshals, judges or federal prosecutors -- for a grand total of 420 folks.

The Obama team ended the year with 305 of 515 similar appointees confirmed (just under 60 percent), with an additional 91 nominated but not confirmed by the Senate. The final numbers, though some data could not be determined, show that 71 percent of Obama's selections are white, 32 percent are women, 15 percent are black, 10 percent are Hispanic and 4 percent are Asian American. More than half of Obama's picks (56 percent) are inside-the-Beltway types. The second-largest groups come from California and New York (each with 7 percent), while Obama's home state of Illinois ties Massachusetts for fourth with 3 percent.