I know many had/have the attitude that they "don't give a fuck what other countries think." I don't agree. WE chose who leads our country, true. We have the final say. However, I do think other countries opinions do have a certain value. We should not put ourselves alone in the world alienating every other country from us. It's not awful to need allies and although it may not apply to every single country in the world, it says a lot of American to have many allies.

What's really bad for Obama is, the poor guy has so much on his plate that there's no way he accomplish everything he wants to do, especially in the first four years. But, he can at least start us on a healing path, thank God. Which leads me to ask, two wars, tanking economy, etc., has any other President inherited so many problems on so many fronts????

TIS

West side representin'!! Go Arnold! Go Arnold!

Speaking of Arnold, after the election he said "one thing good about the Obama win...I can finally get back in the bedroom"



TIS

Like other BB.Neters, I absolutely despise FOX NEWS, but I must say, Juan Williams....a black conservative pundit that's been derided by the Left as an Uncle Tom sell-out.....gives an eloquent opinion after Obama's election last tuesday, tearing up midway.

RR, I heard Juan Williams last week on National Public Radio and I agree. He fairly and accurately described Obama's win from a conservative standpoint. We are all proud as a nation (well most of us I think) that we've gotten beyond the race barrier to a some degree by electing a Black President. I can only imagine the pride that Juan and the Black community must feel.


TIS

I see the right wing crazies have already started. Rush Limbaugh is blaming the current economic crisis on Obama!

Is there any left wing crazies DT?

Hugo Chavez probably heads the list.

I don't know anyone on the left blaming George W. Bush for the stock market crash in 1928, however.

Rush Limbaugh is a turd that fell out of his mother's ass after she had sex with the family dog.

Tell us how you really feel SC. Don't hold back.

Nah... all the right-wingers here will jump all over me.

Michael Moore?

Come on SC, you're a big boy you can take it.

That I can! But even arguing that Limbaugh is a complete and total asshole isn't worth my time... it's something EVERYONE should know already.

Yeah but Michael is an "artiste" so we have to cut him some slack.

He might be an asshole but I listen to him from time to time I also listen to Hannity from time to time. But that don't mean I take whatever they say as gospel.

I hear you Miggie. Kinda like Hulk Hogan. You know he's an asshole, and you know it's fake, but sometimes its entertaining. Of course if Allah strikes him deaf again for taking all those painkillers he may be out of work.

Well if that happens I'm sure you won't lose any sleep.

Rush Limbaush, Sean Hannity are Anne Coulter are all turd fondlers. I do, however, get a kick out of Bob Grant, because his real last name is Gigante.

Michale Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, Alec Baldwin and the left wing extremists are equally insane.

The danger of extreme thinking . . .

At the GOP Governor's Conference this week at Miami, a funny incident occured today:

"A surprising moment occurred late this afternoon in a press roundtable featuring Govs. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jon Huntsman of Utah, former Ebay CEO and McCain national campaign co-chairman Meg Whitman, and former OMB Director Rob Portman.

A reporter asked whether they would have felt comfortable with Palin as president. After a moment of awkward silence, there were several answers given—but no one said “yes.”

Talk about being Damned with faint praise.

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/but-what-about-palin/

Obama will resign Senate seat Sunday

President-elect Barack Obama said today he will step down from his Senate seat effective this Sunday.

The decision adds to the pressure on Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, who under state law has the sole responsibility for naming a successor to Obama, the only African-American in the Senate.

“It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate," Obama said in a statement today.

"In a state that represents the crossroads of a nation, I have met so many men and women who’ve taken different journeys, but hold common hopes for their children’s future," Obama said. "It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation’s next President.”

Aides to Obama already had said he would not be returning to Washington to vote on Senate matters this fall, in advance of his being sworn in as the nation’s 44th president Jan. 20. Obama was in Chicago today working on transition matters from the Kluczynski Federal Building in the Loop.

Blagojevich has said he expects to make a decision by the end of the year and is “not interested” in naming himself to the post.

Under the state’s 65-year-old Senate succession law, the governor must make an appointment to fill the vacancy until the next federal election, in 2010, but there is no time frame for how quickly the appointment has to occur.

Aides said they expect Obama’s Senate office to remain open for a period of time, but no more than 60 days after the resignation becomes effect on Sunday.

During that time, Senate staff members will close down the office and archive documents for a future presidential library, as well as contact constituents to inform them as to how any open casework will be handled.

The last U.S. Senate appointment by an Illinois governor occured in 1969 when Richard Ogilvie appointed Ralph Tyler Smith to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen.

The governor's choice for the seat has the potential to affect his own political legacy as well as his possible bid for a third term. African-Americans have traditionally been a strong constituency for Blagojevich, though a recent Tribune poll showed support among black voters had fallen precipitously.

On Wednesday, Valerie Jarrett, an African-American businesswoman who is a close Obama friend and adviser, told the Tribune she is “not interested” in the Senate seat.

Obama has downplayed his own role in the selection process. “I think there's going to be a lot of good choices out there, but it is the governor's decision to make, not mine,” he said Friday.

Among those who have expressed interest or are being considered for the post are U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and Luis Gutierrez and Jesse Jackson Jr. of Chicago; Tammy Duckworth, who heads Blagojevich's department of Veterans' Affairs; and Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, two potential rivals if the governor seeks a third term.

Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., an African-American and close Blagojevich ally who served as an early Obama mentor, also has been mentioned as a possible replacement.

But Jones, 73, who is leaving his post in the legislature, is considered a caretaker replacement and national Democrats want an appointee who can run for re-election and win in two years.

Jackson has been the most active self-promoter for the high-profile job.

Jackson, the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson and a 13-year congressman, went so far as to commission a poll to try to demonstrate to Blagojevich that he would be electable on a statewide basis in 2010 if he were awarded the post. The congressman's staff also has regularly floated news releases and appeared in TV interviews to campaign for the job.

Earlier today, Obama’s Senate colleague from Illinois, Dick Durbin, said he wanted to meet with Blagojevich about a list of possible successors. But Durbin, in an interview on “The Spike O’Dell Show” on WGN-AM (720), made it clear he didn’t want to see someone like Jones appointed in a caretaker role.

“I really hope that the governor will be picking someone who can serve the state rather than the caretaker or someone who is, you know, trying to put some last line on their resume,” Durbin said. “I don’t want to see that happen. I’d like to see him pick someone who can really help me and help our state.”

Durbin declined to give a list of names on his list of potential successors, although he told students in central Illinois on Wednesday that Duckworth was on his sheet.

“They include some names that haven’t been mentioned, people that I’ve noticed around the state that I think are extraordinary--who I think could step into this position and really have some value added for us in the Capitol in Washington,” Durbin said.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2008/11/obama-will-resi.html

Hillary Clinton could be Sec. of State

Several Obama transition advisers are strongly advocating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for secretary of State, a move that would create the ultimate “Team of Rivals” cabinet, according to officials involved in the discussions.

President-elect Obama has narrowed the possibilities for secretary of State and Clinton is among those being strongly considered, the officials said. Some even call her the favorite.

It is not known what Obama himself thinks of the idea. But the fact that it is being entertained within his camp shows how much things have changed in the months since he defeated her for the Democratic nomination in a protracted primary marathon.

A possible clue to Obama’s willingness to consider Clinton for chief diplomat can be found in a January interview he gave to Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News.” As part of her “Primary Questions” series, she asked him what books besides the Bible he would considers essential if he were elected president.

“Doris Kearns Goodwin's book ‘Team of Rivals,’” Obama replied. “It was a biography of Lincoln. And she talks about Lincoln's capacity to bring opponents of his and people who have run against him in his cabinet. And he was confident enough to be willing to have these dissenting voices and confident enough to listen to the American people and push them outside of their comfort zone. And I think that part of what I want to do as president is push Americans a little bit outside of their comfort zone. It's a remarkable study in leadership.”

Obama is exceedingly confident now, in a way that only a president of the United States can be. And officials say that therefore the calculation is very different than it was when he was picking a vice president, and did not seriously consider her.

During the general election, she campaigned tirelessly on his behalf throughout the country.

Even officials who like the idea held up strong “caution” flags. Fresh off his electoral triumph, Obama does not feel he needs the Clintons. The president-elect has never liked the idea of former President Bill Clinton as a back-seat driver. And the former president has had many tangled foreign business dealings that could complicate his wife’s entry into an administration that is promising transparency.

But some Obama advisers argue that her celebrity and credibility would be a huge asset in his goal of reengaging the United States with allies.

“You can send John Kerry or Chuck Hagel,” said one adviser, mentioning some other candidates for secretary of state, “or you can send Hillary Clinton. That’s totally different.”

Clinton would be most attractive if Obama concludes that he will have to focus his early days in office on the domestic economy, and will have to essentially outsource heavy-duty foreign travel to his secretary of State.

The officials said Clinton becomes even more attractive if Obama retains President Bush’s last secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. Some Obama advisers are advocated that course because he would provide cover for drawing down troops in Iraq: Gates has said he believes that is possible, and it would keep Obama out of a fight he can’t afford with the Army Gen. David Petraeus, now the head of the U.S. Central Command.

The Clinton camp refused to comment on the possibility. Senior Adviser Philippe Reines said: “Any speculation about cabinet or other administration appointments is really for President-Elect Obama's transition team to address.”

An Obama adviser threw out one final rationale: It’s better to have the Clintons inside the tent than outside, causing trouble.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15614.html

Keep in mind that as Obama prepares to assume the Presidency, he is also preparing to run for reelection in 2012. That is what will mitigate his selection of his administration's personnel.

There's a lot of talk in the NY papers this morning about Hillary getting the Secretary of State job.

As Olivant hints, it kind of does an end run against her running against him in 2012. It would actually be a very Machiavellian move on Obama's part.

As much as I can't stand her, I hope she does get the job. It gets her the Hell out of New York. But she won't be the first woman; Madeleine Albright and Condoleeza Rice already beat her to it.

If true this is a brilliant choice. It does a lot of things. Hillary, like her or not knows as much about foreign policy as anyone, and she already has personal relationships with many world leaders. It also removes her from running in 2012, and it gets her out of the Senate where she could make mischief with legislation Obama plans to introduce, especially health care. The only downside I see is what the hell are they going to do with Bill?

Most important it shows Obama has learned well from the Godfather: "Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer."

Well if this goes through another Democratic Senate seat to fill this year. I wonder who the Gov. of NY would choose?

I believe he'll choose himself. His Gubernatorial seat ends in 2010, Hillary's Senate seat in 2012. If he gets voted out of the Governor's office in 2010, he can stay on as Senator until at least 2012.

Andrew Cuomo or Caroline Kennedy

Can he really choose himself?