Have You Applied For A Job With The Obama Administration?

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If you have applied, you answered 63 questions. One of which asked about your blog posts, e-mails, and Facebook page. Along with others that asked all sorts of personal information.

Have you wondered where that information will end up?

The legal chain of custody of the paperwork is clear.

According to the National Archives, all documents created by the presidential transition are the personal property of the president-elect, not the federal government. In theory, transition staff could pack up all of the applications on Jan. 19 and send them to Chicago to be stored in Obama’s Hyde Park home.

But what’s most likely to happen is that the papers will be turned over to the Obama White House, where they’ll become official presidential records and be subject to the Presidential Records Act.

All such papers must eventually be turned over to the National Archives. Staff there will request the Obama team eventually turn over all papers only used by the transition, too, although it will be under no legal obligation to do so.

If you get to the next phase of application, you'll have to provide full financial information, which will be public. But don't worry if you get past that stage, your FBI background check is kept private. Your FBI file, however, is available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Do you have an FBI file?

Online Surveys & Market Research

Tom Tancredo Retiring

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The AP is reporting that Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) is done. They are unclear whether he means to retire at the end of the current term or sooner. (Yes, I know, but hope springs eternal.) They indicate that he may either plan to run for Governor of Colorado, or go back to a right wingnut think tank.

Tom has been one of the most vocal anti-immigration voices ever heard in America. He has represented the South Denver suburbs since 1999. He ran for president last year.

I wish to take a moment to repeat my favourite Tancredo quote, which was always a nice mantra on down days earlier this year:

There will never be a President McCain. (2007)

While we are of course aware that he didn't run for relection this year, we just wanted to point out that every additional day with Tancredo not in Congress is like a day with lots of sunshine.

How Much Do You Work?

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Here in the U.S.A. most people work a 5-day work week, 50 weeks a year. (Yes, I know, there's a recession and so those numbers may not be static next year). The House of Representatives, when controlled by the Republicans? Not so much.

Steny Hoyer has released the House schedule for next year, The House will be in session for 11 weeks of 5-day sessions, and 18 weeks of 4-day sessions, for the term that starts in January, and adjourns on 30 October.

The Office of the Clerk of the House has a neat table showing the sessions. The list of "days" indicates the total number of days during the stated session dates, and the far right column lists the dates that the House was not in session. The first official break was in December of 1800. As you go through the list, you'll get a sense of when the House was in session, and when they went home. List is here.

It appears that, under recent Republican control, the House didn't meet all that much. In fact, when the Democrats returned to power in 2007, "actually working" was a goal of the new leadership.

For example, in 2006, the House didn't meet in January, and in February met for three days, plus another three where there were no votes before 6:30 p.m. During those dark Bush years, the number of actual working days fell to below 250 (including those "no votes until 6:30" days, hearkening back to when Harry Truman referred to the 80th Congress as "do-nothing".

There are a number of reasons that Congress meets less now than they used to. First, it used to be a real schlep to get to DC: think horses and carriages. You came, you stayed. Eventually, you sent telegrams in lieu of messengers. Now, there is air travel, trains and cars, so it's easier to come and go. "Going home" is important to raise money, meet with constituents, and attend local meetings and events.

Well, it's important if you need to spend a lot of your time on running for re-election over staying in DC to undertake the job to which you were elected.

There is also this, written about the Republican Congress in 2006:

Then there is the strategy of the majority leadership. Getting bills passed, keeping party discipline and satisfying interest groups means folding legislation into a small number of huge omnibus bills, bringing them up with little notice and less debate, structuring the votes around restrictive rules that limit or forbid amendments, and demanding party fealty on the votes that take place by labeling them "procedural." The less time the members spend in hearings, floor debate and generally poking around the Hill, the easier it is for the leaders to get their way without scrutiny or challenge.

We'll see if that still applies in a Democratic Congress paired with a Democratic administration.

How about you?

Online Surveys & Market Research

Dem Kilroy wins in OH-15

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You lose 2 elections on Saturday, you win one on Sunday:

Now it's official: Mary Jo Kilroy will be going to Washington as the first Democrat to represent any part of Franklin County in Congress in a generation.

Final vote tallies released this evening by the Franklin County Board of Elections show that Kilroy defeated Republican state Sen. Steve Stivers by 2,311 votes out of 304,053, outside of the 0.5 percent margin to trigger a recount. - Columbus Dispatch

This puts the overall Democratic net gain in the House back to 21.

Update: In LA-4, while "early" votes were included in the totals, absentees and provisionals were not. They will be counted on Tuesday. Carmouche has not conceded, and this race isn't done yet.

LA-4: No concession, and recount coming

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The 2008 election just won't die:

John Fleming got just 356 votes more than Caddo District Attorney Paul Carmouche during Saturday night's election to determine who will be the next representative for Louisiana's 4th Congressional District.

However, after all 640 precincts were counted, Carmouche said he planned to ask for a recount of the ballots.
...
In all, there were 92,558 early and machine votes cast in the election. Provisional ballots had not been counted and are not a part of the total. Carmouche cited the uncounted provisional ballots as one reason he would not concede the race once the results had been announced.

"For me to concede at this point would be foolish. We've spent a lot of money, a lot of effort, a lot of time in this race, and there are provisional ballots that we don't believe have been counted yet because they don't usually count those (immediately after a race). Democrats usually win those by large margins so the fat lady hasn't sung yet in this thing," he said.

Jacques Berry, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said the complete but unofficial returns do not include provisional ballots - paper ballots filled out by people who arrived at their precincts, intending to vote, but whose names did not appear on the official registry. Those votes and absentee paper ballots would be included on Tuesday, when all vote totals are added together again and certified.

Louisiana law has no provision for an automatic recount, Berry said, though a losing candidate can request one. - KSLA News

Obama Announces Shinseki as Secretary of Veterans Affairs

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Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama--as prepared for delivery
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Announcement
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Chicago, IL

Good afternoon.

Earlier this week, I announced key members of my national security team. They have served in uniform and as diplomats; they have worked as legislators, law enforcement officials, and executives. They share my sense of purpose about American leadership in the world, my pragmatism about the use of power, and my vision for how we can protect our people, defeat our enemies, and meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Read more...

As we seek a new national security strategy that uses all elements of American power, we must also remember those who run the greatest risks and make the greatest sacrifices to implement that strategy – the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States of America. Even as I speak, they are serving brilliantly and bravely in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. And we must show them and their families the same devotion that they have shown this country.

We don’t have to do our troops and our veterans a favor, we have a sacred trust to repay one. That starts with recognizing that for many of today’s troops and their families, the war doesn’t end when they come home. Far too many are suffering from the signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. And far too few are receiving the screening and treatment they need. The servicemen and women who embody what’s best about America should get the best care we have to offer, and that is what we will provide when I am President.

And in this struggling economy, we also have to do more to ensure that when our troops come home and leave the service, they can find jobs that pay well, provide good benefits, and help them support their families.

But we don’t just need to better serve veterans of today’s wars. We also need to build a 21st Century VA that will better serve all who have answered our nation’s call. That means cutting red tape and easing transition into civilian life. And it means eliminating shortfalls, fully funding VA health care, and providing the benefits our veterans have earned.

That is the kind of VA that will serve our veterans as well as they have served us. And there is no one more distinguished, more determined, or more qualified to build this VA than the leader I am announcing as our next Secretary of Veterans Affairs – General Eric Shinseki. No one will ever doubt that this former Army Chief of Staff has the courage to stand up for our troops and our veterans. No one will ever question whether he will fight hard enough to make sure they have the support they need.

A graduate of West Point, General Shinseki served two combat tours in Vietnam, where he lost part of his foot, and was awarded two Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. Throughout his nearly four decades in the U.S. Army, he won the respect and admiration of our men and women in uniform because they have always been his highest priority. He has always stood on principle – because he has always stood with our troops. And he will bring that same sense of duty and commitment to ensuring that we treat our veterans with the care and dignity they deserve.

A decorated soldier who has served at every level in the Army, General Shinseki understands the changing needs of our troops and their families. And he will be a VA Secretary who finally modernizes our VA to meet the challenges of our time.

Nearly seventy years ago today, “a date which will live in infamy,” our harbor was bombed in Hawaii, and our troops went off to war. And after that war was over, after we reclaimed a continent from a madman and beat back danger in the Pacific, those troops came home to a grateful nation – a nation that welcomed them with a GI Bill and a chance to live out in peace the dreams they had fought for, and so many died for, on the battlefield. We owe it to all our veterans to honor them as we honored our Greatest Generation – not just with words, but with deeds.

And with the national security team I announced this week and the extraordinary and courageous Secretary of Veterans Affairs I am announcing today, I am confident that we will never hesitate to defend our security, that we will send our troops into battle only when we must, and that, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, we will truly care for all “who shall have borne the battle.”

Sunday with the Senators: Early December Wrap-Up

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2008:

Minnesota: As Matt reported this week, the first part of the Franken-Coleman recount is over. Next up, absentee ballots.

Illinois: We still do not have a replacement for the seat vacated by President-elect Obama. Blagojevich granted an interview this week about his thoughts on the President-elect's Senate seat. Currently at the top of what he said was a long list are Dem Representatives Jan Schakowsky; Danny Davis, and Luis Gutierrez, also former state Senate President Emil Jones, Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth, and Attorney General Lisa Madigan. He has already interviewed Schakowsky, Davis and Gutierrez.

What of Jesse Jackson, Jr's very public lobbying for the position?

"He's got a right to do it," Blagojevich said, "and he obviously believes in himself as a candidate for the United States Senate and his public campaign is, you know, something he obviously believes appropriate and helpful, and all power to him."

Blagojevich has not ruled Jackson in or out, although he did say in the interview that he does not consider the seat an "African American seat." If he does not appoint an Africa-American to fill the seat, there will be none in the Senate.

2009:

New York: The latest person to express interest in Hillary Clinton's seat is Caroline Kennedy, who had a conversation with David Paterson about it this week. Why would she want the seat? She's always been a private person, leaning more to foundation work and writing (yes, she's a lawyer, too) than public service. She has never held elective office. She is a long-time resident of New York City.

A thought comes to mind: look at how long there has been a Kennedy in a prominent elected or appointed position: Joe Kennedy, Sr. was the first Chair of the SEC, appointed by FDR in 1934, he later served as Ambassador to the UK. JFK was elected to the House of Representatives in 1947, went on to be Senator and then President. RFK was Senator from NY from 1965 until his death. Uncle Teddy has been Senator from Massachusetts since 1962. Other Kennedys from Caroline's generation have also held elective office, her cousin Pat is now a Representative from Rhode Island, and I haven't heard that he is mulling a Senate run.

It may be that Caroline wants to be in the Senate and work with her uncle. He has stepped down fom his Judiciary post to work on health care. It may be that working on this year's election made her realize she wants to be in the spotlight she has always eschewed.

2010:

Florida: Well, Mel Martinez is gone. Jeb Bush has floated that he'd like to run for the seat, and everyone says that he's a shoe-in, but I'm not so sure. When Martinez leaves the Senate, barring changes in other 2010 races (or a replacement for an open seat prior to then) it would leave Bob Menendez (D - NJ) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) as the only Hispanics in the Senate. (And note, they are both Democrats, there would be no Republican Hispanic.)

A generation ago, maybe 10 years ago, people "worked one's way up" through the ranks of row offices to State and Federal elected positions. But we're seeing more and more actors, bankers/financiers, comedians and people with other career paths. So, it may well be that a prominent Hispanic from the business community, or the acting community, or whatever, may begin a grassroots run via the Hispanic community. As for Jeb himself, how many people are really willing to send ANY Bush back to DC in any capacity?

Pennsylvania: The big news is that Chris Matthews might run. There are numbers indicating he'd be competitive, since the Rasmussen topline showed Spector at 46% and Matthews at 43%. But there's more:

For example, the poll shows Matthews actually leading 68 percent-28 percent among voters age 18-29 and 46 percent to 40 percent among those age 30-39, numbers that look a lot like those from the Obama/McCain race.

As a preview, however, of how odd this race could be given Specter’s uneasy relationship with conservatives, Matthews actually leads within this group 51 percent to 43 percent. But Specter is ahead among self-identified liberals, 53 percent to 25 percent.

The poll was small (500 people) and the election is 2 years away. So maybe the numbers are viable, and maybe they're not.

There's no question that Chris has always loved politics, and likely always aspired to holding elective office, but segued over to media. Careers happen...

But to run against Arlen (if indeed Arlen is the Republican nominee) Chris has to convince a lot of people that he is going to run as a viable candidate.

"All politics is local", spoke Tip O'Neill. All "locals" have their own eccentricities and intricacies. Pennsylvania is no different. To win against Arlen, or any Republican, Chris would have to make all sorts of inroads in the areas that Barack Obama carried in the general election, and especially areas Hillary Clinton won in the primary.

Chris would have to win over the women who were fans of Hillary in the primary, and who were incredibly offended of Chris' sexism (perceived or real). I don't have a source on this, but I know a lot of women who feel this way. Chris would need Ed Rendell to not actively work against him. There is no indication either way of whether or not Fast Eddie will run, and I assume that if he does, Chris would reconsider his options.

Further, while a pale image of what machine politics used to be, the Democratic "machine" is strong in parts of Pennsylvania that Chris would need to win. I'm not convinced he understands that playground, nor the rules.

There is the question of whether he leaves MSNBC's Hardball. If he's serious about a run, he really should leave. (Yes, I know some people would like to see him leave no matter what.) To my knowledge, the last media type who ran for high office was Pat Buchanan, who did take a leave of absence from CNN to run for President. It may be that media ties help Chris in that we now have candidates with Facebook pages, who make the rounds of the late night talk shows and comedy shows, as well as the news shows. That ability to be on so many venues may help getting his name out to the vast number of Pennsylvanians who have no idea who he is. Back in August, Quinnipiac found that number to be greater than 50%.

"A Day Which Will Live In Infamy"

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On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour. FDR requested that Congress issue a Declaration of War. The next day, the president went on the air (at that time radio) and made his infamous speech.

You can view an image of his original speech, as typed and corrected, here.

Many Americans heeded the call to patriotism. They joined the ranks of the military, they flooded the factories to gear up, they planted victory gardens, bought war bonds, and they lived with hardships and rationing.

Had they not done these things, and had many other good people around the world not stood up to the Axis war machine through fighting and resistance, the world would be a very different place now.

To my uncle who reads this blog, and who was a little too young to join the military, but did anyway. To my uncle who has passed and went with his kid brother to the enlistment line. To all of my friends whose parents, uncles and aunts did the same, and to all of the people I don't know who also stood up:

Thank You.

William Jefferson loses in LA-2

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In a major upset, Democratic Congressman William Jefferson has lost his seat in LA-2, according to the AP.

This is the 5th Democratic seat the Republicans picked up this year, and puts the overall House net gain back at 20 seats.

Democrats can still pick up 1 more seat, in OH-15. (This assumes Democrat Tom Perriello stays ahead in the recount in VA-5).

Update on OH-15:

At noon, about 40 workers at the Franklin County Board of Elections began cutting open the envelopes holding nearly 24,000 provisional ballots that will decide the outcome of the country's closest congressional race.

Results are expected to be made public Sunday night, elections officials said.

LA House Results

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LA 2

William Jefferson (D) 47% 31,296
Anh "Joseph" Cao (R) 50% 33,122
Malik Rahim (G) 3% 1,880
492 of 492 precincts reporting

LA 4

Paul J. Carmouche (D) 49% 44,141
John Fleming (R) 47% 44,497
640 of 640 precincts reporting

(These are postponed elections, not runoffs - minor candidates not shown)

11:49 - LA-2 is final. Cao by 1,826. The Green Party candidate got 1,880 votes.
11:44 - LA-2 results haven't changed in 30 minutes. Still no call in LA-4. Lt looks like just provisionals still to be counted, and voting is by machine so recount won't change things. Absentees are all included in the current totals.
11:14 - AP and CNN both call LA-2 for Cao. No call yet on LA-4.
11:08 - Jefferson down by 5,000 with 79% in
11:02 - Jefferson down by 4,500.
11:02 - 100% in, Fleming by 350. Absentees, provisionals? Recount?
10:50 - Carmouche by 1800, 94% in- (Caddo is all in, Bossier 38 of 75 in).
10:43 - Carmouche by 2200, 92% in- (Caddo 134 of 158 in, Bossier 38 of 75 in).
10:37 - Carmouche by 1900, 90% in - (Caddo 134 of 158 in). Fleming's stronghold of Bossier parrish is 38 of 75 in.
Jefferson closes the gap a bit, with half the precincts in.
10:30 - Carmouche by 2000, 89% in - (Caddo 131 of 158 in). Still holding on.
10:22 - Carmouche by 2300 - (Caddo 131 of 158 in).
10:19 - Carmouche by 1000 - (Caddo 67 of 158 in). Jefferson surprisingly behind, but still very early.
10:05 - Carmouche back up by 1700 - (Caddo 67 of 158 in)
10:01 - Fleming back up by 200 - (Caddo 22 of 158 in)
9:55 - Carmouche by 1100, (Caddo 22 of 158 in)
9:52 - Carmouche by 2200, (Caddo 22 of 158 in) - this is starting to look promising
9:48 - Carmouche up by 1800, (Caddo 22 of 158 in)
9:46 - Obama only won 1 parrish here, Caddo, and only 4 of 158 precincts in so far in Caddo
9:45 - Fleming back up
9:44 - Carmouch by 300, 19% in
9:41 - Carmouche up by 600
9:31 - Carmouche takes a 17 vote lead
9:25PM EST - Carmouche closing an early small Fleming lead

LA Secretary of State

Gen. Shinseki to be Sec of Veterans Affairs

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Retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki will be introduced tomorrow as President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, a Democratic official familiar with the announcement said today.

Obama confirmed the nomination in an exclusive interview with NBC News, taped for broadcast on "Meet the Press." Obama called Shinseki "exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home."

Shinseki, a 38-year veteran, is best known for his four years as Army chief of staff, and in particular his response to congressional questioning in February 2003 about troop levels necessary to protect a presumed military victory in Iraq.

Shinseki told the Senate Armed Services Committee that "something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers" could be necessary, an assessment that was at odds with the announced determination of Pentagon leaders. - Washington Post

Obama announcing it on Meet the Press:

What's next in Minnesota

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• Dec. 8-18: Local election officials sort rejected absentee ballots, separating those rejected for reasons not specified in state law, or in error.
• Friday, Dec. 12: The state Canvassing Board meets to consider the issue of including certain rejected absentee ballots in the recount.
• Tuesday, Dec. 16: The Canvassing Board meets to receive the results of the recount and begin the process of resolving ballots the Franken and Coleman campaigns have challenged. - StarTribune.
  

and ongoing:

Officials continued to search for 133 Minneapolis ballots that apparently are missing. And until those ballots are found or judged impossible to locate, the recount won't be over, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said Friday.

Fox: Emil Jones to get Obama's Senate seat

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Not yet confirmed by anyone but Fox:

Illinois Senate President Emil Jones will replace President-elect Barack Obama in the United States Senate, a source told Fox News.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be announced on Sunday

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A source in the Obama transition reveals President-elect Barack Obama will announce his choice for Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sunday at a news conference scheduled on Pearl Harbor Day and intended to highlight the service of veterans and current service members. - CNN

Potential candidates include Max Cleland, Tammy Duckworth, Anthony Brown. This is one of the few choices that hasn't leaked ahead of the announcement, but it seems as if Duckworth is the most widely mentioned candidate.

Update: Other possibilities: Rick Noriega, Marshall Carter

Hypocrisy Redux

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You would think that someone who is the the regional director of Homeland Security, Customs, and Border Protection, and the Boston Area Port Director, would know better than to hire illegal immigrants to clean her house.

If you thought that, you were mistaken.

Meet Lorraine Henderson. She was arrested on Friday for harbouring an illegal immigrant, and if convicted could get up to 10 years in prison.

The charge involves employing an illegal housekeeper from Brazil (and paying far less than the going rate for legal cleaning services). She then employed two other illegal immigrants. People she worked with warned her that what she was doing was a crime.

She should have known better:

As part of her duties as port director, Henderson is responsible for stopping illegal immigrants from entering the country through all air and sea international ports in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She also commands 190 armed and uniformed border protection officers.

At least she had a source...

Obama Weekly Radio Address

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Audio here.

Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama
Radio Address
Saturday, December 6, 2008

Good morning.

Yesterday, we received another painful reminder of the serious economic challenge our country is facing when we learned that 533,000 jobs were lost in November alone, the single worst month of job loss in over three decades. That puts the total number of jobs lost in this recession at nearly 2 million.

But this isn’t about numbers. It’s about each of the families those numbers represent. It’s about the rising unease and frustration that so many of you are feeling during this holiday season. Will you be able to put your kids through college? Will you be able to afford health care? Will you be able to retire with dignity and security? Will your job or your husband’s job or your daughter’s job be the next one cut?

These are the questions that keep so many Americans awake at night. But it is not the first time these questions have been asked. We have faced difficult times before, times when our economic destiny seemed to be slipping out of our hands. And at each moment, we have risen to meet the challenge, as one people united by a sense of common purpose. And I know that Americans can rise to the moment once again.

But we need action – and action now. That is why I have asked my economic team to develop an economic recovery plan for both Wall Street and Main Street that will help save or create at least two and a half million jobs, while rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our schools, reducing our dependence on oil, and saving billions of dollars.

We won’t do it the old Washington way. We won’t just throw money at the problem. We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve – by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world.

Today, I am announcing a few key parts of my plan. First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.

Second, we will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule – use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money.

Third, my economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen. We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools.

As we renew our schools and highways, we’ll also renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m President – because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world.

In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the internet. That is why the economic recovery plan I’m proposing will help modernize our health care system – and that won’t just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor’s office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year.

These are a few parts of the economic recovery plan that I will be rolling out in the coming weeks. When Congress reconvenes in January, I look forward to working with them to pass a plan immediately. We need to act with the urgency this moment demands to save or create at least two and a half million jobs so that the nearly two million Americans who’ve lost them know that they have a future. And that’s exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States.

Thanks for listening.

A Free Room for the Inauguration

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Yes, there's a catch, and no, you probably can't apply.

If you receive catalogues and junk mail from travel sites, or some high-end retailers, you've seen the offers. The biggest suites, complete with food, drink and amenities. This deal was offered by the JW Marriot in downtown DC on the parade route:

January 18, 19, and 20: 300 rooms, 4 suites, $200,000 of food and drink, and an incredible view of the parade. Attendees will watch from a heated tent on the Marriott roof. Price tag: $1,000,000. The person who bought added to the package a prayer breakfast and luncheon on the 19th (to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday) and two balls (one adult, one youth) on the 20th. He will also be providing gowns, tuxedos and hairstylists for the Balls.

What's he charging the attendees? Nothing.

Earl Stafford of Fairfax County decided to make this "The People's Inaugural". While he owns a military-related company in Centerville, he is funding this through his foundation.

He said:

"We wanted to . . . bless those who otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity to be a part of the great celebration, the inauguration and the festivities," he said in an interview yesterday. "Our objective is to bring in a cross-section of society -- those who are distressed, those who are terminally ill, those who are socially and economically disadvantaged, those veterans who are wounded and served our country."

NewsWatch

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• Elections tomorrow in LA. We'll have results here tomorrow evening.
  
• The Franken campaign says they're up by 4 votes. Those 133 ballots are still MIA. (Although 12 other ballots were found).
• They're finally going to start counting those 26,000 (but not 27,000) provisional ballots this weekend in OH-15. When it's done, Democratic candidate Mary Jo Kilroy is likely to be certified the winner, but, yes, a recount is sure to follow.
  
• Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich had better name Obama's replacement soon. Otherwise, he might have to call it in from a courthouse or from jail.
• The Fix still thinks Andrew Cuomo, not Carolyn Kennedy, is the favorite to get the NY Senate nod.
• While we're there, The Fix also thinks Geithner is most likely to sail through confirmation, Holder, not so much.
• Obama may name his Interior, Energy, and EPA heads next week.
• Some Clinton supporters are not happy about a potential Chris Matthews' Senate run.
• We depended heavily on Denver newspapers for our convention coverage, and now, unfortunately, one of them, The Rocky Mountain News, may be closing.
• Obama is taping an interview for Meet the Press tomorrow, and will holding a press conference on Sunday, on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, where he will be speaking about "the contributions of those that have served our nation".
• Mark Blumenthal looks at why the polls all converged in November.
• Ted Kennedy is leaving the Judiciary Committee
• Obama is filling spots faster than any previous president:
  

Mr. Obama is moving more quickly to fill his administration’s top ranks than any newly elected president in modern times. He has named virtually the entire top echelon of his White House staff and nearly half of his cabinet. Just a month after his election, Mr. Obama has announced his selections for 13 of the 24 most important positions in a new administration. - NY Times

President-Elect Obama Announces More Key White House Staff

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WASHINGTON – Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced that Christina M. Tchen will serve as White House Director of Public Liaison and Michael Strautmanis will serve as Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison.

President-elect Obama said, "I am pleased to announce that these two distinguished individuals will be joining my administration, as we seek to meet the big challenges of our time. They not only bring impressive resumes but also a deep commitment to public service -- and I know the American people will be served well by them."

The White House Staff Announcements are below:

Christina M. Tchen, Director of Public Liaison
Tchen has broad litigation experience at all levels of the state and federal courts. She has represented companies, officers and directors in shareholder class and derivative actions, and she has also handled a wide range of commercial, intellectual property and employment-related litigation. Tchen also has represented public agencies in state and federal class actions, including the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Illinois Department of Public Aid and the Chicago Housing Authority. She serves on the board of the Chicago Bar Foundation; she is also Chair of the Board of Field Foundation of Illinois and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Public Library and the Board of the Chinese American Service League. She has served on the Judicial Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois and she has been appointed to several leadership positions with the American Bar Association Section of Litigation.

Tchen is the recipient of many awards, including the Leadership Award from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (1999); “Women of Achievement” award from the Anti-Defamation League (1996); and Chicago Lawyer “Person of the Year” (1994). She was selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2008 and The Best Lawyers in America 2009. She also was selected as one of the top three women business lawyers in Illinois by the Leading Lawyers Network 2007.

Michael Strautmanis, Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison
A native of Chicago, Strautmanis first came to know the Obamas when he worked as a paralegal at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin for Mrs. Michelle Obama. After law school, Strautmanis practiced complex litigation and employment law in Chicago, before joining the Clinton Administration at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Strautmanis also served as Legislative Director and Counsel to then Rep. Rod Blagojevich, aiding Governor Blagojevich in his successful 2002 Illinois gubernatorial campaign, and serving as Counsel for Legislation for the American Association of Justice.

Strautmanis served as Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief of Staff to Obama in the United States Senate. He then served as Senior Counsel for Obama for America where he played a leading role in political outreach as a member of the Congressional Relations team. Strautmanis received a B.S. from the University of Illinois, and a J.D. from the University Of Illinois College Of Law. He and his wife Damona are the proud parents of three.

What If Hillary Clinton Cannot Be Secretary of State?

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There is a question of whether of not Hillary Clinton can legally serve as Secretary of State. Not surprisingly, it's a Constitutional question, and involves the Three Branches of Government.

Here's the Clif Notes Version: Article 1, Section 6:

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

A case can be made that Hillary Clinton cannot be appointed as Secretary of State because while she was a Senator, the Senate passed legislation this term which raised the salary of Cabinet Officers.

This has happened twice before: Nixon appointed William Saxbe as Attorney General. The solution was called the "Saxbe Fix", where they just lowered the salary back down. It didn't please all the Democrats at the time:

In the Saxbe case, 10 senators, all Democrats, voted against the ploy on constitutional grounds. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), the only one of them who remains in the Senate, said at the time that the Constitution was explicit and "we should not delude the American people into thinking a way can be found around the constitutional obstacle."

The second time, it involved appointing Lloyd Bentsen as Secretary of the Treasury.

So, there may be a fix. HOWEVER, these are not the 1960's nor the 1990's. Now, we have an internet and a lot more transparency. Therefore, whatever happens will occur in full view of the people. There is no possibility of "burying" the item in a newspaper.

Ambinder wrote (prior to the nomination):

The question is whether this would be an issue at confirmation - if Clinton is nominated to the post - and who would raise it. Senators traditionally grant their colleagues some deference and it could be considered politics at its worst if Republicans try to block her nomination with this argument. But senators may be loathe to vote for something scholars tell them is unconstitutional.

There are two questions here: the legal and the political, separated as much as may be practicable.

The legal issue is something that will need to be debated, and could conceivably end up in front of SCOTUS, left to thread the needle between the other two branches.

On the political side, it's even more convoluted. To wit:

If the salary is reduced, and therefore the only person making less of a salary than that of Cabinet peers is a woman, how well does that play? Especially in a year given to cries of "sexism". This could be raised since the two other people to circumvent the provision were both men.

If it is legally deemed that she cannot occupy the office of Secretary of State, and that the prior appointments were invalid, what does that do to the relationship of Hillary Clinton's support base and the Democratic Party?

What of Robert Byrd? Will he back off his Constitutional objections of 30 years ago? It may not matter since this may likely be his last term, and therefore could avoid any constituent wrath. (His term is up in 2013, and he'd be running for re-election at the age of 94. His health is not good.)

One of the battle cries over the last eight years has been the evisceration of the U.S. Constitution by the Bush administration. What sort of political message would be sent by working around part of Article 1?

If Hillary Clinton does not become Secretary of State, and ergo cannot hold any other appointed position, does she go back to the Senate? Go back to the Senate and launch a run for the Governorship of New York? Leave elective office to work with her husband?

Vice President-elect Biden Announces Chief Economist And Economic Policy Advisor

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WASHINGTON, DC – Given the critical nature of the economic challenges facing America, Vice President-elect Joe Biden announced today the creation of a new position in the Office of the Vice President: Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to the Vice President. The Vice President-elect has selected nationally-prominent economist Jared Bernstein for the post.

“Jared Bernstein is an acclaimed economist, and a proven, passionate advocate for raising the incomes of middle class families. His expertise and background in a wide range of domestic and international economic policies will be an invaluable asset to the Obama-Biden Administration,” said Vice President-elect Joe Biden. “It’s an honor to have him on my team and I look forward to his advice and counsel.”

Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to the Vice President
Jared Bernstein is an expert in the areas of federal, state and international economic policies, specifically the middle-class squeeze, income inequality and mobility, trends in employment and earnings, low-wage labor markets, poverty and international comparisons. Bernstein has been an economist at the Economic Policy Institute since 1992 and is a renowned author of several books and academic treatises on the economy and the middle class. From 1995-1996, he served as Deputy Chief Economist for the Department of Labor under Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Bernstein is on the Congressional Budget Office’s advisory committee and has been a contributor to the financial news station CNBC. He has also taught at Howard University, Columbia University and New York University. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from the Manhattan School of Music; a Masters Degree in Social Work from the Hunter School of Social Work; a Masters Degree in Philosophy and Ph.D. in Social Welfare from Columbia University.

Lunchtime Crime

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Yesterday, I posted on Charlie Rangel's legal and ethical problems. Now, it turns out that there may be some dispersal of campaign funds to his son. Legal, but ethically dicey, to give $80,000 to your kid for his internet company. Especially:

[P]aying lavishly for a pair of political Web sites so poorly designed an expert estimated one should have cost no more than $100 to create.

In general, the crimes of elected officials fall into two categories: first, financial issues as related to Rangel, Jefferson, Dan Rostenkowski, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Edwin Edwards (still in jail but seeking clemency from a Bush pardon since he's 81), Ted Stevens, (who Mark Begich believes should be spared jail time), Curt Weldon (not yet indicted), Don Young (not yet indicted), and the hit parade continues.

Then, there are the "morals" issues charged against people like David Vitter, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Foley. Sometimes these are legal crimes (as in "can get you a jail term") and sometimes, it's not really a crime, but the electorate gets up in arms anyway, like as regards Wilbur Mills and Bill Clinton.

You don't generally find elected officials undertaking crimes-against-people like home invasion, knocking over banks or convenience stores, street mugging, etc.

Sometimes just as accusation will cause an elected official to grovel on the chamber floor and cry and leave, generally blaming drugs and alcohol (Foley). Sometimes the people protest their innocence (Jefferson). And then, sometimes they cry on the chamber floor but initially refuse to leave (VITO!).

A lot of the time, however, these folks get re-elected. In fact, I wrote a while back that my favourite political bumper sticker of all time was "Vote for the Crook, It's Important". That was when Edwin Edwards ran against David Duke, of KKK fame.

So the question is: how do you personally feel about the crimes, the ethics charges, and does the issue affect whether or not you will vote for a candidate?

My own opinion is that I view elected officials as OUR employees. Their salaries are paid with our tax dollars, their campaign coffers are filled with our checks. I don't want my tax dollars spent procuring hookers, funding an offspring's company, buying the official a Caribbean retreat, or doing anything that benefits the official directly. As an aside, it's not the "hooker" thing that bothers me, it's the spending of tax dollars on it.

But what's your opinion?

Online Surveys & Market Research

$110k for Palin's Stylists

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Move over wardrobe! In a move to add a little economic stimulus to the styling and cosmetics industry, the McCain campaign also spent more than six figures on Sarah Palin's makeup during the final months of the election cycle. That's about 10 grand a week.

Amy Strozzi (pictured at left), the McCain campaign's Czar for Style and Fashion, also serves as the make-up artist for the TV show "Dancing with the Stars." Which means she works in Hollywood. Which means she's from California.

Hmm...how do you think she voted on Prop. 8?

Statement of President-elect Obama on Job Loss

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"The 533,000 jobs lost last month, the worst job loss in 34 years, is more than a dramatic reflection of the growing economic crisis we face. Each of those lost jobs represents a personal crisis for a family somewhere in America. Our economy has already lost nearly 2 million jobs during this recession, which is why we need an Economic Recovery Plan that will save or create at least 2.5 million more jobs over two years while we act decisively to maintain the flows of credit on which so many American families and American businesses depend.

"There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better. But now is the time to respond with urgent resolve to put people back to work and get our economy moving again. At the same time, this painful crisis also provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come," said President-elect Obama.

How Do You Feel About Campaign Finance Reform?

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Just FYI:

The Federal Election Commission is announcing a public hearing on the policies and procedures of the Federal Election Commission including but not limited to, policy statements, advisory opinions, and public information, as well as various elements of the compliance and enforcement processes such as audits, matters under review, report analysis, administrative fines, and alternative dispute resolution. The Commission also seeks comment from the public on the procedures contained in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, 2 U.S.C. 431 et. seq. (“FECA” or “the Act”), as well as the Commission’s implementing regulations.

Full info here, if you want to comment or attend.

Full legislation here.

We have a spate of elections coming up in 2010, and they will all need to be funded. This year, SCOTUS weakened the McCain-Feingold Act (incorporated into the FEC regs). Republicans will look for ways to exploit the new loopholes.

While we vote, and campaign, and give money, the system that campaign finance operates under will greatly affect who can run in the future, how money will be raised, and how much money will be necessary for races at various levels.

We learned this year with Barack Obama's implementation of Howard Dean's 50 state program how well things work when we properly fund campaigns and Democratic organizations. While the FEC operates in large part under McCain-Feingold, how they interpret the law is fluid in certain ways. If you want more transparency, more frequent reporting, stronger adherence to rules already in place, here is your opportunity.

SCOTUS

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Yes, today the Supreme Court will consider whether or not to hear a case questioning whether Barack Obama is allowed to serve as President, given the citizenship of his father.

You know that.

What you may not know is that the background process is that ONE justice had to refer the case to a conference. That justice, wait for it, is that bastion of legal knowledge, Clarence Thomas, of coke can fame.

The case considered is different from the spate of them saying that President-elect Obama was not physically born in Hawaii and that the birth certificate was a fraud. This has to do with the British citizenship of his father. So it's a slight twist.

My guess is that the Court will not agree to hear the case for two reasons:

1. They're still smarting over Bush v Gore in 2000.

2. That US Constitution document. The 14th Amendment grants full citizenship to anyone born on U.S. property. (Including, for example, John McCain who was born in Panama when the canal zone was owned by the U.S.)

The amendment was constructed in 1868 for the purposes of granting citizenship to ex-slaves. This "born on U.S. soil" is a different approach from many other countries, wherein citizenship is dictated by the citizenship of the parents. But here, any child born on our soil is "American" irrespective of maternity and paternity.

That of all people, Clarence would choose to send this to conference is offensive and appalling on all levels. It is highly likely that his fellow justices will realize the folly of his decision.

The Morning Poll: Short Answer Version

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This Sunday, President-elect Obama will sit down with Tom Brokaw on Meet the Press.

If you were Tom Brokaw, what questions would you ask him?

And on the topic of Meet the Press, the rumour mill says that Tom Brokaw will be replaced by David Gregory. Who would you like to see as moderator?

MN-SEN: Recount extended to find missing envelope of ballots

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The missing 133 ballots are all in one envelope:

A missing envelope containing about 130 ballots has stalled the recount in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, left, has a slim lead over Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota's Senate race.
...
The state canvassing board appeared likely to postpone its unofficial Friday deadline to finish the recount because of the missing ballots from the city of Minneapolis.

Because of the "extraordinary circumstances," said Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann, the city has until December 16 to locate the votes. The canvassing board is set to meet that day and take further action in the recount process. - CNN

To clarify, the deadline for the completion of the recount has been extended in this one precinct alone to 12/16.

There were 5 envelopes from this precinct:

One of five sealed envelopes containing ballots is nowhere to be found, Minneapolis Elections Director Cindy Reichert said at a City Hall news conference Thursday. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak stood by.

“We’re still hopeful we’re going to find it in some odd place,” Reichert said, adding that the missing envelope is thinner than a typical one, which holds about 500 instead of just 133.
...
The envelopes at the warehouse are numbered two-of-five, three-of-five, four-of-five and five-of-five, which Reichert said indicates that the missing ballots are likely still together in a sealed envelope, marked one-of-five. - MNDaily

So if you see envelope 1/5, please let your local authorities know.

Just Because It's INCREDIBLY Funny

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Senate 2010: Louisiana

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Normally, I'd save this for "Sunday with the Senators" and frame the race, and give you all the background, but y'all know about David Vitter already.

Caught in the DC Madam prostitution imbroglio. A conservative, evangelical, Republican, cavorting with hookers, and not only in DC. His Louisiana hooker gave some, um, information in video form. But hey, he apologized.

It should be a good time to retire in 2010. But no, he's running.

It's hard to say more...although I will once we figure out who will run against him.

Entire National Mall will be open to the public on Inauguration Day

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From an e-mail:

As the Executive Director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, I can tell you that we're already hard at work making sure this Inauguration will be the most open and accessible in history in keeping with President-elect Obama's and Vice President-elect Biden's commitment to change business as usual in Washington.

And because you took the time to sign up for updates on our website, I wanted you to be among the first to hear about an announcement we made just a couple of hours ago.

For the first time in history, the entire length of the National Mall -- from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial -- will be open to the public on Inauguration Day. We believe that as many Americans as possible should be able to come together in celebration of our common values, shared aspirations, and the hope and optimism that brought us to this moment of change.

This will be an Inauguration for all Americans. And in the weeks to come, we'll announce further information about events that allow for Americans just like you -- in Washington, DC and across the country -- to participate like never before.

Thank you,

Emmett

Emmett Beliveau
Executive Director
Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009

You can read more from the Presidential Inauguration Committee and sign up for their e-mail list on their website.

(Rumored) Secretary of Health & Human Services Nominee Tom Daschle on Health Care

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From Change.gov:

Since we opened up our discussion on health care a week ago, thousands of people have shared their stories, experiences, and ideas -- best of all, people have responded to one another, taking the conversation in new and interesting directions.

It's exactly the kind of participation we were hoping for, and that we're counting on. It's what the Transition is all about.

The interest in the subject is clearly intense, so we sat in on a meeting of the Transition's Health Policy Team to introduce you to some of the team's members and give you a feel for how they make decisions.

Senator Tom Daschle, the leader of the Health Policy Team, sat down to tell us how he plans to tackle health care and his future plans for opening up the process further.

Note that Jennifer Backus, who is seen in the video, was the Obama Campaign's senior adviser for the convention in Denver.

Guess Who Might Be Moving To The White House?

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Of course, you know that would be the Obama family and a dog to be named at a later date.

But there is a possibility that Marian Robinson will be joining them. She is definitely moving to DC to help with the care of her granddaughters, but it is as of yet unclear whether she will be moving to the White House or to a residence of her own.

If she does take up residence at the White House, she will not be the first mother-in-law-in-residence. (Trivia question: name her!)

Harry Truman's mother in law briefly lived in the White House, but hated it, and went back to Missouri. Rumour has it that she really disliked her son-in-law, and believed Dewey was going to beat him in '48.

While a father-in-law is not a possibility for the Obama family, if it were, it wouldn't be a first. Benjamin Harrison's father-in-law moved to the White House in 1889.

House Seats 2008: Not Over Yet

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There is going to be an election this Saturday: 2 house seats are up in Louisiana. What's that? You thought the election was in November? Well, yes, but...remember Gustav? Hurricane Gustav? That weather event changed the primary, and therefore general dates, for the 2nd and 4th districts.

The primaries were held on November 4th, since damage precluded them being held in September as they were supposed to be.

The 4th is along the Texas and Arkansas borders, in the northwest part of the state. Long-term Rep Jim McCrery (R) retired, so this weekend's players are:

• Paul Carmouche (D)
• John Fleming, Jr. (R)
• Chester "Catfish" Kelley (No Party)
• Gerard Bowen, Jr (No Party)

President-elect Obama recorded a radio ad for Carmouche. Fleming was helped by Dick Cheney (fundraising) and Bobby Jindal (TV ad).

Carmouche (who is white) beat Willie Banks (who is black) in the Democratic primary. To win the election, he'll need African-American support.

"If Carmouche doesn't get good support from black voters, you can stick a fork in him," said Bernie Pinsonat, a Baton Rouge-based pollster.

Then again:

But the GOP also had a fractious runoff campaign, with candidate Chris Gorman flogging Fleming over his support for a plan to document and transport foreigners into the country as temporary laborers. Gorman also attacked Fleming's support of the so-called Fair Tax plan, which would eliminate the income tax and impose a new, 23 percent sales tax.

So, we'll see. The Republicans would REALLY like to hold on to this seat.


And then we have the 2nd. Here's the list of candidates:

• William Jefferson (D)
• Anh "Joseph" Cao (R)
• Malik Rahim (G)
• Gregory "Rhumbline" Kahn (L)
• Jerry Jacobs (No Party)

If the name "William Jefferson" sounds familiar, think "cash in the freezer." That would be $90,000 in cold hard cash. The FBI found the money in 2006. Jefferson was re-elected. He was indicted last year. It's been low key, and will depend on turnout, which is expected to be in the low 20% range. There's a GOP poll out showing Cao winning 50% to Jefferson's 35%. But if Jefferson can rally his base, he could be headed back for a 10th term. And no, his trial date hasn't been set yet.

Malik Rahim, as an aside, is a former member of the Black Panthers, and has the support of Cynthia McKinney. She ran this year for President on the Green Party ticket, but you may remember her from the 2006 incident where she had an altercation with the Capitol police, who did not recognize her as a member of Congress, which she was at the time.

Afternoon News Summary: Over 1200 challenges withdrawn in MN

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• Both Franken and Coleman withdraw over 600 challenges, and are considering withdrawing more. - StarTribune
  
• Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison filed papers today establishing an exploratory committee to run for Texas governor in 2010 against fellow Republican Gov. Rick Perry. - Dallas Morning News
• Specter 46%, Matthews 43% - Rasmussen
• Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, one of the top Republicans looking to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2010, has been indicted on four felony counts. - Politico
  

Today's History Lesson: 44 Presidents in 4 Minutes

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I found this on Crooks & Liars...

You have to love that last morph.

Matthews thinking about quitting MSNBC

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Chris Matthews is dead serious about running for the Senate in Pennsylvania — and is shopping for a house in the state and privately discussing quitting MSNBC as proof of his intense interest, according to NBC colleagues, political operatives and friends.
...
As speculation surrounding his potential candidacy heats up, Matthews has also been asking advisers whether to step down from his MSNBC post well before his contract expires in June. At one recent meeting, he was advised that if he truly intends to run, he should resign from the network as soon as possible. - Politico

Waiting for The Call

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I can't tell you who I am. Like you, I'm hoping to get a political appointment in the Obama administration. I'm trying to project the aloof and elite appearance of a soon-to-be-announced Schedule C.
...
I too have the dreams featuring, in no apparent order, Vice President Elect Joe Biden, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton and, yes, even the man himself, President-Elect Obama.

Sometimes in these dreams they offer me a job, and sometimes they say they can't offer me a job because they can't find my resume amidst the other 300,000 on www.change.gov. I wake in a cold sweat.

Like you, I keep a secret "A list" of positions I would kill for, including all manner of ambassador slots, sub-secretary -ships and senior director positions.

I have my secret "B list" of fall back positions I would also kill for, including senior advisor, special assistant, and even the Deputy Assistant Secretary-ship. Of course, I tell almost no one about these lists.
...
Why aren't we getting the call? Why did I do all of that volunteer work on the campaign? What did I do wrong? How can they treat me this way? Most importantly, don't they know who I am? (Literally?)
...
And while some of our transition angst is driven by ego, the overriding impulse is a desire to serve our country at a time of great challenges . . . . oh wait, that's my phone. Gotta run. - The Washington Note

Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

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If you follow the House of Representatives, you know Charlie Rangel.

But first: Congressman Rangel is a decorated war hero, having been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart while serving in Korea. He was in the service from 1948 - 1952.

From his official biography:

Congressman Charles B. Rangel is serving his 19th term as the Representative from the 15th Congressional District, comprising East and Central Harlem, the Upper West Side, and Washington Heights/Inwood. He is is the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, Chairman of the Board of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Dean of the New York State Congressional Delegation.

He was elected to Congress in 1970, and as an aside, the 15th CD is the smallest CD, in terms of geography, in the country. He currently heads the House Ways and Means Committee, and is the first African-American to do so. He originally made a play for the seat by running against Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., who he defeated in the primary.

Charlie Rangel is a powerful, accomplished Congressman.

It's possible that Charlie Rangel may also be a crook. Maybe not, but he's certainly under scrutiny. We'll come back to this.

Something that has interested me about Mr. Rangel for some time is his idea of bringing back the draft. It's not that he is a hawk, he certainly isn't. He's generally a left-wing ideologue (with a touch of pragmatism). His feeling is that there would be fewer wars if the people on the ground fighting them were not disproportionately poor and non-white. Trivia question: which ethnic group has the highest percentage of their population in the American military? Answer here.

So here's what the Congressman is up against right now:

1. Did Charlie Rangel trade a $1 million dollar contribution for allowing the continuation of a tax loophole which benefitted the benefactor? He says no, the NY Times says yes. The Times seems to be winning on proof.

2. His CD congressional office is in a converted rent-controlled apartment. That's not a legit use of a rent-controlled apartment. The Congressman admitted that, and said he would move out. And then he didn't.

3. Legal and ethics problems related to a failure to pay his taxes related to money he made renting out a condo he owns in the Caribbean (since paid), the rent-controlled apartments (yes, there is more than one), and the possibility that he improperly used Congressional stationary to undertake fundraising for an educational endeavor to be named after him.

4. And then there's the gym:

The tiny office space holds everything a busy chairman needs to shed a few pounds in comfort - a flat-screen television, an exercise machine, a mirror, a small refrigerator and a telephone.

The room is just steps away from Rangel's well-appointed suite of offices, and staffers have observed the powerful Ways and Means chairman and his staff using the office multiple times over the last two months.

The House is considering an ethics investigation, and Rangel basically said "Bring it on."

Would You Hang Up on President-Elect Obama?

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Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) did.

Twice.

No joke, no snark. It really happened.

It appears that she was afraid of getting tricked a la Sarah Palin and Nicholas Sarkozy. She therefore hung up on President-elect Obama, directly, and then on Rahm Emanuel when he called back to say that it was Obama calling.

She finally agreed to speak with the President-elect after a conversation with Howard Berman (D-CA) who she believed.

When Ros-Lehtinen finally spoke with President-elect Obama, she said:

You are either very gracious to reach out in such a bipartisan manner or had run out of folks to call if you are truly calling me and Saturday Night Live could use a good Obama impersonator like you.

Charlie Brown loses twice

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In California:

Democrat Charlie Brown conceded defeat to Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock on Wednesday in their hard-fought race for California's 4th Congressional District House seat.

Brown made the decision a day after counties turned in their final vote tallies to the secretary of state, showing McClintock with a lead of nearly 1,800 votes out of more than 370,000 counted.

That's up from a lead of 622 still showed by CNN.

Brown's concession leaves just a couple House races unsettled.

In Virginia, incumbent GOP Rep. Virgil Goode has requested a recount in his narrow loss to Democrat Tom Perriello in the 5th district. In Ohio, the state Supreme Court will consider how to handle thousands of uncounted provisional ballots in the 15th district race between Republican Steve Stivers and Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy. On Saturday, Louisiana will hold elections for two House seats. - San Jose Mercury News

And in Florida:

Once WFTS-Ch. 28 picked up a simulcast of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Carolina Panthers Dec. 8 game on ESPN's Monday Night Football, the station would pre-empt two major TV events: the finale of long-running drama Boston Legal and the December showing of the Peanuts cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas. - TampaBay.com

What no Charlie Brown on TV?

OK. This whole second part was just an excuse to embed this. Enjoy:

1/3rd of McCain supporters now approve of Obama

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We've been following the daily Rasmussen Obama approval rating, and, to put it simply, Obama is doing fantastic. The day after the election, Obama's Approval rating was 52-44, pretty much an exact match of the election numbers. So we can basically assume that all people who Approved of him voted for him, and vice-versa for the 44%.

So what's happened since?

67% of likely voters now Approve of Obama's performance as President-elect, and 30% Disapprove. That's a shift of 15%, almost exactly 1/3 of the original Disapprove number. So 1/3 of people who voted for McCain now approve of the way Obama is doing his job. Pretty impressive. And half of the gain has come in the last week - I think his pick of Clinton is likely responsible for much of the latest gains.

But dig a little deeper, and the numbers look even better. The day after the election, his Dissaproval number was divided, 32% Strongly Dissaprove, and 12% Somewhat Dissaprove. Today, it's 15% Strongly Dissaprove and 15% Somewhat Dissaprove. If we assume no one has moved 2 categories, then 17% moved from Strongly to Somewhat Dissaprove, and 14% moved from Somewhat Dissaprove to Somewhat Approve. (Note that Obama's Strongly Approve number has basically remained constant). Which means a total of 31% of the total, or 70% of McCain voters, have improved their opinion of Obama since the last month.

We should also note that Gallup has even better numbers: 78% Approve, 13% Disapprove, including 94% of Democrats, 79% of independents, and 57% of Republicans who say they approve.

It's numbers like these that will get moderate GOP Senators to not support filibusters in the spring. Which makes getting to even 59 Senators not as crucial as some have made it.

Which all makes this article by Stuart Rothenberg already out of date:

Can Anyone Bring America Together in an Era of Division?

President-elect Barack Obama says he wants to bring America together. While that rallying cry sounds good to many people, it would require a Herculean task that may well be impossible.
...
Further, the size of Obama’s victory and the nature of the problems that he will confront don’t suggest the end of division.

Obama’s 53 percent victory was a solid win, far more decisive than the last two presidential elections. But it was hardly a blowout.
...
In other words, America did not “come together” to elect Obama. The country was divided, and while most Americans now hope that he can solve the nation’s problems, the new president’s choices will invariably require him to make trade-offs — trade-offs that are likely to anger some, maybe many, Americans.

Well, with approval ratings of 67% and 78%, and with 1/3 of McCain votes (Rasmussen) or 57% of Republican voters (Gallup) approving of Obama, the country is not so divided as Rothenberg would like to think.

Blagojevich on the open IL Senate seat

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From Lynn Sweet:

In a phone interview, I asked Blagojevich if he considered the vacancy an African-American seat. "I think it is a factor of a great deal of weight in my mind but it is not the only factor or the only consideration, and somebody could be the next Barack Obama who happens not to be the African American, and that person would be hard not to make a U.S. senator."
...
"He's got a right to do it," Blagojevich said, "and he obviously believes in himself as a candidate for the United States Senate and his public campaign is, you know, something he obviously believes appropriate and helpful, and all power to him."

The governor, I learned, is trying to set up an interview with Jackson to discuss the vacancy. He's already talked to Dem Representatives Jan Schakowsky; Danny Davis, who is becoming more vocal about wanting the seat, and Luis Gutierrez. Former state Senate President Emil Jones, Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth, and Attorney General Lisa Madigan are near the top of what the governor said was a long list.

A few days ago, Gutierrez issued a statement saying he was interested in filling only the two years remaining in Obama's term.

"Not a deal-breaker," the governor said. While Blagojevich has a strong preference to pick someone who will try to keep the seat, he said if he found "the right person," it "wouldn't necessarily preclude him or her from being the choice."

A caretaker Senator is not off the table. And there something to be said for letting Illinois Democrats decide who their Senator should be for the long-term.

Are All Inaugural Balls Created Equal?

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There seems to be some confusion among which events are considered to be "official" inaugural balls and which are just regular balls. But one thing is for sure, there will be a lot of them.

What denotes an official ball from an unofficial one is if it is sanctioned by the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC), and if so that means that the President will make an appearance at the ball.

Some state societies are planning balls already, but these are not official balls.

Memory is a bit cloudy for most of us who have done this sort of thing before, because the last Democratic inauguration was 12 years ago.

What are the balls like? Well, they can vary greatly. In 1997 I only attended the California Ball, which had entertainment by the Doobie Brothers and served boxed lunches. It wasn't great. But I was told that the Arkansas-Tennessee Ball with Hootie and the Blowfish (they were big back then) hosted at Union Station was a lot of fun, as was the MTV youth ball. MTV will be hosting a ball again in 2009 as reported on DCW last week. For a bit of insight on some of the balls from 1997, you can read the Washington Post's summary here.

So what's the best ball to attend? Well, only you can answer that. Many unofficial balls will still be a hot ticket and just as fun (or more?) than some official balls. My recommendation is to go to a) go to a ball that has a connection to where you are from, b) or to a ball where you'll know the most people or c) any ball that you can manage to get a ticket to get into.

As of this writing, the PIC hasn't announced any of its official balls just yet.

You can get a list of all of the Inauguration Week balls and events from our DemConWatch Inauguration Calendar.

Ambassadors

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The Obama administration has informed all politically-appointed ambassadors that they will need to vacate their offices by 20 January 2009.

We will be putting up a list of countries, adding the new ambassadors as they are named.

In the interim, please feel free to use to comments to cite who you would like to see as ambassador to which country.

We have a fair amount of non-Americans who read DCW, and I'll be especially interested to see which American you would like to see representing the U.S. in your country.

Franken Campaign Claims to Lead by 22 Votes

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From HuffPo:

Aides to Al Franken's senatorial campaign announced on Wednesday that, for the first time since the recount began, they were actually ahead of Sen. Norm Coleman.

Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Franken's chief counsel Marc Elias said the campaign's own internal count showed them up 22 votes, a jump from the 13 vote deficit that they faced on Tuesday.

"We have approximately 138,000 ballots left to count," said Elias. "94.3 percent of the state has now been counted... Obviously that number is going to change, but we are pleased thus far with how things are going."

The campaign website has a lot of information on where the recounts stands.
You can see precinct-by-precinct recount results here.

Governors "Against" Federal Dollars

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Yesterday, 40 of our nation's governors met with President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden in Philadelphia to discuss the current fiscal crisis.

Also yesterday, two governors wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal where they effectively said "thanks, but no thanks" to any Federal bailout funds to their states. Yes, Rick Perry (R-TX) and Mark Sanford (R-SC) have said they want us all to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps.

So maybe Perry doesn't want the $2.2 billion in earmarks Texas received for FY 2008? There are 539 of them, and only California received more. You can see the historical earmarks for Texas here. Sanford gets a pass here, not much earmark money flows to South Carolina. "Not much" meaning millions instead of billions, so there is hardly any oversight.

I'm wondering if they actually want to pass on Federal dollars: turns out that Texas receives about 30% of its budget from the Feds in one form or another. That number is more than $50 Billion.

South Carolina has an annual budget of over $20 billion dollars, of which more than a third is funded by the Feds.

It makes me question which Federal funds these guys want their states to no longer receive, and which programs they'd like to start funding on their own.

President-elect Obama Names Bill Richardson for Secretary of Commerce

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Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama--as prepared for delivery
Announcement of Commerce Secretary
Chicago, Illinois
December 3, 2008

Last week, Vice President-Elect Biden and I began the process of announcing our economic team. Today, we are pleased to name another key member of this team: our nominee for Secretary of Commerce, my friend, Governor Bill Richardson.

With each passing day, the work our team has begun, developing plans to revive our economy, becomes more urgent. Earlier this week, we learned that the U.S. economy has been in recession since December of 2007 and that our manufacturing output is at a 26 year low – two stark reminders of the magnitude of the challenges we face.

But while I know rebuilding our economy won’t be easy – and it won’t happen overnight – I also know this: right now, somewhere in America, a small business is at work on the next big idea. A scientist is on the cusp of the next breakthrough discovery. An entrepreneur is sketching plans for the startup that will revolutionize an industry. Right now, across America, the finest products in the world are rolling off our assembly lines. And the proudest, most determined, most productive workers in the world are on the job – some, already on their second shift of the day; many, putting in longer hours than ever before.

After nearly two years traveling across this country, meeting with workers, visiting businesses large and small, I am more confident than ever before that we have everything we need to renew our economy – we have the ingenuity and technology, the skill and commitment – we just need to put it to work. It’s time to not just address our immediate economic threats, but to start laying the groundwork for long-term economic prosperity – to help American businesses grow and thrive at home, and expand our efforts to promote American enterprise around the world.

This work is the core mission of the Secretary of Commerce. And with his breadth and depth of experience in public life, Governor Richardson is uniquely suited for this role as a leading economic diplomat for America.

During his time in state government and Congress, and in two tours of duty in the cabinet, Bill has seen from just about every angle what makes our economy work and what keeps it from working better.

As Governor of New Mexico, Bill showed how government can act as a partner to support our businesses, helping create 80,000 new jobs. And under his leadership, New Mexico saw the lowest unemployment rate in decades.

As a former Secretary of Energy, Bill understands the steps we must take to build a new, clean-energy industry and create the green jobs of the twenty-first century. Jobs that pay well and won’t be shipped overseas – jobs that will help us end our dependence on foreign oil.

And as a former Ambassador to the United Nations, Bill brings both international stature and a deep understanding of today’s global economy. He understands that the success of today’s business in Detroit or Columbus often depends on whether it can sell products in places like Santiago or Shanghai. And he knows that America’s reputation in the world is critical not just to our security, but to our prosperity – that when the citizens of the world respect America’s leadership, they are more likely to buy America’s products.

To this crucial work of restoring America’s international standing, Bill will bring a leadership style all his own. Bill has never been content to learn just from briefing books – never satisfied with only the official version of the story. During his time in Congress, he held more than 2,500 town-hall meetings, so he could hear directly from constituents. He was a regular in the U.N. cafeteria, mixing it up with U.N. employees over lunch. And during his 2002 campaign for Governor, he actually broke a world record by shaking nearly 14,000 hands in just eight hours.

All of this reflects a determination to reach out and understand where people are coming from, what they hope for, and what he can do to help. This approach, I believe, has been the key to Bill’s success as a negotiator and will be key to his work on the critical functions of the Commerce Department – from administering our census and monitoring our climate to protecting our intellectual property and restoring our economic diplomacy.

In the end, Bill Richardson is a leader who shares my values -- and he measures progress the same way I do. Are we creating good jobs, instead of losing them? Are incomes growing, instead of shrinking? I know that Bill will be an unyielding advocate for American business and American jobs, at home and around the world. And I look forward to working with him in the years ahead.

Presidential Appointment List - Senate Confirmation Required

WE'VE MOVED! DemConWatch is now at http://www.demconwatchblog.com

DemConWatch will be keeping track of all of the major staff announcements in the Obama Administration. We'll list the Position, Nominee, Committee and Hearing and Vote Information.

The first table lists the 15 Cabinet members and 4 cabinet-level positions (not including the Chief of Staff or the Vice President). These are the people that are allowed into cabinet meetings. Information has been gathered from the Plum Book as well as several other government sites. The positions addressed in this list are marked as PAS in the Plum Book.

We will not list positions like Ambassadors, US Attorneys or US Marshals at this time. Rumored cabinet appointments can be seen in our Cabinet Watch: Rumors post.

You can see our list of appointees that do not require Senate confirmation here. Both of these lists will be very large and are not yet complete. We will add positions as quickly as possible.

The latest updates can always be found on our Presidential Appointment Updates post.

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Secretary of State	Hillary Clinton	Foreign Relations	Jan 13	TBD
Secretary of the Treasury	Tim Geithner	Finance	Jan 14	TBD
Secretary of Defense	Robert Gates	Armed Services	Not Needed	N/A
Attorney General	Eric Holder	Judiciary	Jan 15	TBD
Secretary of the Interior	Ken Salazar	Energy & Natural Resources	Jan 15	TBD
Secretary of Agriculture	Tom Vilsack	Agriculture	Jan 14	TBD
Secretary of Commerce		Commerce, Science & Transportation	TBD	TBD
Secretary of Labor	Hilda Solis	Health, Education, Labor & Pension	Jan 9	TBD
Secretary of Health & Human Services	Tom Daschle	Health, Education, Labor & Pension	Jan 8	TBD
Secretary of Health & Human Services	Tom Daschle	Finance	TBD	N/A
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Shaun Donovan	Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs	Jan 13	TBD
Secretary of Transportation	Ray LaHood	Commerce, Science & Transportation	TBD	TBD
Secretary of Energy	Steven Chu	Energy & Natural Resources	Jan 13	TBD
Secretary of Education	Arne Duncan	Health, Education, Labor & Pension	Jan 13	TBD
Secretary of Veteran Affairs	Eric Shinseki	Veterans' Affairs	Jan 14	TBD
Secretary of Homeland Security	Janet Napolitano	Homeland Security & Government Affairs	TBD	TBD
Administrator of the EPA	Lisa Jackson	Environment & Public Works	TBD	TBD
Director of Office Management & Budget	Peter Orszag	Budget	Jan 14	TBD
Director of National Drug Control Policy	TBA	Judiciary	TBD	TBD
US Trade Representative	Ron Kirk	Finance	TBD	TBD
Last updated: 1/7/09

Click on There's more to see the rest of the positions requiring Senate confirmation.

Read more...

Click on the department to see a list of all positions, nominations and confirmation updated.

Executive Office of the President

Department of State

Department of the Treasury

Department of Defense

Department of Justice

Department of the Interior

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Legislative & Intergovernmental Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Administrator & Chief Financial Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
General Counsel	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry & Security	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Export Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Export Enforcement	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Economic Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, Bureau of the Census	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for International Trade	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Import Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Market Access & Compliance	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Manufacturing & Services	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary & Director General of US Foreign Commercial Services	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere & NOAA Administrator	Jane Lubchenco		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chief Scientist	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Telecommunications & Information	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, National Institute of Standard & Technology	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property & Director of the US Patent & Trademark Office	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 12/21/08

Department of Labor

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary of Labor	TBA		TBD	TBD
Commissioner of Labor Statistics	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Employee Benefits Security	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Employment Standards	TBA		TBD	TBD
Wage & Hour Administrator	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Employment & Training	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Mine Safety & Health	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Occupational Safety & Health	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Administration & Management	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Policy	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chief Financial Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Congressional & Intergovernmental Affirs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Disability Employment Policy	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Public Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Solicitor of Labor	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Veterans Employment & Training	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director of Women's Bureau	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 11/20/08

Department of Health and Human Services

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Asst Secretary for Resources & Technology	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Preparedness & Response	TBA		TBD	TBD
General Counsel	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Planning & Evaluation	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Public Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary, Health	TBA		TBD	TBD
Surgeon General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Legislation	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Aging (Commissioner for Aging)	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Children & Families	TBA		TBD	TBD
Commissioner, Administration for Children, Youth & Families	TBA		TBD	TBD
Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	TBA		TBD	TBD
Commissioner of Food & Drugs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, Indian Health Service	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, National Institutes of Health	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 11/20/08

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chief Financial Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Community Planning & Development	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight	TBA		TBD	TBD
General Counsel	TBA		TBD	TBD
President, Government National Mortgage Association	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Policy Development & Research	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Public Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Public & Indian Housing	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 11/20/08

Department of Transportation

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Transportation for Policy	TBA		TBD	TBD
General Counsel	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Budget & Programs & Chief Financial Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Transportation Policy	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Governmental Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Aviation & International Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Deputy Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Federal Transit Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Maritime Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Research & Innovative Technology Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chairman, Surface Transportation Board	TBA		TBD	TBD
Board Member, Surface Transportation Board	TBA		TBD	TBD
Board Member, Surface Transportation Board	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 11/20/08

Department of Energy

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Science	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chief Financial Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Policy and International Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
General Counsel	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, Office of Economic Impact and Diversity	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator, Energy Information Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Assistant Secretary, (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)	TBA		TBD	TBD
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management	TBA		TBD	TBD
Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy	TBA		TBD	TBD
Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy)	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management	TBA		TBD	TBD
Assistant Secretary, (Energy Delivery and Energy Reliablity)	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, Office of Science	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Nuclear Security/Administrator for Nuclear Safety	TBA		TBD	TBD
Principal Secretary for National Nuclear Security	TBA		TBD	TBD
Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs, National Nuclear Security	TBA		TBD	TBD
Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 11/22/08

Department of Education

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chief Financial Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Management	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
General Counsel	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Civil Rights	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Postsecondary Education	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services	TBA		TBD	TBD
Commissioner Rehabilitative Services	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education	TBA		TBD	TBD
Commissioner of Education Statistics	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary, Office of Communications & Outreach	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 12/23/08

Department of Veterans' Affairs

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Inspector General	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chairman, Board of Veterans' Appeals	TBA		TBD	TBD
General Counsel	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Management	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Policy and Planning	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Human Resources & Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Public & Intergovernmental Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Congressional & Legislative Affairs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Information & Technology	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Operations, Security & Preparedness	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Benefits	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Health	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 12/23/08

Department of Homeland Security

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Deputy Secretary	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, Office of Counternarcotics Enfdorcement	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Health Affairs & Chief Medical Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary for Policy	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Intelligence & Analysis	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for National Protection & Programs	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Management	TBA		TBD	TBD
Chief Financial Officer	TBA		TBD	TBD
Under Secretary for Science & Technology	TBA		TBD	TBD
Commissioner, US Customs & Border Protection	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary, US Immigration & Customs Enforcement	TBA		TBD	TBD
Director, US Citizenship & Immigration Services	TBA		TBD	TBD
Administrator for Federal Emergency Management Agency	TBA		TBD	TBD
Deputy Administrator for Federal EmergencyManagement Agency	TBA		TBD	TBD
Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Administrator, US Fire Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Asst Secretary, Transportation Security Administration	TBA		TBD	TBD
Last updated: 12/23/08

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Chairman	Gary Gensler
Last updated: 12/18/08

Federal Reserve System (14 Year Tenure for each position)

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Governor	Dan Tarullo
Governor
Governor
Governor
Governor
Last updated: 12/18/08

Securities & Exchange Commission

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Chairman	Mary Schapiro
Last updated: 12/18/08

Small Business Administration

Position	Nominee	Committee	Hearing Status	Vote Status
Administrator	Karen Mills
Last updated: 12/20/08

Cabinet Watch: Rumors

WE'VE MOVED! DemConWatch is now at http://www.demconwatchblog.com

We'll summarize all the rumored nominees here. Let us know who we've missed.

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton (Announced 12/1/2008), Bill Richardson
Secretary of the Treasury: Timothy Geithner (Nominated on 11/24/2008)
Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates (Announced 12/1/2008), Chuck Hagel
Attorney General: Eric Holder (Announced 12/1/2008)
Secretary of the Interior: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Raul Grijalva, Mike Thompson, Jay Inslee
Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Commerce: Bill Richardson (Announced 12/1/2008), Penny Pritzker
Secretary of Labor: David Bonior, Kathleen Sebelius, Mary Beth Maxwell, Jennifer Granholm
Secretary of Health & Human Services: Tom Daschle
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Manny Diaz
Secretary of Transportation: Manny Diaz
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education: Roy Barnes, Graham Spainer, Ray Mabus
Secretary of Veteran Affairs: Max Cleland, Tammy Duckworth, Anthony Brown
Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano (Announced 12/1/2008)
Administrator of the EPA: Robert Kennedy Jr.
Director of Office Management & Budget: Peter Orszag (Announced on 11/25/2008)
Director of National Drug Control Policy
US Trade Representative: Xavier Becerra
Director, CIA: John Brennan
National Security Adviser: Marine Gen. James L. Jones (Ret.) (Announced 12/1/2008)
Director of National Intelligence: Admiral Dennis C. Blair (Ret.)
UN Ambassador: Susan Rice (Announced 12/1/2008)
Deputy Attorney General: David W. Ogden
Deputy Secretary of State: James Steinberg
First Dog: Rex



We're keeping track of all of the Presidential Appointments that require Senate Confirmation as well as Presidential Appointments Not Needing Confirmation.

The Final Word On Georgia's Senate Race

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"This isn't about anything but winning." [Source: Insider Advantage Georgia, "Re-Tooled Campaign Put Chambliss Over The Top", December 3, 2008]

That six-word sentence attributed to Republican National Committee member and former head of the Georgia Republican Party Alec Poitevint says it all about Saxby Chambliss' successful re-election campaign.

Chambliss, the GOP and their allies didn't care how nasty they had to get or what they had to do so long as their team got the most votes at the end of election day (and trust me, here in Georgia, the ads run against Democrat Jim Martin called him everything but a child of God).

The motto and mantra of Saxby's campaign seemed to be "Just Win, Baby," and win is what they did.

Richardson to Commerce

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Matt reported last night the Bill Richardson will be appointed as Secretary of Commerce today. I realized I didn't know enough about the Department of Commerce, and decided to investigate their site.

What, I wondered, would be of most interest to Governor Richardson? While I don't pretend to know his interests, what struck me first is that Commerce is over the Bureau of the Census.

This means that one of Richardson's challenges will be the 2010 decennial count. Back in the 90's there was a lot of discussion on whether there should be a direct count, or a projected estimate based on the number of people missed because they refused to respond. The Census numbers affect aid from the Fed to States based on population and the number of Congressmen/Congresswomen accorded each state, amoung other things.

How we count population is not strictly a numerical output, there are overriding political considerations. These relate to the counting of undocumented immigrants, as well as revisiting statistical sampling, and post-enumeration surveys to account for consistently undercounted groups, like African Americans.

I greatly respect Bill Richardson for all of his accomplishments. I believe he would have made a terrific Secretary of State. Any position filled by the Governor is worthwhile. But suddenly, in seeing that Commerce oversees the Census, the pick suddenly made a lot more sense.

Odd Economic News

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Today's oddity is courtesy of USA Today (2 December, page 3A).

Do you recycle? Probably you do. Perhaps because you believe in doing your bit for the environment. Perhaps because where you live, it costs less to recycle than to have trash picked up. In some communities, recyclables are picked up for free, while trash is billed on a per-bag basis.

Well, the economic meltdown has now begun affecting recycling. The way recycling companies make money is partially due to the fees paid to haul it away, but more so from the money they make selling the recycled materials to companies that use them.

But manufacturers and producers are making less stuff, thus the price of recycled newspaper has fallen from $120/ton to $50/ton and plastic soda bottles are now selling for 6 cents a pound, down from 15 cents a pound.

Look for a rise in the price you pay to have recyclables hauled away. At some point in time, it may become a more financially viable model to put trash on landfills than to recycle it.

That's where the government comes in. If the government on its own, or because of a flow of input from grassroots citizens, decides that saving the environment is a priority, there will be legislation passed to encourage recycling.

A state government, for example, can pass tax law which makes it more expensive to leave out trash than to recycle (which is how the free recycle-paid trash began in the first place in some communities).

Then again, this all becomes moot if the Obama administration can get the economy moving again: once people go back to buying again, manufacturers will need more recyclables.

Free Broadband?

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The FCC will be voting on 18 December on whether to allow for free broadband across the USA.

All TV goes digital in February of 2009. The FCC auctioned off part of the analog bandwidth a while back, but kept AWS-3. 25% of that now-idle chunk is proposed to be used to provide free broadband across the US at speeds up to 768kbps. Whoever buys the spectrum could use the other 75% as it sees fit, probably for paid (faster) broadband. Near the end of the proposal is this:

Additional obligations associated with the licensee’s free broadband service would include a requirement to provide a network-based filtering mechanism for the free Internet service in order to protect children and families, and a requirement that the network allow for the use of open devices.

The open devices part is great, but "network based filtering...to protect children and families" is somewhat amorphous.

The upside to free broadband will most be felt by rural America, currently underserved by broadband: relegated to dial-up, which is a limitation in these days of streaming video and large downloads. It has never been financially viable for providers to wire for cable or fiber-optic in areas of low population density. So this is good for them, as it gives them something hard to get currently at any cost.

But the price is potentially a violation of that "free speech" part of the First Amendment. The intention is likely to protect children from pornography, but the rule does not specifically spell out the boundaries of "protect".

The Auto Bailout: $34 Billion December Edition

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Some time today, the Big Three auto executives will arrive in DC for the Thursday meetings on the Hill. They're arriving today because they drove. Actual cars. SNL did a nice video on them trying to come by car, but travel appeared to be trouble free. Mulally is driving a Ford Escape hybrid, Wagoner a Chevrolet Malibu hybrid. No word on Nardeli's vehicle.

The last time we polled on bailing out the auto industry, about 60% of you said yes, but we know some things now that we didn't a few days ago, so perhaps you've changed your mind.

First, auto sales numbers for November are out. Ford sales fell by 31%, GM fell by 41%, and Chrysler fell by 47%. Overall US auto sales fell 37% across all brands. Eek! The automakers will likely contend that this shows pent-up demand, and therefore, if they can muddle through, once the credit markets "un-seize" the buyers will be back. HHHMMMNNN.

• Ford says that they need $9 billion, but may not use it, as they believe they are solvent through the end of CY 2009, and will reach profitability by 2011. You can read their submission to the Senate Banking Committee here.
• GM is asking for $18 billion, and says it may not have enough cash to make it until the end of the year.
• Chrysler says it need $7 billion or it also may collapse this month. Their proposal.
  

Some things to consider in terms of whether you personally support a bailout. First, while the base salary paid to Big Three (union) auto workers is only slightly higher than that paid to non-union workers at auto plants in the US but owned by Toyota, Honda, etc., the total cost per hour are substantially higher. Average hourly wage is about $26 compared to $24, but total is about $70/hour to slightly under $45/hour. You may feel that decreasing this discrepancy must be a function of the bailout, or you may feel that the union negotiations were accomplished in a different time, and therefore must be honoured.

Consider this: the jobs bank. It was created in the early 80's for workers displaced by robots. They would be offered jobs elsewhere within their automaker's facilities, but if none was available, they'd get almost full wages UNTIL A JOB WAS FOUND. There are currently 3000 auto workers in the jobs bank, although the program was scaled back so that people can only be paid for two solid years, instead of indefinitely. Should shedding the jobs bank be a requirement for bailout?

Another thing to consider is the dealerships. You know they are already in trouble. There are way too many of them for the Big Three to support with auto sales (especially at current levels). More dealers mean fewer sales per dealer. For example, Toyota has fewer than 2000 dealers in the US, and on average, sold about 1600 cars/trucks per dealer in 2007. Ford, on the other hand has almost 4000 dealers, and averaged about 235 units each in 2007.

However, due to state franchise laws, the Big Three cannot quite "shed" their dealers without buying them out. And if the dealer does not want to be bought out, the auto maker cannot make them close. Allowing the Big Three to shed their dealers is bad for the dealers, but potentially important as part of necessary corporate restructuring.

Remember one other thing when you watch the hearings: the Senators asking questions have certain vested interests in the outcome. Not NATIONAL concerns, LOCAL concerns. Southern members of Congress may have a vested interest in supporting the non-union car manufacturers in their states, many brought there with tax incentives.

So what do you think? You can check multiple selections.

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Appointment updates

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Lots of news and rumors today.

First, Bill Richardson will be named as Commerce Secretary at a 11:40 ET press conference tomorrow.



Second, more rumored appointments:

• Former ambassador Richard Holbrooke is under consideration for a South Asia diplomatic role.
• Rep. Xavier Becerra , D-Calif., has been offered the post of U.S. Trade Representative

Labor activist Mary Beth Maxwell has emerged as a serious candidate for Secretary of Labor, Democratic and transition offiicials confirm. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Maxwell, who'd be the first openly gay cabinet secretary, is being vetted for the job, along with Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. Of the three, Sebelius has the inside track and the closest relationship with Obama. Sebelius has also been mentioned as a potential pick for Secretary of Education.- The Atlantic

• Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is the top candidate to be Secretary of the Interior. - The Atlantic
• James Steinberg, the deputy national security adviser under Bill Clinton, is close to being named as Hillary's deputy at the State Department. - TPM
  

Minnesota Senate Recount (Update)

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Franken had a good day today:

Franken unexpectedly picked up 37 votes due to a combined machine malfunction and human error on Election Day that left 171 Maplewood ballots safe, secure but uncounted until Tuesday's final day of recounting in Ramsey County.

Plus the Franken campaign claimed earlier (before the 171 ballots were found) that they were within 50 votes by their count. So now they should be under 20 votes behind, with about 180,000 votes still to be recounted, and then 6000 challenged ballots to be looked at.

Coleman has now challenged 183 more ballots than Franken, but there's just no way to tell how valid either side's challenges are. With almost 6000 ballots challenged so far, mathematical predictions are pretty much worthless at this point.

12/2 11:00 PM: 93% in. Coleman leads by 303. 6003 votes challenged.
12/1 11:00 PM: 92% in. Coleman leads by 340. 5952 votes challenged.
11/29 10:00 AM: 88% in. Coleman by 282. 5623 votes challenged.
11/26 1:00 AM: 82% in. Coleman by 231. 3626 votes challenged.
11/25 8:00 PM: 79% in. Coleman by 213. 3166 votes challenged.
11/24 9:30 PM: 77% in. Coleman by 210
11/22 10:30 PM: 68% in. Coleman by 180
11/21 9:30 PM: 64% in. Coleman by 120
11/20 9:30PM: 46% in. Coleman by 136
11/19 PM: 21% in. Coleman by 174

Remember one important point: There are two types of challenged ballots. The first, we'll call Type A, are ballots which would have gone to the opposing side, but are challenged for some reason. These ballots get subtracted from the ongoing count - this is mostly what is causing the loss of votes for both candidates.

But there's another, we'll call Type B. These are ballots which would have gone to the "no vote" pile, but are challenged by a candidate to put them in their own pile. So Franken's challenged ballots consists of former Coleman ballots that Franken thinks should be "no vote" (or maybe even Franken), and former "no vote" ballots he wants in the Franken pile. There's no way to tell how many of each type are in the challenge numbers, which makes it really difficult to tell how the challenge numbers will work out.

CBS 4 out of the Twin Cities now has a precinct-by precinct map of the recount.

Evening trivia question

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What do Robert F. Kennedy and former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue have in common?

(And it's got nothing to do with RFK stadium in DC).

Associated Press: Chambliss Beats Martin

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From CBS46.com (WGCL-TV Atlanta):

Incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss has beaten Democrat Jim Martin to retain his seat on the senate. [Source: CBS46.com, "Saxby Chambliss Declared Winner In Senate Race", December 2, 2008]

Oreo here... I'd like to thank Andre for all of his posts leading up to tonight. It's too bad it ended this way.

Georgia Senate Runoff Results

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Polls close at 7:00pm Eastern Time.
You can see the county results at the Georgia Secretary of State's Website.

	Percent
Martin	41.1%
Chambliss	58.9%

90% of precincts reporting

UPDATE: MSNBC has called the election for Chambliss, 9:00 pm

DC Council OK's Inauguration Week becoming Spring BreaK

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Seeing that the Inauguration will be a week of parties unlike any other time, the DC Council has approved a measure to temporarily lift the "last call" at area bars. The thinking is that local business can further increase sales during the week's festivities by allowing people to drink well into the early morning hour of 5:00 a.m.

So if you don't have a hotel yet, no worries - you can just keep partying until the next day!

Spunky Redux

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In certain ways, Spunky is the gift that keeps on giving. (And as an aside, there is an original gift that keeps on giving, but I don't know what it is. If you do, please help me out and use the comments, I've been wondering for some time. Thanks.)

First on the hit parade, Spunky was in Philadelphia today for the Governors' Meeting. She was mentioned by Vice President-elect Joe Biden in his second line. It went like this:

Thank you, Governor Rendell and Governor Douglas.

And Governor Palin, your being here today sends a powerful message that when campaigns end, we are all partners in progress. Thank you.

And then he said:

I always love events where seating is done by when your state entered the union. That’s when it’s good to be a Delawarean, and it’s good to see Governor-elect Jack Markell here.

So, you have an idea of where Spunky sat. But I digress.

Her comment?

When much of the economic problem that we are facing today perhaps was caused by too much debt, that solving those problems will not come from incurring more debt so we do have some concerns about these. This is going to be a matter of re-prioritizing federal dollars though and putting them to use in the wisest fashion for taxpayers, for constituents.

So, perhaps she won't want earmarks in 2009, but probably she will. First, that check that goes to each and every Alaskan? The fund is shrinking. There will still be checks, but they'll be smaller. Like all states, Alaska has some budget problems. In fact, they would be running at a deficit, but they have that fund that writes the checks to each and every Alaskan. If you'd like to see the FY Alaskan budget, here it is.

Then, Spunky has a few personal problems. First, should she run for re-election in 2010? Or maybe for Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat? Remember, she won her last race by ousting Lisa's dad, Frank, from the governor's mansion.

Lisa has said that Spunky cannot have her seat. She'll fight for it. Remember, one of the ways that Spunky won was by aligning with some of the Democrats (like Lyda Greene) to go up against the Republican establishment in Alaska. They're none to happy with the rhetoric she spewed on the campaign trail, and remember, Troopergate was a bi-partisan investigation. Few friends around, which would make DC perhaps a happier place, but she'd need structural support to get there.

In addition, Alaska just lost Ted Stevens, meaning that with the election of Spunky, they'd have two "young" Senators in a chamber dependent on seniority. Even if you don't like her politics, Lisa Murkowski brings experience and standing.

In addition to some further bad blood between Spunky, the movers and shakers in Juneau, and the Murkowskis, there are a few more problems. Some Alaskans are questioning whether with all this globe-trotting, are they getting the governor they elected? Plus, she's not playing well to the middle. And if you think that Troopergate, the $150,000+ wardrobe and additional ethics and legal probes are over, well, you're not with the "gift that keeps on giving" thing.

Ludacris: Chambliss Is Just About Politics, Not The People

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It was a chilly evening in Atlanta Monday night, but that didn't deter supporters of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin from rallying on the steps of the State Capitol a day before the closely-watched run-off election between Martin and Republican Saxby Chambliss.

"We need at least one U.S. Senator who is a Democrat and works for us in Washington," state Democratic Party Chair Jane Kidd told the crowd. "All we have is 24 hours to get the job done."

Accompanying Kidd on the stage was a who's who of political leaders, radio personalities and hip-hop artists --including Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth and Michigan Congressman John Conyers-- all encouraged Democrats to get out the vote for Jim Martin.

Grammy award winning artists Ludacris and T.I. along with BET Hip-Hop award winning artist Young Jeezy took the podium to talk about how proud they were of Barack Obama's victory while urging Georgia to finish the drill by electing Jim Martin to the Senate.

"I definitely feel like we need a senator who's going to work with Mr. President Obama to fix our economy as opposed to someone whose message is just to block Obama's agenda," Atlanta native Ludacris said of Martin and Chambliss. "That lets me know that he [Chambliss] is just about politics and not about helping the American people."

Civil rights icon John Lewis echoed those words telling the crowd that "Saxby Chambliss is not our friend."

"Barack Obama needs Jim Martin in the United States Senate," Congressman Lewis said amid cheers. "The state of Georgia needs Jim Martin in the United States Senate."

Voter turnout is expected to be light in today's run-off election, a fact that was not lost on Jim Martin as he closed out yesterday's get out the vote rally.

"This election is about who wants it the most," Martin said. "I want you to vote first and then help other people."

Rematches Amount to Poor Odds

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Ah, the rematch. So much emotion, so much payback. A chance to prove your team was right the first time, or that the first win or loss was just dumb luck.

But an article in Congressional Quarterly notes that there were 18 federal races in 2008 in which the Democratic and Republican candidates faced-off in a rematch from a previous cycle - and most had the same result. In fact, some of the previous losers actually did worse on the second go-round.

Of these 18 rematches - only three were successful in changing the outcome. And it probably won't surprise you that all three of these successful candidates in 2008 were Democrats: Jeanne Shaheen in the New Hampshire Senate race, Larry Kissell in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District and Eric Massa in New York's 29th.

And in keeping with the Democratic tide this year: more than half of the candidates in these rematches were Democrats. And as we know, it was good to be a Democrat in 2008. It should also go without saying that there is also a power of incumbency - and the remaining 15 races all had that advantage.

But there is something else here worth pointing out: sometimes the number of registered voters to a certain party make it nearly impossible to win a seat no matter how good or bad the candidates and incumbents may be. We often have very good candidates running in very bad districts. Can you imagine a Democratic district ousting a Democratic incumbent for a bright, educated and established Republican (or vice versa)? It doesn't happen. It isn't fair, but it is reality.

For example, Nevada's 2nd Congressional District is a rural district covering 16 of the state's 17 counties (and even part of the 17th at that). Democrat Jill Derby put a spirited effort to knock-off Republican Congressman Dean Heller in 2008 - a race she only lost by 2% in 2006. And even though the state went blue for the first time in more than a decade, the registration in this particular district has a 7% advantage for Republicans - nearly 25,000 voters. And that 7-point gap includes the bump in registration from the Obama surge of new voters this year. So as you can see, it still wasn't enough. Derby overperformed while running for an open seat in 2006, but went on to lose by nearly 10% in 2008 when challenging the incumbent.

Old habits die hard.

President-Elect Barack Obama Names Louis Caldera Director of White House Military Office

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WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama announced today that Louis Caldera will serve as Director of the White House Military Office. Caldera brings a lifetime of military and public service to the Military Office, which coordinates all military support for Presidential operations.

“Louis has served his country with distinction in uniform and in government, and his pedigree is second-to-none. I know he’ll bring to the White House the same dedication and integrity that have earned him the highest praise in every post, from Secretary of the Army to university president,” said President-elect Obama.

Louis Caldera, Director, White House Military Office
Caldera has had a distinguished 30-year career as a soldier, lawyer, legislator, high ranking government official, university president and professor of law. In 1992, Caldera was elected to the California State Assembly, and later served in the Clinton administration. From 1997 to 1998, Caldera was managing director and chief operating officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service. From 1998 to 2001, he served as the nation’s 17th Secretary of the Army. He has served as a vice chancellor for the California State University system and president of the University of New Mexico, after which he joined the faculty of the UNM School of Law as a tenured professor. Caldera is a member of the Board of Trustees of Claremont McKenna College and of The National World War II Museum, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Caldera is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and earned his law and business degrees at Harvard University in 1987, later practicing law in Los Angeles.

Today in Philadelphia

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Today at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, President-elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden will meet with 40 of the nation's governors. The discussion topic will be the unique challenges facing the governors. While they will be making opening statements, the meeting is closed to the press.

The meeting was organized under the auspices of the National Governors' Association, and hosted by Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) and Gov. Jim Douglas (R-VT), who are, respectively, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the organization.

While you may think that Philadelphia was chosen because it is the largest city in the home state of the NGA chair, there is another reason. Philadelphia is in bad financial shape. Certainly, it is not the only city in trouble, but the problems are massive. Remember, then candidate Obama had a Four Point plan for the economy, and the fourth point was:

4. RESPONDING TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: A Lending Facility to Address the Credit Crisis for States and Localities. Obama is calling on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to work to establish a facility to lend to state and municipal governments, similar to the steps the Fed recently took to provide liquidity to the commercial paper market.

States cannot run at a deficit, they must balance their budgets. This is incredibly tough in the current economic environment, and their credit markets are as frozen as the private markets, perhaps more so. For example, in California, the state may run out of money by February.

Therefore, it may well be that President-elect Obama will announce plans to guarantee bond funds so that State and Local projects now on hold will be able to re-start soon after he takes office. These projects are for the most part infrastructure, including roads, bridges, school construction, etc.

As an aside, it will be the first time that President-elect Obama will be meeting Spunky. You probably remember that at the Veep debate, her first question was "May I call you Joe?", but I have to believe that she won't be repeating that thought tomorrow.

If you live in the area, be advised that traffic is going to be a disaster and plan accordingly!

Christmas Vacation

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The Obama family will be taking their Christmas vacation in the Hawaiian Islands. And I can't think of anyone who deserves a vacation more. Normally, at the end of a long campaign, the candidates (win or lose) take at least a few days off, if not a few weeks. But President-elect Obama hit the ground running.

It's unlikely that President Obama will take an unwieldy amount of vacation time.

In case you are interested:

Carter - 79 vacation days in 4 years
Clinton - 199 vacation days in 8 years
Reagan - 335 vacation days in 8 years (that's almost a whole year!)
Papa Bush - 543 days in 4 years

Winner - Baby Bush - Depending on how you count it, could be something like 900 days...

How about you?

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Good Luck Jim Martin

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House/Senate Update

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• Florida’s chief financial officer, Alex Sink, One of the Democrats’ leading candidates to challenge Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) in 2010 has decided to pass up the opportunity, according to a source familiar with her decision.
• Another Kansas Congressman may be leaving the House. (Here's the first).
• Rep. Nita Lowey is not interested in Clinton's Senate seat.
• Democrat Bill Hedrick finally conceded defeat on Saturday in CA-44.
• And, of course, we have an election in Georgia tomorrow.
  

Who will protect Hillary Clinton?

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We shouldn't forget that Clinton's former First Lady status will create some unique situations:

Hillary Clinton's nomination to serve as secretary of State creates an unique jurisdictional battle between the U.S. Secret Service, which protects current and former presidents and first ladies, and the the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which protects the secretary of state, visiting foreign dignitaries and all American diplomatic missions abroad.

The two law enforcement agencies may strike a compromise, allowing Diplomatic Security to protect the former first lady during the day while she's working at the State Department or traveling abroad and the Secret Service to keep watch when she's at home in Northwest D.C. or in Chappaqua, N.Y. - Washington Post

The End Of Media As We Know It?

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In looking at the 2008 election cycle, it is certainly true that use of the internet, texting, and cell phones helped successful campaigns in ways that were not possible in earlier cycles. In addition, there is a good chance that use of the blogosphere (especially the left-wing blogosphere) was very helpful in fundraising, up and down the tickets.

The cost of this has been to the MSM, that “good-old” main stream media: print newspapers, local news on TV, network news on TV and to a certain extent cable TV and print magazines. There are many who say that they are dinosaurs, and good riddance. My guess is that the younger you are, the more likely you are to see no need for this old-time journalism model.

We know that newspaper circulation numbers are down, advertising dollars are down, local news anchors are being axed, and fewer people are watching local and network news than ever before. To wit:

Slightly more than half of the population watches local news regularly, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, while only 34 percent read a newspaper each day and 29 percent watch a network evening newscast.

But the ratings for the broadcasts have gradually eroded over the years. The typical late newscast now reaches 12 percent of viewers watching TV in a given market, down from 21 percent 10 years ago.

As the number of people watching/reading declines, so do the ad rates that can be charged. Eventually, the number of companies willing to advertise declines as well. Super Bowl ads command millions per minute because so many people watch the game, while virtually anyone can afford an ad on one of the more obscure cable networks. (Kinoki footpads, anyone?)

Companies will always advertise to reach their target audience if at all possible. So, many are shifting. Internet advertising is up, reflecting the emerging potential market available to advertisers.

The question becomes, though, is losing the MSM news media all good? It used to be that the networks, and the major papers, had large news gathering operations, as did AP, Reuters and UPI. They had bureaus in multiple cities, they pooled coverage when beneficial, and they had sources on the ground. “Modern” thought may say that this has become unnecessary since ‘everyone’ has a cell phone with a camera and video. Plus, there is the perceived benefit of the immediacy of “news” being available 24/7 whenever one wants it.

There are a lot of people who contend that this is good, and that a new business model will arise to support “news”. I’m not so sure. Who will pay for news gathering once the MSM is dead? Certainly, it is possible to use modern technology to disseminate certain types of information. For example, the text of a speech.

But what about press conferences? Sure, the people holding them can put up a camera and film the presser, and then packet that out to the internet. But once the MSM is no longer showing up, who will ask the questions? Once the cameras are owned and operated by those handing out the information, what happens to a “free press”?

I can hear you saying that there’s no problem, we have a blogosphere, and those people are certainly capable of asking questions, and of knowing what to ask. The question is: who will pay the bloggers to show up at “the news”? Collecting news is a 24/7 undertaking, and most bloggers hold regular jobs, and blog in their off hours. Imagine what it would cost to get news online if you had to pay to support the people who collect and analyze it. Would you be willing to pay $25/month, or more, to each site from which you receive your news? Would you be willing to pay more for targeted news with no advertising?

And what about analysis and framework? Being able to record something on tape or camera does not mean you understand it, nor necessarily know its context. That's the thing with long term professionals, they have a 'sense' that others may not. Not because they are better than other people, just that they've been doing it a long time. In addition, years of experience have led these folks to have sources: people who can clue them in to what is going to happen, and what certain things mean.

Sure, the internet can take over in some ways: analysis takes smarts, with is not limited to the MSM, sources can be developed, and targeted blogs can specialize based on material or geography. But that "whole world" view will be very hard to come by because of the finances involved.

What of journalistic ethics? There is a Society of Professional Journalists, and they have a code of ethics for their members. In their preamble, they state:

The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

The four major points (to which DCW subscribes, although we are not professional journalists) are:

• Seek Truth and Report It
• Minimize Harm
• Act Independently
• Be Accountable

You can read the code, and while you can certainly find examples of when the MSM has faltered, for the most part, the vast majority of members adhere to that code. The same cannot be said for all bloggers, nor some infamous 527s (think "Swift Boat").

I don't know what the answer is, nor what the business model will morph into. E-Bay and Amazon changed retailing, the iPod and MP3s changed music business models, and the internet has certainly changed politics. Some of those changes are good, but certainly something is also lost in translation.

What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Inaugural Balls?

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Elvis Costello to Headline The Creative Coalition's Inaugural Ball

WASHINGTON, DC (December 1, 2008) – The Creative Coalition announced today that Elvis Costello will be the featured musical guest at their Inaugural Ball on Tuesday evening, January 20, 2009 to commemorate the Presidential inauguration. The Ball is a benefit gala for The Creative Coalition (the nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) advocacy arm of the arts and entertainment communities). Confirmed hosts in attendance include Members of Congress, leaders from the entertainment industry, business, policy and media.

Click on www.thecreativecoalition.org for sponsorship or ticket information.

WHAT: The Creative Coalition's 2009 Inaugural Ball with a special performance by Elvis Costello

WHO: Confirmed hosts in attendance include: Co-Presidents of The Creative Coalition Tim Daly and Tony Goldwyn, Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Tim Robbins, Kerry Washington, Susan Sarandon, Jane Krakowski, Alfre Woodard, Barry Levinson, Dana Delany, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Wendie Malick, Josh Lucas, Matthew Modine, Rachael Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Connie Britton, Richard Schiff, Ellen Burstyn, Giancarlo Esposito, Gloria Reuben, Lynn Whitfield, Tamara Tunie, Tom Fontana, Sue Kramer, Kim Raver, Maura Tierney and more.

Congressional Hosts include: Senator Max Baucus, Senator Richard Burr, Senator Benjamin Cardin, Senator Robert Casey, Jr., Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Frank Lautenberg, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Barbara S. Mikulski, Senator Ben Nelson, Senator Bernard Sanders, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Senator Arlen Specter, Congressman John Spratt, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman Gary Ackerman, Congressman Joe Baca, Congressman Howard Berman, Congressman Alan Boyd, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., Congressman Lois Capps, Congressman, Congressman Russ Carnahan, Congressman Mike Capuano, Dennis Cardoza, Congressman Christopher Carney, Congresswoman Donna Christensen, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Congressman Danny Davis, Congressman Peter DeFazio, Congressman Norm Dicks, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Congresswoman Chaka Fattah, Congressman Barney Frank, Congressman Jim Gerlach, Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, Congressman Bart Gordon, Congressman Gene Green, Congressman Raul Grijalva, Congressman Luis Guiterrez, Congresswoman Jane Harman, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Congressman Mike Honda, Congressman Darrell Issa, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Congressman Jim Langevin, Congressman Steven LaTourette, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Congressman Jim McDermott, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Congressman Dennis Moore, Congressman Jim Moran, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, Congressman Adam Schiff, Congresswoman Hilda Solis, Congressman Pete Stark, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey

WHEN: Tuesday evening, January 20, 2009
9:00 pm

WHERE: Harman Center for the Arts
610 F Street, NW
Washington, DC

This and many other events are listed in our Inauguration Calendar of Events.

It's Officially a Recession

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"They", in this case the National Bureau of Economic Research, has determined that we have been in a recession for one year, since December of 2007. They are professionals, so they should know.

"We", in this case, normal humans, have been aware of this for a while.

It's reminiscent of the old expression "The Titanic was built by professionals (Microsoft). The Ark was built by amateurs (Linux)".

Seriously:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Obama's Statement on the 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day

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Hello everyone. Thank you for allowing me to send my greetings and to share a few words with you on this special day. It’s my privilege to thank Pastor Rick, Kay and all of you for your leadership in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, and your steadfast commitment to eradicating this disease.

On this twentieth anniversary of World AIDS Day, I think it’s appropriate to look back for a moment to when this day was first observed. In 1988, when ministers of health from around the world first had the notion to set aside a day to highlight the threat of HIV/AIDS, they faced widespread ignorance and fear. Back then, many refused to even acknowledge the existence of this disease, let alone the devastating impact it was having on families and communities around the world.

Today, because of the work of people like you, women in Kenya who were widowed by the disease, and once shunned by society, have banded together to support and empower each other. Scientists around the world are discovering and engineering new medicines to give people with HIV/AIDS another chance at life. NGOs and faith-based institutions are marshaling the best of the human spirit to help those affected. And world governments are coming together to address the humanitarian crisis the pandemic has left in its wake. I salute President Bush for his leadership in crafting a plan for AIDS relief in Africa and backing it up with funding dedicated to saving lives and preventing the spread of the disease. And my administration will continue this critical work to address the crisis around the world.

But we must also recommit ourselves to addressing the AIDS crisis here in the United States with a strong national strategy of education, prevention and treatment, focusing on those communities at greatest risk. This strategy must be based on the best available science and built on the foundation of a strong health care system.

But in the end this epidemic can’t be stopped by government alone, and money alone is not the answer either. All of us must do our part.

This year’s slogan, “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise” is a timely one. In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he asked “if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” We as leaders must continue to sound that call and encourage others to see themselves as leaders in this fight. And we must reaffirm our own commitment to confront and defeat this disease once and for all.

Thank you for your extraordinary work that you do each and every day. I am humbled by your devotion to this cause and look forward to working with you and new partners in this effort in the years ahead. God bless you all.

GOTV in Georgia

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Tomorrow's the big day in the Georgia and the only way we're going to win is to have a massive Get Out the Vote effort. You can help by logging into my.barackobama.com and making some calls or volunteering to work on the ground.

Get out the vote for Jim Martin for US Senate to help Barack Obama implement his vision in Washington, DC!

Also, to organize a phonebank with paper call lists you can sign up at: www.nationalfield.org/phonebank

Most importantly, we need more help on the ground. If you are interested in coming to Georgia and joining our team, email us at:
volunteer@martinvictory.com

DemConWatch will be covering the results tomorrow night.

Speaker Pelosi's Statment on Obama's Security Team

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Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President-elect Obama’s announcement of his national security team: Senator Hillary Clinton to be the new Secretary of State, Robert Gates to stay on as Secretary of Defense, Eric Holder as Attorney General, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security, Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United Nations and General Jim Jones as National Security Adviser:

“With the selection of this excellent national security team, President-elect Obama has made clear that he understands his first responsibility is to keep the American people safe. He has moved decisively to assemble an outstanding team that reflects our national priorities and will meet our global challenges. All the members of this team have tremendous experience, great intellect, strong leadership, and a commitment to change.

“The announcement of this team sends a message to the world that our foreign policy will be built upon respect, and that the Obama Administration is ready to lead and prepared to govern.”

Transition Team Releases Donor List

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In keeping with President-elect Obama's pledge to run the most open and transparent transition in history, the Obama-Biden Transition Project has voluntarily chosen to release the names of its donors on a monthly basis. As of November 15, 2008, a total of $1,170,937.44 had been raised from 1,776 donors.

The Obama-Biden Transition project only accepts contributions from individuals' personal funds – we refuse all donations from corporations, labor unions, and PACs. Individuals may not donate more than $5,000. We also refuse all contributions from registered federal lobbyists and registered foreign agents.

You can read the full list at Change.gov.

Announcement of National Security Team - Video & Transcript

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Remarks of President-Elect Barack
Announcement of National Security Team
December 1, 2008
Chicago, Illinois

Good morning. Last week, we announced our economic team, which is working as we speak to craft an Economic Recovery Program to create jobs and grow our struggling economy. Today, Vice President-elect Biden and I are pleased to announce our national security team.

The national security challenges we face are just as grave – and just as urgent – as our economic crisis. We are fighting two wars. Old conflicts remain unresolved, and newly assertive powers have put strains on the international system. The spread of nuclear weapons raises the peril that the world’s deadliest technology could fall into dangerous hands. Our dependence on foreign oil empowers authoritarian governments and endangers our planet.

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America must also be strong at home to be strong abroad. We need to provide education and opportunity for our citizens, so every American can compete with anyone, anywhere. And our economic power must sustain our military strength, our diplomatic leverage, and our global leadership.

The common thread linking these challenges is the fundamental reality that in the 21st century, our destiny is shared with the world’s. From our markets to our security; from our public health to our climate –we must act with the understanding that, now more than ever, we have a stake in what happens across the globe. And as we learned so painfully on 9/11, terror cannot be contained by borders, nor safety provided by oceans alone.

Last week, we were reminded of this threat once again when terrorists took the lives of six American among nearly 200 victims in Mumbai. In the world we seek, there is no place for those who kill innocent civilians to advance hateful extremism. This weekend, I told Prime Minister Singh that Americans stand with the people of India in this dark time. And I am confident that India’s great democracy is more resilient than killers who would tear it down.

And so, in this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning – a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges. We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships. We will show the world once more that America is relentless in defense of our people, steady in advancing our interests, and committed to the ideals that shine as a beacon to the world: democracy and justice; opportunity and unyielding hope – because American values are America’s greatest export to the world.

To succeed, we must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy; our intelligence and law enforcement; our economy and the power of our moral example. The team that we have assembled here today is uniquely suited to do just that.

In their past service and plans for the future, these men and women represent all of those elements of American power, and the very best of the American example. They have served in uniform and as diplomats; they have worked as legislators, law enforcement officials, and executives. They share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America’s role as a leader in the world.

I have known Hillary Clinton as a friend, a colleague, a source of counsel, and as a campaign opponent. She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and toughness, and a remarkable work ethic. I am proud that she will be our next Secretary of State. She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence; who knows many of the world’s leaders; who will command respect in every capitol; and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world.

Hillary’s appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances. There is much to do – from preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to Iran and North Korea, to seeking a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, to strengthening international institutions. I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton is the right person to lead our State Department, and to work with me in tackling this ambitious foreign policy agenda.

At a time when we face an unprecedented transition amidst two wars, I have asked Robert Gates to continue as Secretary of Defense, and I’m pleased that he’s accepted. Two years ago, he took over the Pentagon at a difficult time. He restored accountability. He won the confidence of military commanders, and the trust of our brave men and women in uniform, and their families. He earned the respect of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle for his pragmatism and competence. He knows that we need a sustainable national security strategy – and that includes a bipartisan consensus at home.

As I said throughout the campaign, I will be giving Secretary Gates and our military a new mission as soon as I take office: responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control. We will also ensure that we have the strategy – and resources – to succeed against al Qaeda and the Taliban. As Bob said not too long ago, Afghanistan is where the war on terror began, and it is where it must end. And going forward, we will continue to make the investments necessary to strengthen our military and increase our ground forces to defeat the threats of the 21st century.

Eric Holder has the talent and commitment to succeed as Attorney General from his first day on the job, which is even more important in a transition that demands vigilance. He has distinguished himself as a prosecutor, a Judge, and a senior official, and he is deeply familiar with the law enforcement challenges we face– from terrorism to counter-intelligence; from white collar crime to public corruption.

Eric also has the combination of toughness and independence that we need at the Justice Department. Let me be clear: the Attorney General serves the American people. And I have every expectation that Eric will protect our people, uphold the public trust, and adhere to our Constitution.

Janet Napolitano offers the experience and executive skill that we need in the next Secretary of Homeland Security. She has spent her career protecting people – as a US Attorney, an Attorney General, and as Governor of Arizona. She understands the need for a Department of Homeland Security that has the capacity to help prevent terrorist attacks and respond to catastrophe – be it manmade or natural.

Janet assumes this critical role having learned the lessons – some of them painful – of the last several years, from 9/11 to Katrina. She insists on competence and accountability. She knows firsthand the need to have a partner in Washington that works well with state and local governments. She understands as well as anyone the danger of an unsecure border. And she will be a leader who can reform a sprawling Department while safeguarding our homeland.

Susan Rice will take on the crucial task of serving as Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations. Susan has been a close and trusted advisor. As in previous Administrations, the UN Ambassador will serve as a member of my cabinet and integral member of my team. Her background as a scholar, on the National Security Council, and Assistant Secretary of State will serve our nation well at the United Nations.

Susan knows that the global challenges we face demand global institutions that work. She shares my belief that the UN is an indispensable – and imperfect – forum. She will carry the message that our commitment to multilateral action must be coupled with a commitment to reform. We need the UN to be more effective as a venue for collective action – against terror and proliferation; climate change and genocide; poverty and disease.

Finally, I am convinced that General James Jones is uniquely suited to be a strong and skilled National Security Advisor. Generations of Joneses have served heroically on the battlefield – from the beaches of Tarawa in World War II, to Foxtrot Ridge in Vietnam. Jim’s Silver Star is a proud part of that legacy. He will bring to the job the dual experience of serving in uniform and as a diplomat. He has commanded a platoon in battle, served as Supreme Allied Commander in a time of war, and worked on behalf of peace in the Middle East.

Jim is focused on the threats of today and the future. He understands the connection between energy and national security, and has worked on the frontlines of global instability – from Kosovo to northern Iraq to Afghanistan. He will advise me and work effectively to integrate our efforts across the government, so that we are effectively using all elements of American power to defeat unconventional threats and promote our values.

I am confident that this is the team that we need to make a new beginning for American national security. This morning, we met to discuss the situation in Mumbai and some of the challenges that we face in the months and years ahead. In the coming weeks, I will be in close contact with these advisors, who will be working with their counterparts in the Bush Administration to make sure that we are ready to hit the ground running on January 20. Given the range of threats that we face – and the vulnerability that can be a part of every presidential transition – I hope that we can proceed swiftly for those national security officials who demand confirmation.

We move forward with the humility that comes with knowing that there are brave men and women protecting us on the front lines. Troops serving their second, third, or fourth tours. Diplomats and intelligence officers in dangerous corners of the world. FBI agents in the field, cops on the beat, prosecutors in our courts, and cargo inspectors at our ports. These selfless Americans whose names are unknown to most of us will form the backbone of our effort. If we serve as well as they do, we will protect our country and promote our values.

And we move forward with respect for America’s tradition of a bipartisan national security policy, and a commitment to national unity. When it comes to keeping our nation and our people safe, we are not Republicans and we are not Democrats: we are Americans. There is no monopoly of power or wisdom in either party. Together, as one nation, as one people, we can shape our times instead of being shaped by them. Together, we will meet the challenges of the 21st century not with fear, but with hope.

Now, before I take questions, I’d like to invite my team to say a few words, starting with my friend Hillary Clinton. Thank you.

Hillary Clinton Officially Nominated for Secretary of State; Security Team Announced

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You can watch the press conference live at CNN.COM.
And now it's official...

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden officially announced key members of their national security team today: nominating Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, selecting Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense, nominating Eric Holder as Attorney General, nominating Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, nominating Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United Nations and selecting General Jim Jones, USMC (Ret) as National Security Adviser.

"In this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning – a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges. To succeed, we must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy; our intelligence and law enforcement; our economy and the power of our moral example. The team that we have assembled here today is uniquely suited to do just that. They share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America’s role as a leader in the world," said President-elect Obama.

"It is an honor to be a part of this team, led by the President Elect – a team that will see to it that America can lead the world not only by the example of our power, but also by the power of our example. I believe we have assembled a national security team that is poised to recapture the totality of America’s strength," said Vice President-elect Biden.

The national security team members announced today are listed below:

Senator Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Over nearly four decades in public service, as an attorney, First Lady, Senator, and presidential candidate, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has become one of the nation's foremost champions for children and families and advocates for women's rights and human rights. During the Clinton Administration, she transformed the role of First Lady, fighting for universal health care and helping to lead successful bipartisan efforts to improve the adoption and foster care systems, reduce teen pregnancy, and provide health care to millions of children through the Children’s Health Insurance Program. As a representative of the United States, she championed American interests as well as the rights of women and girls in more than eighty countries around the world. In November 2000, Senator Clinton became the first First Lady elected to public office and the first woman elected independently in New York State; she has since won reelection. In the Senate, she has continued to advocate for equal access to health care, education, and economic opportunity for women and girls around the world. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Clinton has fought for and secured in law improved health care for members of the National Guard and Reserves and worked to bring our troops home safely and responsibly from Iraq. She also serves as the only Senate member of the Transformation Advisory Group to the Joint Forces Command, working to modernize our military. And Senator Clinton has continued to fight for quality, affordable health care for every American, working to strengthen the Children’s Health Insurance Program and expand the use of health information technology. Most recently, as a groundbreaking candidate for President of the United States, Senator Clinton became the first woman ever to win a presidential primary, receiving more than 18 million votes as an advocate for working families and a voice for millions of Americans who have felt invisible to their government.

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Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense
Dr. Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd Secretary of Defense. Before entering his present post, Secretary Gates was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation's seventh largest university. Prior to assuming the presidency of Texas A&M on August 1, 2002, he served as Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001. Secretary Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. Secretary Gates is the only career officer in CIA's history to rise from entry-level employee to Director. He served as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989, until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush. Secretary Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA's highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. Secretary Gates received his bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary, his master's degree in history from Indiana University, and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University.

Eric Holder, Attorney General
Mr. Holder is a litigation partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, DC. During his professional career, Mr. Holder has held a number of significant positions in government. Upon graduating from Columbia Law School, he moved to Washington, DC and joined the Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's Honors Program. In 1988, Mr. Holder was nominated by President Reagan to become an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was confirmed by the Senate and his investiture occurred in October of that year. Over the next five years, Judge Holder presided over hundreds of civil and criminal trials and matters. In 1993, President Clinton nominated Mr. Holder to become the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. He was confirmed later that year and served as the head of the largest United States Attorneys office in the nation for nearly four years. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Mr. Holder to serve as Deputy Attorney General, the number two position in the United States Department of Justice. He became the first African-American to serve as Deputy Attorney General. Mr. Holder briefly served under President Bush as Acting Attorney General pending the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft. Mr. Holder attended Columbia College, majored in American History, and graduated in 1973. Mr. Holder then attended Columbia Law School from which he graduated in 1976. While in law school, he clerked at the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund and the Department of Justice's Criminal Division.

Governor Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
Named one of America's Top Five Governors by Time magazine and one of America's top women leaders by Newsweek, Janet Napolitano stands out as a leader in developing innovative solutions to some of our country's greatest challenges. As Governor of Arizona, she's fought for quality schools, affordable healthcare, sensible economic development, a safe homeland, a secure border, and a government that is run efficiently and responsibly. She led the successful effort to create a new grade level in public school by offering voluntary full day kindergarten to every Arizona family. She raised teacher pay, expanded access to health insurance, and saved seniors millions on prescription drugs. Her homeland security background is extensive: as U.S. Attorney for Arizona, Napolitano led the Arizona portion of the domestic terrorism investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing; as Attorney General, she helped write the law to break up human smuggling rings; and as Governor, she implemented the first state homeland security strategy in the nation and opened the first state counter-terrorism center. She is a leader in coordinating federal, state, local and bi-national homeland security efforts, having presided over large-scale disaster preparedness exercises to ensure well-crafted and functional emergency plans. Napolitano was the first governor to call for the National Guard to assist at the U.S. - Mexico border at federal expense, and is a leading national voice for comprehensive immigration reform. The past chair of the National Governors Association- the first woman in history to hold this position- Janet Napolitano was re-elected in 2006 in a landslide victory as Arizona's 21st Governor. Prior to her election as Governor of Arizona, Napolitano served one term as Arizona Attorney General and four years as U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona.

Susan Rice, Ambassador to the United Natio