Obama will inherit a Real ID mess

Real ID is a controversial idea whose time has not yet come. Although President Bush set in motion a plan for states to issue IDs that have digital photos and are machine readable, states don't want to pay to implement the program or hop on board another controversy.

Another bad sign is that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Obama's nominee for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security--the agency responsible for implementing the Real ID rules--previously signed a bill barring her state from participating in the program.

This is just one more bureaucratic mess that needs to be ironed out if Real ID has a chance to go into effect. The law came under fire from privacy advocates and civil rights groups that argued Real ID is a national security system that would be hard to manage and that it creates privacy, security and logistical concerns. So, what's the answer? Well, it's just one more solution Obama will have to come up with when he takes office.

"I don't think anybody in the next administration, including Napolitano, wants to deal with Real ID. It's a real stinking mess," said Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based public-policy research organization with libertarian leanings. "Most likely, they will find the quietest way they can to get it off their plates."

And while it's only the latest attempt at dealing with IT failures, it might, in fact, be the way to crawl out of the dismal tunnel of failure.

For more on this legislation:
- check out this CIO.com article