Random Obama Whoring

With people still using the campaign thread for useful discussion and this thread not serving its original purpose, I have decided to rename it

Originally

Congratulations on everyone who supported Obama. For the sake of this country I hope I'm wrong about him and he is the greatest president we've ever seen. I hope "change" is for the better and not just for the sake of change because things can always get worse. I hope they don't.

Well here ya go, buuuudy:

Not funny.

Is Barrack a Muslim or not?

Not a good Muslim. Sorry.

Mmmhm that picture is pretty clever, actually.

Whys that?

Because that's obviously not his hair!

I guess the Nazis are in bad times when the Aryan Master Race has to racially outsource the flag-waving job.

Sorry to be late to the party folks...

But if there had to be a state that defines this election, it would be VIRGINIA.

Yes we all know that Obama's victory there is the first Democratic Virginia win since 1964, but surely most of you realize the historical irony and implication.

Virginia was the land of our first President and Father of our Country in George Washington....the origin of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both who wrote world-altering documents about humanity's unalienable civil rights and government's accountability to the people in the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution.....

The state of one of America's most beloved war generals in Robert E. Lee, despite fighting against that government.......The birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson, who had that daffy urge for permanent world peace that would become the United Nations....

And what do they all have in common? Unescapable links to a racial history. Washington/Madison/Jefferson all owned slaves, Lee inherited his from Washington's family, and Wilson was an infamous racist.

And now a black man has won Virginia, the capital of the insurgent Confederate States of America who fought 4 brutal years to keep its states' rights to enslave his race, and I'm proud that the land of my parents, of my family which included both Union and Confederate soldiers, has become the symbol of our nation coming together.

To all Americans (if I may be so bold as to speak for the rest of the world!!) Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

Hello Senza!

Hi Afs

ZOMG class warfare FTW LOL!!!

Here's Obama's Keynote speech from the 2004 DNC convention. It was the first time most of us, including myself, ever heard of Obama.

What Does an Obama Presidency Mean for Videogames?

Senza Mama!!! OMG!! It's been forever since I've seen you around. Nice to see you back.

And yes, yes yes, I think many of us realize that the rest of the world is thankful for this election as well.



TIS

Rahm Emanuel is the Chief of Staff.

Its funny you bring that up, for in discussing with some angry and disgruntled College Republican friends of mine, in the midst of my pitching that Obama potentially could be the JFK/Reagan of my generation, a well-liked rheotircal leader who made the public feel better about themselves.*

Then I realize, what if Obama is like Reagan, then what is the impact on Cinema?

This sounds self-serving, but the 1970s and recent 2000s all reflected the politics and emotions of those times, usually depressing, downer, and gritty, and I think produce better cinema than the 80s.

I mean look at some great shit in recent years: CHILDREN OF MEN, UNITED 93, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, the BOURNE movies, CASINO ROYALE, etc.

So does that mean that the 2010s will consist of Spielberg-esque sentimentalist popcorn schlock that we film buffs will be bitching at for the next few years?

*=which is why I think its weird when GOPers mocked the Obama campaign’s sappyness and that infomercial last week. That was Reagan 101 bitches.

College Republican sounds like a bit of an oxymoron.

Why is he picking his staff now? Shouldn't he be spending badly needed time with his wife and two daughters? plus he needs to mourn for his Grandmother.

"A President has to be able to do two things at once." - President Barack Obama

Is Rahm Emanuel a Muslim?

God, that would be soooo cool!

The fucking conservatives would shit pickles.

FUN FACT: Emanuel inspired the Josh Lyman character on THE WEST WING.

Didn't know that. Cool, Ronnie.

One thing I hope comes out of this election. I hope the media stops using the reference "African-American". I'm a Euro-American and no one refers to me that way. Let's just be Americans. If you are from a certain cultural background and want to celebrate a custom from that culture, that's great; dance, sing, cook, dress, whatever. But I think we should move on and stop identifying minorities by their cultural background. It doesn't matter that a certain group only makes up 20% of the population. We're all in this big salad bowl of people. We're all mixed together. So cut the shit. Why don't we just identify people by their hair color...."He's the first red-headed President". Pretty stupid, huh? But if you want to play the race thing, I think it's great that we have a President who is Afro-Euro-American. Imagine if Tiger Woods was President; he would be the first Cau-black-asian President. Let's start identifying people by their character and then we might just take a step to really becoming civilized.

George Washinton and Thomas Jefferson were red-heads. Actually, I like this designation. McCain went with the white and balding look, and Biden went with the massive hair transplant plugs. remember how bald he was 20 years ago. Similarly, Obama's graying looks too much/too fast to be natural. I suspect there was a dye judge to make him appear older and more experienced.

You may be on to something, MaryCas.

Geez Louise! Who would wanna be gray on purpose.



TIS

Actually, he's Jewish.

I thought Joe the Plumber, that astute political commentator, said Obama would be the death of Israel. Yet here he goes a picks someone whose father was an Israeli.

Interesting pick, since they disagree a lot. Guess Obama meant when he said he didn't want just yes men surrounding him.

And Bobby Jr. for the EPA? Hell YEA.

(but not just for the eye candy)

Emanuel has a reputation as a nasty enforcer for the Party in the House, and perhaps that is Obama's thinking here, like Luco Brasi.

Plus, you must remember that the Chief of Staff is traditionally the President's buddy or close associate (i.e. JFK's COS Ken O'Donnell was RFK's College Roommate), because most appointees, despite owing their jobs to the Executive, would desert if the President is marred in a shitstorm. That is why the President needs someone that they trust personally and privately.

Some argue that a reason for Nixon getting fucked on Watergate was that he didn't have such a true confidant in the White House.

As for RFK Jr/EPA....yeah the liberal Environmentalists will love that. O'Reilly's head will explode too.

Oh and in random news, heard on NBC News that Obama plans to replace the White House's one-lane bowling alley with a basketball court.

Which is fitting, since basketball is an American-invented sport.

You can disagree with others on your politics. You can post a movie review that may not be favored by others here. You are NOT, however, allowed to get the name Luca Brasi wrong. On this board that is an infamnia.

Plus, remember how pathetic Obama was when he tried to bowl. He bowls like an elitist.

Lets hope his Presidency doesn't go into the gutter.

Ahhh. Very nice.

So, we didn't hear from or new President yesterday. I heard something about a press conference. Anyone else know? I think we'll be hearing of cabinet picks very soon.



TIS

Perhaps he was referring to Luca's not so well known brother Luco?

Hey TIS...didn't realise it was nearly a year and a half between posts. Who would have guessed I could keep my mouth shut for so long! Well whaddya know Obama has Irish roots! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7710352.stm I shall now refer to him as President Barry O'Bama

I had heard this mentioned on St. Patrick's Day, but it's funny you should mention it because I heard yesterday that the last U.S. President without some Irish roots was Lyndon Johnson.

I'm not sure if everyone knows this, but Obama is related to Bush and Cheney.

From 2007:
Two curious political relationships of Senator Barack Obama came to light last month in The Chicago Sun-Times: he is an 11th cousin to President Bush, and a 9th cousin once removed to Vice President Dick Cheney. The Bush-Obama ancestors are Samuel and Sarah Soole Hinckley of 17th-century Massachusetts, The Sun-Times wrote; the Cheney-Obama ancestors are Mareen and Susannah Duvall, 17th-century immigrants from France.

The story sent new ripples through the political world last week when Lynne Cheney repeated Mr. Obama’s link with her husband in a television interview promoting her new book. It’s not as if Mr. Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were found to be identical twins separated at birth; still, the genealogy was incongruous.

But the Bush-Obama-Cheney nexus means rather less than it may seem. Conventional genealogies conceal how rapidly genes get diluted down the generations. You inherit directly only half of your father’s genes, a quarter of each grandfather’s, an eighth of any great-grandfather’s. And with ancestors much further back, you may share no more genes than you do with a random stranger met in Times Square.

That may be why many people cannot trace their family tree very far back: perhaps intuitively, they realize they don’t share much, genetically speaking, with those distant forebears.

Tracing ancestry through the father’s surname, a surrogate for the Y chromosome, may seem absurd given that the Y carries just 70 of the 25,000 or so genes in the human genome. But the compilers of Burke’s Peerage could be engaged in a quest less ludicrous than it might sound. In in-bred populations like Europe’s nobility, just as in isolated villages, everyone dips from the same little gene pool. In such cases, you inherit only half of your father’s genes directly, but of the half that got left on the cutting-room floor, some may have come to you via your mother, who shared them with your father via a joint ancestor.

But in out-bred populations, like that of the United States, where people generally marry people who are not related to them in any known way, genes get diluted really fast. Mr. Obama probably inherited a minute fraction — one divided by two to the 11th power — of Mareen Duvall’s genome, which would amount to less than one gene, assuming the Y chromosome was not inherited. Much the same would be true of Mr. Cheney. The chance that they inherited the same one gene is vanishingly small. So the fact of their genealogical relationship, whatever its political symbolism, is genetically meaningless.

Luco was the son of Luca Brasi and Lucy Mancini

Barry O'Bama

Tomorrow.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Then I beg for forgiveness, Godfather.

Some cool Obama pictures. PICS

Thanks Blake, great shots. I like his David Caruso "Horatio Cane" shades. His girls are cute.

One Whoring item I would like to add, do you think we (the media, the world, etc) can stop refering to Barack Obama as the first black President, or the first Afro-American President. After all he is bi-racial. Why not the first bi-racial President?

He looks totally badass in pic #20

Great pics Blake. All good. 20 is pretty cool! I still am amazed at some of those crowds.



TIS

You can call him whatever you want, as long as you call him Mr. President!

Those were very good pictures. The innauguration will be one for the ages.

I would LOVE to go to the inaugaration.

Oh, Move-on is givig away free "Yes We Can" stickers if anyone is interested. I'm guessing they are not very big, I ordered a pin and it was about the size of a quarter or smaller, but still nice. On the down side they say it takes 5/7 weeks.


http://pol.moveon.org/obama/hp/home.html


TIS

But he kicks ass playing basketball.

Obama apologizes to Nancy Reagan for seance remark

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama called Nancy Reagan on Friday to apologize for a remark about seances he made during his first news conference earlier in the day.

When a reporter asked Obama if he had spoken with any ex-presidents since his election on Tuesday, he responded that he had spoken to all former presidents "that are living."

"I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances," he said.

Nancy Reagan, wife of 40th President Ronald Reagan, was derided in 1988 when his former chief of staff Donald Regan revealed in a book that the first lady had consulted an astrologer to determine the president's schedule.

Obama apologized to Reagan "for the careless and offhanded remark," Obama transition team spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said.

"The president-elect expressed his admiration and affection for Mrs. Reagan that so many Americans share and they had a warm conversation," Cutter said.

President Reagan died in 2004 at 93.

Other first ladies have reportedly used spiritual advisers.

In his 1996 book, "The Choice," Washington Post editor and writer Bob Woodward said that as first lady, Sen. Hillary Clinton had seance-like sessions at the White House during which she conversed with late first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. At the time, the White House said the sessions were not seances.

Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was rumored to have held seances at the White House in order to contact her two dead sons, Eddie and Willie. She also reportedly went to seances under an assumed name after the president's death to attempt to contact him.

Immediately after the seance remark, Obama said he had "re-read some of Lincoln's writings, who's always an extraordinary inspiration" and mentioned that former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush and current President George W. Bush "have all been very gracious and offered to provide any help that they can in this transition process."

I notice that Slick Willie is absent from that list.

Names surface for top Obama jobs
Candidate list for administration posts said to include some Republicans
The Associated Press
updated 7:30 p.m. ET, Fri., Nov. 7, 2008

President-elect Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for top administration posts, according to Democratic officials.

Obama has signaled that he will make no Cabinet-level appointments immediately, and his deliberations are tightly held by his closest aides. But that hasn't stopped Democrats and interest groups from circulating lists and offering recommendations to the Obama transition team.

Some are surprising, such as former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell as possible education secretary. Others are high-profile governors or members of Congress. Yet many are also little known to the general public — and may remain so.

Obama has less than 11 weeks to staff his new administration. Some names often mentioned as possible appointees to top posts:

DEFENSE SECRETARY

Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., member of Senate Armed Services Committee.

TREASURY SECRETARY

Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary and one-time Harvard University president.

SECRETARY OF STATE

Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., 2004 presidential nominee.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., former chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.

Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., member of House Judiciary Committee.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former assistant U.S. attorney for civil rights.

ENERGY SECRETARY

Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

EPA ADMINISTRATOR

Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board.

Kathleeen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

Howard Dean, chairman of Democratic National Committee, physician, former Vermont governor.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of House transportation committee.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.

Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary.


INTERIOR SECRETARY

Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., former executive director of Colorado Natural Resources Department.


HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY

James Lee Witt, former FEMA director.

Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton.

Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, chairman of 9/11 commission.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., chairwoman of Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER

James B. Steinberg, former deputy national security adviser.

Susan Rice, former assistant secretary of state for African affairs.

EDUCATION SECRETARY

Colin Powell, former secretary of state, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt.

Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools.

Inez Tenenbaum, former South Carolina schools superintendent.

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

Tom Buis, president of National Farmers Union.

Former Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas.

OFFICE OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR

Rep. John Spratt Jr., D-S.C., chairman of House Budget Committee.

Gene Sperling, economic aide to President Clinton.

Jason Furman, Obama's campaign economic policy director.

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.

HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY

Valerie Jarrett, Obama friend, chairman and CEO of Habitat Co.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.

LABOR SECRETARY

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of House Education and Labor Committee.

Former Rep. David Bonior, member of Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board.

Andy Stern, president of Service Employees International Union.

Some behind the scenes pictures from Election Night.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/

I've seen some of the pics before. Very nice. What a great looking family hu?

Poor guy sure is walking into a world of shit isn't he? At least we know that he is organized, and strategic, and smart... but where to begin.

Btw, just off the wall, I heard more than one person say that when they saw Obama he was taller than they expected. I don't necessarily see him as being that tall. Anyone know?


TIS

He's only 6'1".

That is a good point.

Much love to all my fellow half castes out there!!

Which is weird, because watching FOX NEWS after that press conference, alot of those pundits needled him for it, but not necessarily got outraged or trashed him for it.

Either way, smooth move by the Obama folks to kill a buzz-kill before it could gestate.

You just know the Republicans are waiting anxioulsy for whatever Obama's first move is, so they can criticize it. Did you hear Joe Scarborough's phony outrage when Obama picked Emanuel for his chief of staff? Per Joe, "it's like a slap in the face." I don't know Emanuel real well, but figure if Scarborough is pissed, it's gotta be a good move.


TIS

The "mutts like me" remark was epic!

It shows how at ease Obama is when talking about race; how it shouldn't be a subject where we have to walk on egg shells when discussing it.

Well he said that Emanuel is the GOP version of Tom DeLay, which is interesting.

The theory behind Emanuel is good: OBama having a psychopath Jew Enforcer to kick the ass of the useless/incompetent/pathetic Pelosi & Reid leadership in Congress, because to quote Pat Buchanan, "he knows where all the bodies are buried."

His Nancy Reagan remark disappointed me a bit, not because I thought he has any mean-spirited feelings about the former first lady, but because I thought it lacked the discretion, decorum and judgment he had shown on the trail.

Plus, just when he's talking about being a unifier, he doesn't need to be perceived as taking a gratuitous swipe at someone like Nancy Reagan.

This was taken care of appropriately. He similarly put his foot in his mouth when he made the remark about people clinging to their guns and bibles. That remark reflected generalizations that I thought he was above. Anyway, this will disappear if he does the job we elected him to do.

Notice how during the course of his campaign, Obama has off-cuff joked less and kept to his disciplined answers to all the issues....like his Iranian answer yesterday.

I saw on the news that folks in Kenya are also very excited about Obama due to his roots there.

They were in a maternity ward and all the boys born recently were called Barack and all the girls Michelle.

If this is happening all over Kenya it is going to be a very confusing place a couple of generations down the line with everyone having the same name

Hey Republicans. If Obama screws up, you can call him Obuma.

That same phenomenon is occuring with blacks in America as well.

I mean better Barack than Fiddy (50 Cent) or Terrell (Owens) and so forth.

Interesting article on one of Obama's grand schemes for America in the 21st Century when he's inagurated:

Obama: world's first tech revolutionary

The most significant cabinet decision by President-elect Barack Obama will be the creation of a Chief Technology Officer. This is unprecedented and will, more than any other cabinet position, define his presidency and launch the transformation of government from its current nature to what’s known as the 2.0 world.

America’s CTO will not only assume the job of cyber-protection for the government against terrorists, hackers and criminals. But it will revolutionize governance itself and here are the main goals:

1. The CTO will be responsible for enhancing and financially supporting technology of all kinds: environmental, scientific, engineering, medical. This will include massive funding for green (US$150 billion in 10 years), biotech, computer tech and pure scientific research but will also involve incentives to universities to step up engineering graduates annually from 60,000 a year to double that number within half a generation.

2. America’s CTO will be responsible for making the government more transparent, accessible, responsive. Like the Internet-savvy Obama election machine, this President-elect wants to stream meetings live which are held between cabinet ministers and business CEOs or their organizations; he wants to post on government websites legislation for five days to solicit public comments; he wants to provide other interactive policy sites, chat rooms and forums so that citizens can participate in governance and he wants to streamline or convert government departments and their websites into efficient service-providers.

3. Extend broadband access to all Americans, up from the 23% which now can tap into the Internet and its vast store of information or services. The U.S. ranks 15th in the world in this regard, according to the OECD.

4. The CTO will interface and lobby for more open immigration policies to attract more of the world’s brainpower to its government-funded research projects.

5. Obama’s America will earmark money to upgrade and computerize the country’s education system.

6. His plans include cleaning up the patent protection and copyright processes to end frivolous and vexatious litigation as well as “trolling” or tweaking existing protections to create new, invasive ones.

America will dominate innovation

It’s an ambitious agenda and very much on the mind of Obama’s generation of younger people who got out of the vote and will want to continue to have a say during governance, as was the case during the campaign.
At the same time as transforming government through transparency and access and interactivity, the Obama ambition is to foster America’s greatest strength which is innovation and invention.

This is not going to be a government which broadcasts and delegates power, but Obama’s post-politics platform is going to be a Manhattan-project designed to truly bring about government by the people and for the people.

It’s ambitious and will only succeed if the CTO is an inspired choice and the normal governmental impediments are removed with the help of Congress.
One touted to be a potential candidate is Lawrence Lessig, a brilliant digital age scholar who I have met at conferences in the U.S. He is founder of Stanford University’s Center for the Internet and Society. He believes the creation of a CTO is inspired.

“I do think the CTO could be a critically important position, from deciding how to make government more efficient and transparent through technology, to helping advance public policy questions like those surrounding global warming,” he said in a recent interview with an American periodical.

A cabinet-level CTO position would be more lofty and powerful than the presidential science advisor and may be the most important economic and business initiative undertaken by the Obama Team. It could, if successful, insure that the United States will remain the world’s pre-eminent high-tech nation.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/francis/archive/2008/11/07/second-thoughts.aspx

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All sounds good to me!

I was just reading about this RR. It sounds like a great plan, with so many possibilties. Heck, due to outstanding staff, planning and coordination, the internet paid for his entire campaign. This is probably an example of one of the many possible changes coming. Like JFK was the first "tv" President (more or less), Obama will become the first internet President.
Although I couldn't list for you columns of ideas, I see this idea only the beginning of what "could" be. A new generation is on the rise. The torch has been passed.


TIS

Lot of optimistic people here... I don't share your enthusiasm TIS/RRA. He has been talking, talking, talking... he should pause for a while, accomplish some things and then make more promises.

Yea, perhaps it's not good to be overly optimistic. It's just that we've had 8 years of sheer hell and it's hard with this talk of change that we so badly want not to be optimistic. I keep telling myself it'll take at least a full term to dig out of the tanked economy on top of the mess Bush has left us with. God know what other disasters Obama will find that we don't know about. Any "forward" sign IS encouraging and that's a good feeling.


TIS

And do what exactly now? He aint President for another 2 months.

I just think President-Elect Obama has some potentially good ideas, like his "America 2.0" goal approach, or how apparently he has NO plans to raise the corporate capital gains tax for 2009 and maybe 2010 too (that'll piss the liberals off).

Another is that he wants to also have the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) back off on raiding medical marijuana farms, and instead re-direct those resources and manpower to the Mexican border to combat that epidemic stemming from the border towns in Mexican being run de facto by the drug cartels....which I think is a good pragmatic approach.

Also, as reported on Fox News, Obama apparently is NOT in favor of reimposing the "Fairness Doctrine" at the FCC, which if the Liberals in Congress get their way, would force for example FOX NEWS programs to have an "equal" dissent voice (i.e. Liberal) .

From his campaign website:

[i]Sen. Obama does not support reimposing the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters. He considers this debate to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible. That is why Sen. Obama supports media-ownership caps, network neutrality, public broadcasting, as well as increasing minority ownership of broadcasting and print outlets. [i]

Wouldn't it be something if President Obama becomes the best friend for the Right-Winger shitheads like Limbaugh and Hannity?

Obama Positions Himself to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions on Environmental, Social Issues

By Ceci Connolly and R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, November 9, 2008

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse the president on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition.

Are you suggesting that a liberal equates a socialist? Liberalism has nothing to do with economical issues, or if it remotely does, it surely goes against socialism per se (Protecting individual rights as opposed to that of society). The fact that many liberals happen to be in favor of socialism doesn't make it okay to refer to all liberals as socialists.

Not that anything is wrong with socialism. In fact I hear Sweden is the place to live.

In US, there is no real Left part that way.

I was refering to traditional liberal economical interpretation that because people on top of social-economical scale have MORE money, they can afford to pay MORE taxes.

American Liberals are different from Liberals in Europe, Asia, etc....likewise with American Conservatives to their counter-parts elsewhere.

God, Europe is just fucking Obamaphile at the moment. Remember when they blamed America for everything, including late trash pick-ups and ass-pimples?

Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics (NERD)

• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball

• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili

• His favourite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini

• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father

• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed

• He has read every Harry Potter book

• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali

• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream

• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars

• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia

• He can speak Spanish

• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead

• His favourite drink is black forest berry iced tea

• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn't

• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia (BADASS)

• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs

• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name

• His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister's fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived

• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy

• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books

• His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Where GODFATHER?)

• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck

• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.

• His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees

• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date

• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker

• He doesn't drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol

• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician

• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine

• His daughters' ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7)

• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside

• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal

• His house in Chicago has four fire places

• Daughter Malia's godmother is Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita

• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry

• He uses an Apple Mac laptop

• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300 SUV

• He wears $1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits

• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes

• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)

• His favourite fictional television programmes are Mash and The Wire

• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers

• He was nicknamed "Bear" by his late grandmother

• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds

• His favourite artist is Pablo Picasso

• His speciality as a cook is chilli

• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were "street urchins"

• He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life

• His late father was a senior economist for the Kenyan government

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopi...t-not-know.html

Well you see, that may be called a liberal by nowadays right wingers, to taint the name of a liberal, but that doesn't make it a liberal. Liberal has a literal meaning and I appreciate it if you stick with it. But of course members of DNC in the US are more of a social democrat than pure liberals, or if any liberal gets on their raft is to protect his civil rights. Call them democrats, but not liberals. Thank you!

Libertarians ring a bell?

I meant a communist/socialist party. Left is a loose term, mostly relative to the "right"

Actually there's a socialist party. They also had a candidate. He came on The Colbert Report before the election. Colbert asked him if he was mad how Obama is called a socialist.

communist is almost a pejorative, as in "commie bastard" lol

Well, cut them some slack. Nobody likes his hard earned money to be stolen (That's how they describe it and fear spreads fast and somehow works wonders in the US). I think it is a cultural thing and should be instilled from childhood so that small doses of communism (read socialism) work out as it does in Scandinavian countries. With Americans I honestly can never see it happen. It is a good thing though. Not all the world should be safe netted. Some should go out and dare.

First of all Thanks to Just Lou for that flicker link.

Look at this one, it must be during McCain's concession speech:



Even his kids are watching and listening. I'm truly speechless. I mean some call it humility on his part and how he is human, but this is beyond human reaction. He knows the challenges ahead and he isn't in it for power. He listens to everyone.

It is funny how I'm so excited about this guy. I know things between our countries are really really bad. Misunderstandings could continue even with Obama in the office, with or without Ahmadnutjob. This guy could be the one bombing my home to the pieces. But I can't help loving him. For the very first time, what a politician says and does makes sense to me.

Last report Obama's smoking was in June, and he said he had slipped a few times and sneaked a butt. There are no reports of continued smoking.



That was in his first book, Dreams of my Father. Such admission probably is why it never got used much as a bad thing on the campaign trail (ala "didn't inhale" Clinton).



He said "brothers should pull up their pants"





The Chrysler 300 is a sedan, not an SUV.

Damn British papers never get their facts straight it seems. Yogi, how you live with them I'll never know.



But isn't Ahmadnutjob probably going to lose your upcoming elections? I think getting him out of office would be a good first step for better relations between both governments.

He most likely will if the election is not rigged. The guy he appointed as the minister of the state got axed from the House of Represntatives for a fake degree. We'll see who he appoints to that office and how things will turn out. But there's not a strong buzz about a solid candidate from the reformers yet, and if he could get passed the initial barriers...

But let's hope for the sake of humanity that this bastard gets fired from the office next summer. I just can't take four more years of this.

Well considering your democratic system, he only needs confidence of your Supreme Ayatollah to stay in power, regardless of the vote.

Not really, he needs the vote and should win the election if he wants to stay. The fact that the Ayatollah is the comander in chief and the president has a very limited maneuver though is a whole other issue.

It was only a year or so ago when everyone in the media was saying: "Hillary was a shoe-in"; "Obama will never win over the Clinton voters" "Obama will never win over the white, or the working class or the Jewish community, or white collar, or the blue collar or whatever".......NOBODY thought he'd win (at least in he media). And look what happened????

I have no doubt that even as much as only a year ago, if you were able to get inside Hillary's mind, she never in her wildest dreams would have thought she'd lose this election. The Clintons must still be reeling seeing the Obama's prepare to move to the White House. Can you imagine? You just never know do you?


TIS

I hope it gives them both loose stools for the next four years.

Nah, just kidding. Make it eight years.

It was all worth it.

It was the Clinton's arrogance that was their undoing. Not only are the Clinton's reeeling, you can imagine every redneck having uncontrolled gagging with the thought of the black skin of Michelle Obama sleeping in the WHITE HOUSE. The Secret Service are going to be busy beavers protecting this President.

Unfortunately, you're right, MC. It's stomach-churning to think that people still hate that much, but they do.

Unfortunately this is very true.

I was in a bar just last night watching the Giants game. The drunken, obnoxious white guys at the bar seemed to have even more vitriol for Michelle than for her husband. Geez, they were even wishing things on the daughters, so I just got up and left.

For the record, it wasn't even a neighborhood-Bronx-Italian-Irish type of "gin mill," where you might come to expect this. It was a relatively upscale place on Second Avenue in Yorkville, which is the upper east side of Manhattan. Very, very hateful stuff.

Ditto for McCain. It is not only the racial aspect but the fact that they view him as a young smart-ass upstart who didn't "pay his dues." What is amazing is that the baby boomer generation that was supposed to have so much promise will only produce two presidents, Clinton, who will probably go down in history as a good, but not great president, and will always have the impeachment used, and Bush who will go down as one of the worst presidents if not the worst of all time.

I agree; I never really bought into the theory that the last "boomers" were born in '64.

When I think of the "boomer" generation, I think of people born after WW2, right up until the end of the '50s.

More than that, the Obama election signifies this.

If it was Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, Hillary/McCain would have continued that same generational battle...over Vietnam.

Yeah it ended in 1975, but notice all those campaigns since then that involved Vietnam, whatever it was war hero right-wingers blasting the lefties for quitting the war, or war hero lefties shitting on draft-dodging pro-war conservatives....Hillary (former Peacenik) and McCain (POW) would have been a continuation of that same debate.

Now with Obama, our first post-Baby Boomer President, we all can move on...and let my generation destroy this country, one day at a time.

Obama planning U.S. trials for Gitmo detainees

WASHINGTON - President-elect Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

During his campaign, Obama described Guantanamo as a "sad chapter in American history" and has said generally that the U.S. legal system is equipped to handle the detainees. But he has offered few details on what he planned to do once the facility is closed.

Under plans being put together in Obama's camp, some detainees would be released and many others would be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts.

A third group of detainees — the ones whose cases are most entangled in highly classified information — might have to go before a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases, according to advisers and Democrats involved in the talks. Advisers participating directly in the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans aren't final.

Sharp deviation from Bush administration
The move would be a sharp deviation from the Bush administration, which established military tribunals to prosecute detainees at the Navy base in Cuba and strongly opposes bringing prisoners to the United States. Obama's Republican challenger, John McCain, had also pledged to close Guantanamo. But McCain opposed criminal trials, saying the Bush administration's tribunals should continue on U.S. soil.

The plan being developed by Obama's team has been championed by legal scholars from both political parties. But it is almost certain to face opposition from Republicans who oppose bringing terrorism suspects to the U.S. and from Democrats who oppose creating a new court system with fewer rights for detainees.

Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor and Obama legal adviser, said discussions about plans for Guantanamo had been "theoretical" before the election but would quickly become very focused because closing the prison is a top priority. Bringing the detainees to the United States will be controversial, he said, but could be accomplished.

"I think the answer is going to be, they can be as securely guarded on U.S. soil as anywhere else," Tribe said. "We can't put people in a dungeon forever without processing whether they deserve to be there."

The tougher challenge will be allaying fears by Democrats who believe the Bush administration's military commissions were a farce and dislike the idea of giving detainees anything less than the full constitutional rights normally enjoyed by everyone on U.S. soil.

"There would be concern about establishing a completely new system," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House Judiciary Committee and former federal prosecutor who is aware of the discussions in the Obama camp. "And in the sense that establishing a regimen of detention that includes American citizens and foreign nationals that takes place on U.S. soil and departs from the criminal justice system — trying to establish that would be very difficult."

Hybrid court
Obama has said the civilian and military court-martial systems provide "a framework for dealing with the terrorists," and Tribe said the administration would look to those venues before creating a new legal system. But discussions of what a new system would look like have already started.

"It would have to be some sort of hybrid that involves military commissions that actually administer justice rather than just serve as kangaroo courts," Tribe said. "It will have to both be and appear to be fundamentally fair in light of the circumstances. I think people are going to give an Obama administration the benefit of the doubt in that regard."

Though a hybrid court may be unpopular, other advisers and Democrats involved in the Guantanamo Bay discussions say Obama has few other options.

Prosecuting all detainees in federal courts raises a host of problems. Evidence gathered through military interrogation or from intelligence sources might be thrown out. Defendants would have the right to confront witnesses, meaning undercover CIA officers or terrorist turncoats might have to take the stand, jeopardizing their cover and revealing classified intelligence tactics.

In theory, Obama could try to transplant the Bush administration's military commission system from Guantanamo Bay to a U.S. prison. But Tribe said, and other advisers agreed, that was "a nonstarter." With lax evidence rules and intense secrecy, the military commissions have been criticized by human rights groups, defense attorneys and even some military prosecutors who quit the process in protest.

"I don't think we need to completely reinvent the wheel, but we need a better tribunal process that is more transparent," Schiff said.

That means something different would need to be done if detainees couldn't be released or prosecuted in traditional courts. Exactly what that something would look like remains unclear.

According to three advisers participating in the process, Obama is expected to propose a new court system, appointing a committee to decide how such a court would operate. Some detainees likely would be returned to the countries where they were first captured for further detention or rehabilitation. The rest could probably be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts, one adviser said. All spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, which have been private.

Whatever form it takes, Tribe said he expects Obama to move quickly.

"In reality and symbolically, the idea that we have people in legal black holes is an extremely serious black mark," Tribe said. "It has to be dealt with."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27640617/

No offense, Ronnie. But if Obama was born in '61 and you were born in '85, isn't he old enough to be your father?

How is he "your" generation when he's closer in age to both the Clintons and Dubya than he is to you?

Because he's younger than them, that's why.

Actually, baby boomers were born through '64.

Obama Wants Lieberman To Remain In Democratic Caucus

President-elect Barack Obama has informed party officials that he wants Joe Lieberman to continue caucusing with the Democrats in the 111th Congress, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.

Obama's decision could tie the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been negotiating to remove Lieberman as chair of the Homeland Security and Government Reform committee while keeping him within the caucus. Lieberman has insisted that he will split from the Democrats if his homeland security position is stripped.

Aides to the president-elect did not return requests for comment. Senate officials were unclear whether Obama would be comfortable with Lieberman maintaining his current committee post.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he would welcome Lieberman into the GOP, though he has little to offer in terms of committee assignments.

If Lieberman were to continue caucusing with the Democrats without being punished for his campaign conduct -- Democrats say he broke a promise not to campaign negatively against Obama -- the progressive community will undoubtedly be up in arms. For Obama, however, the move may be a shrewd gesture towards reconciliation, in the process taking a potentially taxing political fight off the table.

Fellow Connecticut Senate Chris Dodd, who has spoken out in favor of Lieberman remaining in the party, explained as much to reporters on Friday:

"What does Barack Obama want?... He's talked about reconciliation, healing, bringing people together. I don't think he'd necessarily want to spend the first month of this president-elect period, this transition period, talking about a Senate seat, particularly if someone is willing to come forward and is willing to be a member of your family in the caucus in that sense."

A Democrat close to Lieberman, meanwhile, said he thought that keeping Lieberman in the fold "would be a good move for Obama as a way to make real his promise of new politics, a less partisan Washington and more unity. He would do so at some risk. Obviously there is a liberal wing of the party that wants Joe punished... "

There is, perhaps, one measure by which Democratic leadership can still reconcile the competing realities of Lieberman's future in the caucus. One Democratic aide said that the party was considering letting the Connecticut Senator keep his post at homeland security but forcing him to relinquish one or both of his spots on two more high-profile committees: Armed Services and Environment & Public Works.

Lieberman is in line for leadership roles in both of those committees should the current chairs leave their posts. On Armed Services, the two senators ahead of him are Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd. On Environment and Public Works, current chair Barbara Boxer may face a tough reelection campaign in 2010 and second in line, Sen. Max Baucus, already heads another committee.

If Democratic leadership were to keep Lieberman on homeland security but impede any chance of ascending to these other posts, that may be enough to placate progressive activists demanding punishment while keeping the Connecticut Senator in the caucus.

UPDATE: Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo writes that Bill Clinton has also been "making calls on Sen. Lieberman's behalf," something that the Huffington Post later heard from another Hill source.

But Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, vehemently denies the report.

"It's completely false," he says.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/obama-wants-lieberman-to_n_142731.html

----------------------------------------------

I have to say, if that report is true, I like that decision. The liberals/partisan Democrats will be pissed, but Obama may have side-stepped a shit-pie that could have snared him pointlessly for the next few weeks.

To quote a reader at Andrew Sullivan's blog:

"Keeping him in the the Dems caucus indeed would signal the new politics. So, as has happened so often, Obama's temperament and judgement trumps the knee-jerk reaction."

I don't know if this was posted or not, and really haven't been able to catch up on all the details, but what's this about a White House website that Obama plans to start (White House 2.0 or something). This is to keep the people informed (what a change that would be), along with suggestions available from the public???? Anyone know the details?

On another note, I see that there were about 1,000 cheering people outside the White House today when Obama pulled up. Like the hostess said, what a switch, having people outside the WH cheering instead of protesting.


TIS

Sounds interesting. There are also rumors that Obama, as you put it yourself TIS possibly might become the first "Internet President," may in fact give his weekly Presidential address NOT on radio, but on YouTube or similar video technology.

Ok, here's the story on the website:

TIS




Obama Launches Website


CNN) -- Barack Obama had a formidable online presence during his quest for the White House, and he is once again turning to the Internet to communicate with the American public as president-elect.

President-elect Barack Obama has launched a Web site to chronicle his transition.

Within 24 hours of last week's historic vote, his transition team rolled out change.gov, a Web site that promises to be "your source for the latest news, events and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama administration."

The site is still a little thin on content, but there's a blog, a newsroom and a countdown to the January 20 inauguration.

Visitors can fill out a form to share their stories about what the election meant to them, or they can give their vision of an Obama presidency. They can even apply for a job. Watch how the site may help Obama »

The Web site is an extension of Obama's online strategy during the campaign.

As a candidate, he had four times as many friends as his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, on MySpace.com. Obama had almost 3 million supporters on Facebook and put together a massive database of e-mail addresses -- some 10 million.

Obama even announced Sen. Joe Biden as his choice for vice president in a text message to supporters.

Don't Miss
Commentary: GOP needs Obama's Web savvy
iReport.com: What's your message for Obama?
iReport.com: Who should be in Obama's Cabinet?
People who follow Obama online have become a community that the president-elect can tap into, said Andrew Raseij, founder of TechPresident.com, a Web site that tracked the online operations of the 2008 presidential campaigns.

"He now has his own special interest. He has a group of people he can go to and ask them to participate in helping him pass his legislative agenda," Raseij said.

He also predicted that Obama will use online video and interactivity to revolutionize the way the commander in chief communicates.

"I think the days of just a Saturday morning radio address and an occasional press conference as the way the president speaks to the American public are over," Raseij said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Barack Obama starts doing a weekly YouTube video and also fireside chats for the 21st century by allowing people to filter up questions to him that he might answer."
iReport.com: Take a guided tour of the Web site with a fellow reader

The president-elect already has said he'll have a five-day online comment period before signing any nonemergency legislation, so Americans can be part of the process.

He's also planning to appoint a chief technology officer and has pledged to get true broadband to every community in the country.

Obama's embrace of the Internet during his presidential campaign came as Americans increasingly turned to online sources to get election news. iReport.com: Message to Obama praises use of technology


A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found 33 percent got most of their 2008 campaign news from the Internet, compared with 10 percent in 2004.

The same survey found almost half of Americans ages 18 to 29 turned to the Internet as their major source of election news in 2008. Seventeen percent of people in this age group turned to newspapers.



http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/11/10/obama.wired/index.html?iref=newssearch

Not everyone in Europe is an Obama supporter...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnew...lised-rule.html

Austria?? I'm shocked. Because in the 1930s and '40s, they were the European seat of racial tolerance.

The sad thing is, its nothing new with Austria and that whole Alps region in general.

America, the good and the bad of it, is still more advanced in some areas than even the most elitist snotty Europeans will ever admit.

Gov. Schwarzenegger to be Obama's Energy Czar?

Daily Mail (i.e. tabloid) report, so use some salt.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been tipped to become Barack Obama's new energy secretary.
The former movie star is coming to the end of his stint as California governor and could be asked to cross over from the Republican party to serve in Obama's new administration, according to several sources.

Schwarzenegger endorsed his fellow Republican John McCain in the presidential vote and even derided Obama's 'skinny legs' and scrawny arms' at a campaign rally in October.

But the Terminator star's views on the environment are closer to those of the president-elect than those his defeated rival.

California has already moved faster and farther than Washington to start a cap-and-trade scheme to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.

The state aims to reduce emissions 80 per cent by 2050 - the same target as Senator Obama.

Schwarznegger argues that climate-change legislation will help economic growth by boosting energy efficiency.

U.S. environmental groups see Barack Obama's presidential victory as a chance to undo the Bush legacy on global warming.
A White House 'climate czar' could be part of that, environmental groups say.

Mr Obama has articulated that the economy, energy and climate change are inter-related problems, meaning any energy czar could also take on climate issues.

Members of the environmental community in and around Washington say such a post could oversee various government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department, to focus on tackling global warming and fostering clean energy to jump-start the flagging economy.

'For the first time, candidates and voters are really connecting the dots between energy, the environment and the economy,' said Cathy Duvall, Sierra Club's political director. She said at a news briefing that Obama had made it clear that investing in cleaner energy would be a top priority in his plan for economic recovery.

One way to coordinate these interrelated issues would be to have one person in charge, based at the White House, according to sources in the environmental community familiar with the idea.

They said this could be part of a White House special council on energy and environment, analogous to the National Security Council. This kind of organization could be more effective than the Environmental Protection Agency has been under President George Bush, one source said.
Mr Obama made clear in his acceptance speech on Tuesday that he sees climate change as a critical problem, along with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the wilting economy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...ergy-czar.html

I'll take your word on Austria RR.I really don't know much of it's politics. I guess there are racists and haters everywhere.

Anyway, I was listening to NPR last week while driving home from work. They were talking to people from other countries. The only person I can say I heard of was an Archbishop Tutu from Africa. I don't remember who the others were.

Anyway, I won't go into detail, but EVERYONE of them had nothing but praise from Obama. Some things they were saying actually brought a lump to my throat, when they spoke of their hope of change. One said, "we always looked up to America as the leader....now we can again."

They took calls as well, one that stands out and a lady who called from Ireland who said, "can we borrow him for just a day? If for no other reason than his inspiration.


TIS

Had a Canadian friend who was remarking to me how his countrymen were more excited about the Obama election than they were of their own elections they held several weeks back.

Hell, its been a week since the Election, and its just damn weird how since that night, people not just at my Campus but in the locality itself seem much happier, not as grouchy as usual in the cold winds of November. Maybe its because of most of the folks who I hang around with, or that the 20+month election season was finally over, or something...

But TIS, remember that Reagan 1984 campaign ad "It's Morning in America Again"?



After Vietnam and Watergate and Jimmy Carter, President Reagan's campaign successfully put out the idea that the sun is up again for America. Well, after the last 8 years, maybe the sun is back up for the good ole US of A once again.

You know I'm not as much of a global appeaser like most liberals are, but unlike my fellow Conservatives, I do think that external opinions and thoughts do influence us Americans on the world stage in the grand scheme of things this side of the Systems Theory.

With Dubya so hated, fairly or not, because of Iraq and what not, along with the fact that Obama will probably be our most liberal President in some 40 years........a factor considering most European Conservatives are more liberal than our own conservatives.....

Or hell, probably because he'll be the first "Celebrity" President since JFK, that is this side of a movie or music star, brings genuine apeshit excitement from people surrounding him....and arguably might bring "pimp cool" back to the White House.

Plus, he's new. Bill Clinton was new too in 1992, but that vibe died off as quickly as his botched First 100 Days, and Europe will realize in 2009 that Obama isn't as Liberal as they think he is.

Or maybe not, I don't know.

I just think it was nice back in the summer with Obama's Berlin speech, when you had 200,000+ Germans waving American flags....which I must say, I can't remember the last time that many Europeans in an European city carried that many USA flags at one time without burning them.

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?

I wouldn't be surprised if this was promised to her a long time ago.

Obama, Clinton meet to talk about her future


(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama met with his former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton to see if she would be interested in a role in his administration, two sources told CNN Friday.

Obama also will meet with the man he defeated in the general election, Republican Sen. John McCain, on Monday, the Obama transition team announced Friday.

On Friday, Clinton responded to the latest rumors at a transit policy speech in Albany, New York.

"I'm very happy there is so much press attention and interest in transit," Clinton said to laughs.

"In the off chance that you're not here for this important issue and are here for some other reason, let me just say that I'm not going to speculate or address anything about the president-elect's incoming administration."

She added: "I'm going to respect his process and any inquiries should be directed to his transition team."

Clinton went to the meeting Thursday with Obama because "she knew Obama wanted to talk about whether she would have a role in the administration," one of the sources knowledgeable about the meeting said.

Obama and Clinton met in Chicago, Illinois, at the request of the president-elect, the sources told CNN.

The two sources said Clinton was surprised to hear rumors she was being considered for secretary of state position. The sources could not confirm that the she and Obama discussed the nation's top diplomatic position or that it was offered.

This is not the first time Clinton has been rumored to be under consideration for a position on Obama's team.

The New York senator was said to be on Obama's short list of possible vice presidential picks this summer, but Obama ended up picking Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

That source said Clinton thought the speculation that she would be tapped to be Obama's secretary of state was "silly" because of the earlier buzz about her becoming Obama's running mate. iReport.com: Who should Obama pick?

A spokesman for the former presidential candidate and first lady, Philippe Reines, said "any speculation about Cabinet or other administration appointments is really for President-elect Obama's transition team to address."

On Monday night, while walking into an awards ceremony in New York, Clinton was asked if she would consider taking a post in the Obama administration.

"I am happy being a senator from New York. I love this state and this city," she said. "I am looking at the long list of things I have to catch up on and do.

"But I want to be a good partner and I want to do everything I can to make sure his agenda is going to be successful."

Other names that have been mentioned for the top diplomatic role include Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democrats presidential nominee in 2004, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and energy secretary in the Clinton administration.

Latino groups are championing Richardson for the top State Department slot. If picked, Richardson would be the nation's first Latino secretary of state.

A source close to transition team tells CNN that Obama is also trying to build a diverse Cabinet that includes women and minorities and that works as a team.

Obama's transition team is expected to announce some high-level staff positions on Friday.

Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs is widely expected to be named White House press secretary, and Obama chief strategist David Axelrod is expected to be picked as a White House senior adviser.

I wonder why?

Obama to meet with McCain on Monday
Former presidential rivals to discuss ways to work together
The Associated Press
updated 12:57 p.m. ET, Fri., Nov. 14, 2008

CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama will meet Monday with John McCain in talks that Obama's transition office said would focus on ways they can cooperate on an array of troublesome issues facing the country.

The meeting will be the first since Obama, the Democratic Illinois senator, beat McCain, the Arizona Republican senator, by an Electoral College landslide in the Nov. 4 election.

"It's well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality," Obama spokesman Stephanie Cutter said in announcing the meeting.

Advisers to both men say they do not expect Obama to consider McCain for a position in his administration, as he is with former primary rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of state. But he'd like to have McCain as a partner in the Senate on legislation they both have advocated on the campaign trail, like climate change, earmark reform and torture.

Cutter also said the two will be joined at Obama's Chicago transition office by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a McCain confidant, and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois Democrat whom Obama has chosen to be his White House chief of staff.

In his first two weeks as president-elect, Obama has struck a bipartisan tone. He paired a Republican and a Democrat to meet with foreign leaders this weekend on his behalf in Washington, for example, and his aides emphasized the bringing together of both sides in announcing the meeting with McCain.

Republican and Democratic officials say Emanuel and Graham arranged in a postelection conversation to have Obama and McCain meet at the earliest possible time and Monday was it. Emanuel and Graham have worked together before on issues on Capitol Hill, and Graham jumped to Emanuel's defense when Republicans criticized his appointment as Obama's chief of staff.

Since the election, McCain has had few public appearances. He appeared on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno on Tuesday and campaigned in Georgia for Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who faces a runoff next month.

Obama met in Chicago with Clinton Thursday afternoon, said a Democratic official, who asked not to be publicly identified the information was not authorized for public release.

The motorcade of Clinton, who receives Secret Service protection as a former first lady, was seen leaving the office complex shortly before Obama left for the day. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines would say only that "Senator Clinton had no public schedule yesterday."

Obama has surrounded himself with several former staffers of Bill Clinton's presidency. Others are thought to be under consideration for secretary of state, including Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

Fox News just used the same analogy.

Fox News can't be all bad then.

I watch Fox News during the day, but can't watch it at night when O'Reily and Hannity come on.

Same here. I enjoy Brit Hume and Shephard Smith. But I do watch Greta later on.

Loved Smith the other day when those neocons were bitching about how Obama won simply because of the Mainstream Media's bias, and he quips this:

"If so, how did George W. Bush win twice?"

Key Democrat wants Lieberman ousted as chairman
Vermont Democrat said Lieberman should lose committee chairmanship
The Associated Press
updated 4:56 p.m. ET, Fri., Nov. 14, 2008

WASHINGTON - Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman's chances of holding onto his committee chairmanship suffered a blow Friday when a key New England Democrat came out against him. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Democrat-turned-independent Lieberman doesn't deserve to keep his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chairmanship because of his campaign attacks on President-elect Barack Obama.

Lieberman angered many Democrats by supporting Republican John McCain and criticizing Obama during the presidential contest.

Liberal activists are urging the party's caucus to strip Lieberman's chairmanship when caucus members meet next week. Senate Democrats are scheduled to meet next Tuesday to decide what to do.

"I am one who does not feel that somebody should be rewarded with a major chairmanship after doing what he did," Leahy, D-Vt., said in a Vermont Public Radio interview on Friday. "I never ask people, well you must vote for this person or that person. Everybody has to make up their mind."

The issue of whether to punish Lieberman is a sensitive one for Democrats, given Obama's calls for bipartisanship during the 2008 race. Lesser penalties are also being considered involving Lieberman's committee and subcommittee posts.

Some of Lieberman's attacks on Obama "went beyond the pale," Leahy said.

"I would feel that had I done something similar that I would not be chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress," Leahy said.

Lieberman, who was Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000, was re-elected in 2006 as an independent after losing his state's Democratic primary. He remains a registered Democrat and aligns himself with Senate Democrats.

Obama has told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada it would hurt the message of unity that he wants for his new administration if Lieberman leaves the Democratic caucus. Reid with met with Lieberman last week and was initially inclined to strip him of the Homeland Security Committee chairmanship, according to a leadership aide.

Since then Reid has been working to find a compromise with Democratic supporters of Lieberman, including Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Dodd and Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., have said would be a mistake if any punishment by the party causes Lieberman to bolt to the Republican side.

Obama has more threats than other presidents-elect
By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 40 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

Earlier this week, the Secret Service looked into the case of a sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama's name and the offer of a "free public hanging." In North Carolina, civil rights officials complained of threatening racist graffiti targeting Obama found in a tunnel near the North Carolina State University campus.

And in a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into "The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool," saying the money would go to the person picking the date closest to when Obama was attacked. "Let's hope we have a winner," said the sign, since taken down.

In the security world, anything "new" can trigger hostility, said Joseph Funk, a former Secret Service agent-turned security consultant who oversaw a private protection detail for Obama before the Secret Service began guarding the candidate in early 2007.

Obama, of course, will be the country's first black president, and Funk said that new element, not just race itself, is probably responsible for a spike in anti-Obama postings and activity. "Anytime you're going to have something that's new, you're going to have increased chatter," he said.

The Secret Service also has cautioned the public not to assume that any threats against Obama are due to racism.

The service investigates threats in a wide range. There are "stated threats" and equally dangerous or lesser incidents considered of "unusual interest" — such as people motivated by obsessions or infatuations or lower-level gestures such as effigies of a candidate or an elected president. The service has said it does not have the luxury of discounting anything until agents have investigated the potential danger.

Racially tinged graffiti — not necessarily directed at Obama — also has emerged in numerous reports across the nation since Election Day, prompting at least one news conference by a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Georgia.

A law enforcement official who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly said that during the campaign there was a spike in anti-Obama rhetoric on the Internet — "a lot of ranting and raving with no capability, credibility or specificity to it."

There were two threatening cases with racial overtones:

• In Denver, a group of men with guns and bulletproof vests made racist threats against Obama and sparked fears of an assassination plot during the Democratic National Convention in August.

• Just before the election, two skinheads in Tennessee were charged with plotting to behead blacks across the country and assassinate Obama while wearing white top hats and tuxedos.

In both cases, authorities determined the men were not capable of carrying out their plots.

In Milwaukee, police officials found a poster of Obama with a bullet going toward his head — discovered on a table in a police station.

Chatter among white supremacists on the Internet has increased throughout the campaign and since Election Day.

One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site, stormfront.org, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, "I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how 'messiahs' come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed."

It is not surprising that a black president would galvanize the white supremacist movement, said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who studies the white supremacy movement.

"The overwhelming flavor of the white supremacist world is a mix of desperation, confusion and hoping that this will somehow turn into a good thing for them," Potok said. He said hate groups have been on the rise in the past seven years because of a common concern about immigration.

Super Obama Bros.!!

There's actually a bridge to nowhere!

Well, Senator Leahy was in THE DARK KNIGHT.

The First Presidential Address on YouTube

He's not President (yet), but Senator Obama has put this week's Democratic Radio Address on YouTube, a first and as reports had indicated, a sign of what his administration will do in the future.

Yes, this is the future folks.

Re: Hillary as SOS, I guess she'd be a good pick. I lost respect for her during the campaign, but think shes capable and it's probably a good political move. Yet, part of me wants Obama to not offer her anything.

With Leiberman, I too think he should get the boot but I read that if he was to get the boot, the GOP with treat him as a hero. Yet, is that reason to keep him on? Again, I guess one must always think poliically on these things.

With McCain, I wonder if Obama will be really reaching across the isle as he promised to do. McCain was never really the GOPs choice, and he and Obama may find common ground on certain issues. I don't know him real well, but give Chuck Hagle credit for going against the grain (so to speak). I think maybe he should be included in some form, no?

Btw, I didn't see it, but hear tht Obama will be running a weekly "address" on YouTube. What a great way to continue his mass appeal....look at especially the youth. I tell ya, the "internet President". We are in a whole new age as far as technology goes. This campaign, I believe, is only the beginning, not just for Obama but in general. Newspapers will soon be passe'...ya think?


TIS

You have to consider this: Despite her reputation and recent Presidential run, Hillary isn't that powerful of a Senator in reality.

She runs no committees despite being there for over 7 years (compared to Obama, who got the subcommittee on European Affairs, but never held any meetings) and senior Senators like Ted Kennedy have told her flatly that they will own the Healthcare issue, not her.

The Senate Majority Leader in Reid aint going nowhere anytime soon, despite being in my opinion fucking worthless, so that aint an immediate option.

Plus, lets not forget, she's power hungry. SOS is the best Cabinet job, and certainly would feed her and Bubba's Ego.

Then TIS, look at the difference between the GOP and Democrats right now. The GOP Governors' Conference down in Miami this week was a mess, where you had the press fawn over Sarah Palin's incoherent press conference, and Charlie Crist trying to give a speech for the GOP to spread out of its social-conservative base.

If Obama can get the Clintonites under his thumb, compare that with the GOP, who have NO strong leader currently. Their Senate boss nearly got beat 11 days ago, their House leader is facing a serious challenge from within his ranks, and Dubya is a lame duck.



Thing is, what gain is there to boot him for Obama/Democrats? Even if Lieberman jumps to the GOP, the Republicans won't give him any serious minority positions on committees, and probably try to run a candidate to beat him in 2012. Joe is a lonely man right now, and Obama probably understands that this an opportunity worth exploiting.



Considering how the GOP indirectly are blaming McCain, not Palin, for the election defeat....perhaps hopefully Obama will exploit this great fracturing of the GOP, and get McCain's name/support on some issues down the road. Plus, McCain could stick it to the GOP who threw him under the bus, like he did to Dubya with his Anti-Torture bill.



People have been saying that the Internet will kill the newspapers since 1993, and yet it may finally happen not because of technological innovation, but because of the economical times.

He has more gray hair than I do.

Well, he's older than you, Miggie. As a matter of fact, when he takes office, he'll be a full year older than Bill Clinton was, and four years older than JFK was, when they were sworn in.

He's hardly the man-child that the right made him out to be.

A great article written by my favorite journalist, Carl Hiaasen.

Why Obama won, and why McCain lost

By Carl Hiaasen, The Miami Herald

On Tuesday, more than 64 million Americans voted for a black guy with a strange name to be their next president. When he won, the world's view of our country instantly changed, and so did the way we view ourselves.

President Barack Obama?

Two years ago, if you'd made such a prediction in any barroom, bowling alley or beauty parlor, the response would have been laughter or puzzled stares.

Yet, against all odds, here we are. The scene in Chicago's Grant Park the other night was unlike any election celebration in memory -- an ocean of exuberant young and old faces; white, black, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, native American.

Only the coldest of souls could have watched and not been moved.

Millions of words will be written about how it happened, but one of the keys to Obama's victory is obvious. He wouldn't have won so decisively if not for the outrageous mistakes and excesses of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, whose mess will take a long, long time to mop up.

Yet it's naive to believe that anybody could have beaten a Republican this year. For Democratic candidates, there's no such thing as a slam dunk. Given half a chance, they can blow any election.

Everyone remembers what happened in Florida in 2000, but let's not forget that Al Gore couldn't even win his home state of Tennessee. Four years later, John Kerry, a true combat hero, responded like a wimp when his war record was falsely maligned by the Swift Boaters. His campaign never recovered.

This year, Obama was as charismatic as Gore was dull, and as forceful as Kerry was tentative.

Even with the quagmire in Iraq and the economic meltdown at home, Obama couldn't have won election without uncommon self-discipline, unshakable poise and compelling skills as an orator. He also put together a superior fundraising machine and a campaign operation that was deft and saturating.

Everything had to come together in a huge way for a young African-American man to win the White House -- the candidate had to be exceptionally impressive, and the timing had to be just right.

Obama wouldn't have won so handily, and possibly not at all, had his opponent been the John McCain who ran against Bush in the 2000 primaries, instead of the John McCain who morphed into a cranky, fear-baiting panderer.

The self-proclaimed maverick flip-flopped eagerly to appease nervous conservatives. Although he'd once lambasted the Bush tax cuts for favoring the wealthy, he now embraced them as a centerpiece of his economic platform. Once he'd opposed offshore oil drilling as too risky and short-sighted, and now he touted it as an answer to energy independence.

McCain didn't just edge to the right; he veered hard. He lost his way, and he also lost track of the mainstream.

He attacked Obama's inexperience and then chose a running mate who was staggeringly unqualified to step in and serve as president, if needed. Picking Sarah Palin was McCain's first and most important executive decision as the GOP nominee, and he blew it.

Voters weren't the only ones who questioned his judgment; so did many party stalwarts.

More discouragingly, for those of us who admired McCain, was how quickly he abandoned his pledge to run a high-road campaign. As the victim of a scurrilous smear by Bush's weasels during the 2000 primary in South Carolina, McCain had vowed to stick to the issues.

But it wasn't long before he surrendered the helm to those with Karl Rovian scruples, and they went negative in a large way. The plan, neither cunning nor original, was to make America afraid of Barack Obama. It didn't work.

More than 64 million people came to the sensible conclusion that the Illinois senator wasn't really a softy, a socialist, a pal of domestic terrorists, a closet Muslim jihadist, a distant cousin of Osama bin Laden or any of the other idiotic inferences that surfaced in print or on the Internet.

While McCain's camp was spending millions trying to make Obama look scary, Obama himself remained cool and focused. As a result, most voters felt they knew him better, and trusted him more.

It's impossible to say whether the election would have turned out differently if McCain had run a campaign of positive ideas, but the contest surely would have been closer. Despite the crushing weight of the Bush legacy, he still drew more than 56 million votes.

Among those were some who fell for the fear-mongering, and others who'd never have voted for any African American. But there were also many who simply believed in their candidate.

We saw a glimpse of the other McCain in his gracious and eloquent concession speech, but you also saw why he lost. His crowd of supporters at the Biltmore in Phoenix was almost all white, the shrunken core of the Republican Party.

Mainstream America was in Grant Park, cheering their new president.

3 questions for you PB. How old is Obama? How do you know how old I am? How old do you THINK I am?

Obama is 47. I'm guessing you're about 44, no older than 45.

When did you read my birth certificate? I'll be 45 next month I'm still 39 and holding though.

So BHO is not that much older than me.

"He has more gray hair than I do."

You call that gray???? (Thank goodness for Preference.) As my dad would say, he "earned every one of them." After dealing with the mess he is walking into, by the time the poor guy leaves office he probably will be totally gray.

Obama is youthful and that's part of his personal appeal. I think his youth (to me he's young)was a plus. People perhaps saw him as young/new and went for it instead of the same ol'/same ol', only emphasizing how much we really want something new.


TIS
aka PSA (Polk Salad Annie)

I think Hillary gave him some of those grays.

I really wish McCain would have stuck to his guns and ran a campaign like he could have and should have. If he could have picked a competent VP and stuck to his guns as the kind of person he was or could be I would have voted for him. I would have voted for the McCain of 2000, but the McCain of 2008 was just not even close to Obama.

To the Future!

"For all the perquisites and power afforded the president, the chief executive of the United States is essentially deprived by law and by culture of some of the very tools that other chief executives depend on to survive and to thrive. Mr. Obama, however, seems intent on pulling the office at least partly into the 21st century on that score; aides said he hopes to have a laptop computer on his desk in the Oval Office, making him the first American president to do so."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

From now on I am sure every President will have a laptop. Our kids and grandkids will look back and say, "what's so odd about having a laptop" (or whatever other modern invention may be the thing)


65 days and goodbye, adios, arreverdecci GWB. But then who's counting?



TIS

Anyone watching the 60 Minutes Obama interview?

He clearly said, when asked if there would be any Republicans in his cabinet..."yes."

He acknowledged what we all know, that he can't snap his fingers and all will be well, but says the people can expect a President to be honest with them. What a novel idea.

He is very close mouthed on his meetng with Hillary Clinton saying only that he sought "counsel" with her. And, he did say the he wanted to create a bond of trust between the President and the people that he felt had been lost.



TIS

Obama interview sets '60 Minutes' viewership record

Barack Obama's first televised post-election interview gave Sunday night's "60 Minutes" its biggest audience in at least nine years.

The CBS News program was seen by 24.5 million viewers and earned a 6.4 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. That marks the show's largest viewership since 1999.

Veteran correspondent Steve Kroft interviewed Obama about a range of domestic and foreign policy issues in the show's opening 15-minute segment, then he spoke to Obama alongside his wife, Michelle, for two more segments covering how the election has impacted their family.

Obama said the government should help the U.S. auto industry and reiterated his plan to pull troops out of Iraq, though the president-elect largely refused to answer questions about his cabinet choices, saying only that announcements would be made "soon." Though Kroft asked significant issue-oriented questions, he also delved into territory that some viewers might consider frivolous -- such as the oft-discussed First Family's dog acquisition plans and college football.

"60 Minutes" has been on a ratings roll this season. Last week's episode interviewing Obama's top advisers gave the program its highest audience in a year. With Sunday's episode, the 40-year-old news magazine will likely be the most-watched program for the second week in a row. Even with the record-setting preliminary numbers, CBS expects "Minutes" to get even higher ratings tomorrow when the nationals are released (some time zones aired the lower-rated "The Amazing Race" during part of the "Minutes" hour).

The "Minutes" boost wasn't enough to put CBS over the top for the evening, however. NBC still won with "Sunday Night Football" (17 million, 6.5), Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins, and pregame shows.

CBS was second with "Minutes," followed by "Race" (12.2 million, 3.5), "Cold Case" (12 million, 2.9) and "The Unit" (9.8 million, 2.5).

ABC was third with some NASCAR lead-in going into “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (10.2 million, 3.4), “Desperate Housewives” (16.6 million, 6.1) and “Brothers & Sisters” (10.1 million, 3.7). ABC’s shows were on par, with “Housewives” up slightly from last week.

Fourth-place Fox’s was also largely unchanged from last week, airing “The Simpsons” (8.5 million, 3.9), “King of the Hill” (7 million, 3.2), “Family Guy” (8.5 million, 4.2) and “American Dad” (6.8 million, 3.2). The CW was on par (averaging 600,000, 0.2).

http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/11/obama-interview.html

This Obamamania is getting out of control. We'd better not get our expectations too high because he is facing a lot of difficult issues that will take time to deal with. I am VERY leery of the way the media is already making him a combination of Lincoln, FDR and JFK. Remember what they do best is build peole up so they can tear them down. If he doesnt restore the economy and end all wars, sorld hunger, and solve global warming in three months these geniuses will start bloviating about a "failed presidency."

Not everyone is an Obamamaniac:
Kansas Church:"America we have a Muslim president. This is sin against the Lord."

That's ridiculous. And people get mad at me for making fun of small town America. Sorry, but I'd much rather be thought of as a stuck up, pompous, New York City ass, than as a hateful goober from Small Town, U.S.A.

I'm a practicing Catholic, yet I never, ever try to shove my religious beliefs down anyone's throat. I'm a graduate of Fordham University and minored in theology there, where the Jesuits implored us to study other religions and to respect the beliefs of others. I guess that's where my deep respect for Judaism sprang from (plus, I worked in the Jewish community for over twenty years).

My point is, what if Obama is a Muslim? As long as he's not a fundamentalist, religious zealot----which ALL religions unfortunately spawn, including Christianity and Judaism----what's the difference?

At least I have good reason to root against Kansas in college sports now.

Newsweek.com

Obama's Attorney General

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 1:57 PM
By Michael Isikoff

President-elect Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general, putting the veteran Washington lawyer in place to become the first African-American to head the Justice Department, according to two legal sources close to the presidential transition.

Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, still has to undergo a formal “vetting” review by the Obama transition team before the selection is final and is publicly announced, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified talking about the transition process. But in the discussions over the past few days, Obama offered Holder the job and he accepted, the source said. The announcement is not likely until after Obama announces his choices to lead the Treasury and State departments.

Holder, 57, has been on Obama’s “short list” for attorney general from the outset. A partner at the D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, Holder served as co-chief (along with Caroline Kennedy) of Obama’s vice-presidential selection process. He also actively campaigned for Obama throughout the year and grew personally close to the president-elect. Holder has not returned a call seeking comment; a spokeswoman for the Obama transition team told Newsweek in an e-mail early Tuesday afternoon that no decision has been made.

The sources said the Obama transition team is still debating over who should serve under Holder in the key post of deputy attorney general. One top candidate, favored by Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and other former Clinton White House officials, is Elena Kagan, dean of the Harvard Law School and a former lawyer in the White House counsel’s office under Clinton. Another top candidate, favored by other Obama advisors, is David Ogden, a former chief of staff to Attorney General Janet Reno, who is currently heading Obama’s Justice Department transition team. Kagan brings legal policy credentials; Ogden has more experience in the Justice Department trenches.

The only hesitancy about Holder’s selection was that he himself had reservations about going through a confirmation process that was likely to revive questions about his role in signing off on the controversial pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Although there is no evidence that Holder actively pushed the pardon, he was criticized for not raising with the White House the strong objections that some Justice Department lawyers and federal prosecutors in New York had to pardoning somebody who had fled the country. But after reviewing the evidence in the case, and checking with staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Obama aides and Holder both decided the issue was highly unlikely to prove an obstacle to his confirmation, one of the sources said--especially given the Democrats’ more sizable post-election majority in the Senate.

A New York City native who graduated from Columbia University and Columbia Law School, Holder spent years as a federal prosecutor—a job in which he earned a reputation as tough and aggressive foe of public corruption. After serving in the pubic integrity section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and later a District of Columbia Superior Court judge, Holder was named by President Clinton as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He became deputy attorney general in 1997 under Janet Reno and was viewed as a centrist on most law enforcement issues, though he has sharply criticized the secrecy and the expansive views of executive power advanced by the Bush Justice Department.

I don't know a lot about Eric Holder, except he was Deputy AJ for Clinton I believe.

I agree with DT in that we certainly can't expect Obama to perform miracles. I am hoping the public and his supporters in general will be well aware of the fact that he has so much on his plate, it would be virtully impossible to accomplish everthing he wants to (if that) probably through his first term. I think many are just so high on hope and so happy for change, they are having a hard time containing it. As one pundit said earlier, most people are high on celebrating change that they are not dancing on the Bush grave (so to speak).

Speaking of which. I hear they expect at least 4 million to attend the inaugration. Here, I seriously wanted to go right???? Ha ha...what a joke. They say tickets are very very limited. Some have tried selling them on Ebay I hear. Diane Fienstein just came out and said it was illegal. They should be free. BUT, hotels in the area are jacking up there prices. Wow!!! I guess I'll watch on tv and go to D.C. later.


TIS

Democrats: Clinton to help Hillary get State job

By BETH FOUHY

CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton has offered several concessions to help Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his wife, become secretary of state, people familiar with President-elect Barack Obama's transition vetting process said Wednesday.

Clinton has agreed to release the names of several major donors to his charitable foundation and will submit future foundation activities and paid speeches to a strict ethics review, said Democrats knowledgeable about the discussions.

They also said that Clinton would step away from day-to-day responsibility for his foundation while his wife serves and would alert the State Department to his speaking schedule and any new sources of income. The Democrats spoke only on grounds of anonymity because of the private nature of the Cabinet-selection process.

Since Sen. Clinton has emerged as a top contender for the State job, her husband's international business deals and the fundraising he has done for his foundation and presidential library have come under careful review by Obama's transition team. The former president had indicated earlier that he would be willing to significantly increase the transparency of those activities if it would boost the former first lady's chances of getting the job.

A team of attorneys is representing the Clintons in negotiations with Obama officials, in talks which have taken place this week at a law firm in Washington.

Aides familiar with the negotiations said the vetting has gone smoothly and both Clintons had been fully cooperative with the process. One Clinton adviser noted that former President George H.W. Bush has given paid speeches and participated in international business ventures since his son, George W. Bush, has been president — without stirring public complaints or controversy about a possible conflict of interest.

Bill Clinton's network of business deals and charitable endeavors became an issue during Hillary Clinton's run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

One Democrat who advised her campaign said few of her senior strategists knew anything about the former president's business arrangements and whether they would hold up under scrutiny if she won the nomination. The adviser spoke on background, not authorized to speak publicly for Hillary Clinton's political operation.

During his primary campaign against Hillary Clinton, Obama pressed the former president to name the donors to his library. Bill Clinton refused, saying many had given money on the condition that their names not be revealed. He promised to make the donors' names public going forward if his wife won the Democratic nomination.

The former president has engaged in other deals that could complicate his wife's work with foreign governments as secretary of state. Records show he raised money for his foundation from the Saudi royal family, Kuwait, Brunei and the Embassy of Qatar, and from a Chinese Internet company seeking information on Tibetan human rights activists.

While many people familiar with the New York senator's thinking say she is inclined to take the secretary of state's job if it is offered, others say she is also considering the consequences of leaving the Senate, where she had hoped to take a leading role on health care reform and other issues.

"Would she be willing to give up her independent stature in the U.S. Senate, Robert F. Kennedy's seat, to be in the Cabinet? It will be a considerable decision for her," said Lanny Davis, a former Clinton adviser not involved in the vetting. "It's a completely different life than you lead in the Senate, where you are your own spokesperson, your own advocate. When you join the Cabinet of the president of the United States, that is no longer the case."

Clinton declined to discuss any part of the selection process Tuesday. "I've said everything I have to say on Friday," she said.

At the State Department, the prospect of Clinton as secretary is creating some anxiety among career foreign service officers worried that she would install her own loyalists and exclude them from policy-making. Some at the State Department see her as a foreign policy lightweight, although there is grudging acknowledgment of her star power.

Well it seems Al Quaeda has now put in its two cents on Obama, calling him a "house negro." Sounds like they got their racial sensitivity from Frank Pentangeli.

What I laughed was when they attacked Obama because he wasn't "a Honorable American."

WAIT WAIT WAIT

"A Honorable American."

So has Al Qaeda gone from wanting to totally destroy the Great Satan of the West to saying that some parts of it are good?

Wow, the Obama election must have really fucked up their propaganda plans.

Daschle will be secretary of HHS

Former Senator Majority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) will be secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration, with the delicate mission of shepherding a health-care bill through Congress at a time of punishing budget constraints, a senior Democratic official said.

Daschle was also considered for health care czar in the White House, but President-elect Obama’s transition team decided he could be more effective with “Secretary” in front of his name.

“Of all the proposals that Obama wants to enact, health care requires the most input and tough negotiations,” the official said. “No one knows the House and Senate like Tom Daschle.”

Daschle, one of Obama’s most prominent early supporters during the Democratic primaries, was also considered for White House chief of staff before that post when to Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.).

Daschle, who will be 61 next month, will focus on what the official called the “30,000-foot” part of the job, with powerful deputies handling day-to-day matters. “He’s going to do the broader perspective,” the official said.

Daschle also served eight years in the House. He was Senate majority leader from 2001 to 2003, when Republicans regained the Senate majority. His official biography says: “During his tenure as Leader, Daschle co-managed only the second impeachment trial of a U.S. president, led the Senate in response to the attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the anthrax attack on his office one month later.

Daschle is a special public policy adviser in the Washington office of the law firm Alston and Bird. His biography adds: “Born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Senator Daschle attended South Dakota State University and graduated in 1969. Following college, he served for three years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force Strategic Command. After military service, he spent five years as an aide to South Dakota Senator James Abourezk.”

Roll Call first reported Daschle’s selection at HHS.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15780.html

I don't know but do you think she will go from being the boss to take a position where she has a boss?

I'm going back and forth on this one Miggie. No doubt she has the smarts for the job, and I really believe she can be a team player. The real wild card is Bill.
He could easily screw things up royally....if she was negotiating something, say in the Middle East, he could be telling his Kuwaiti pals "Don't pay any attention to what she is saying, Barack calls the shots and he's keeping things from her." The guy is a total loose cannon. I thought he was a good president, but I really think that heart surgery made him soft in the head.

What happened? I thought Obama was supposed to be a friend to terrorists...

All kidding aside, there's something to that. Call it whatever you like, but after his heart surgery he really went off the deep end.

Mayor sorry for kids' 'Assassinate Obama' chant


By JOHN MILLER - Associated Press Writer
Edition Date: 11/18/08

Comments (76) | Recommend (1)
BOISE, Idaho — The mayor of an eastern Idaho town where second- and third-grade students on a school bus chanted "Assassinate Obama" after the Nov. 4 election has publicly apologized, saying there's no excuse for such behavior.

Rexburg Mayor Shawn Larsen wrote in a guest editorial sent Tuesday to local newspapers that he was saddened by the notoriety his community had received over the incident, both across the United States and abroad.

Larsen told The Associated Press that a formal response to the incident in his city was sorely needed.

"When people don't stand up and say, 'That's not appropriate, that's wrong, and those are hateful remarks,' it's almost like they are saying that it's an OK thing to do. And it's not," he said. "The mayor doesn't have any authority over the school system, but I do think it reflects upon the community."

In his editorial, Larsen recounted seeing Barack Obama speak in Washington, D.C., in early 2006 about his faith and how his upbringing had influenced his policies and his priorities. Larsen said he left the event inspired.

Idaho voters overwhelmingly favored Republican John McCain in the presidential election. In Madison County, where Rexburg is located, 85 percent of voters chose McCain over the Democratic candidate, and some claim it's the "reddest county" in America.

But Larsen wrote that is no explanation for "hateful and vile comments" about a man about to lead the nation.

7 and 8 year olds?? Gee, I wonder where they learned it?

Al Queda feared an Obama win. I heard today on NPR that Al Queda is afraid because so many other countries seem to like Obama (unlike the current Presiden) and it might cause them to actually unite in various ways against them. I also heard what they claim was a more exact translation of the Obama smear, calling him, more or less, a slave, or white man's slave of some sort (something in that line).


TIS

But Obama is a mulsim! And a terrorist too. So Al Quaeda should have no problems with him, right?

Ha ha ha. Yea, you'd think they'd invite him over for tea, or whatever terrorists drink these days.

Evidently they are not as gullible as some Americans.

TIS

ABC News is now confirming that Hillary Clinton will be Obama's choice for Secretary of State.

Sources: Jones leading choice for national security advisor
Posted: 10:36 AM ET

From CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) – Two sources close to the Obama transition team tell CNN retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones has emerged as President-elect's leading choice to become national security adviser in the White House.

The sources said Jones has been given the impression by the President-elect that the job is his if he wants it. But the officials said there are still private discussions underway and no final decision has been made.

The discussions are focused on precisely how much power Jones will have in the staff job since he is used to being in a command role. Among his many posts, Jones served for several years as the operational commander for NATO.

In the third and final presidential debate, Obama noted that he deeply values advice from Jones, who has four decades of military service.

One person close to the transition noted Jones is a bipartisan figure who has warm relationships with both current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who may stay on the job for at least a brief period, as well as Sen. Hillary Clinton, who is now on track to be nominated as Secretary of State after Thanksgiving.
CNN first reported last week that Jones was getting serious consideration for either national security adviser or Energy Secretary.

This would be a superb choice. Obama is putting together quite a team (although I am nervous about Hillary).

Report: Hillary Clinton next Secretary of State

Posted by LCraven November 21, 2008 15:38PM

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants told The New York Times today.

The apparent accord between perhaps the two leading figures in the Democratic Party climaxed a week-long drama that riveted the nation's capital.

Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation.

Obama's office told reporters on Thursday that the nomination is "on track" but this is the first word from the Clinton camp that she has decided.

"She's ready," the confidant reportedly said, adding that Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week "was so general." The purpose of the follow-up talk, he noted, was not to extract particular concessions but "just getting comfortable" with the idea of working together.

Obama picks Geithner for Treasury: report
By Jeff Mason and Caren Bohan Jeff Mason And Caren Bohan 26 mins ago

CHICAGO (Reuters) – President-elect Barack Obama has selected Timothy Geithner to be his Treasury secretary, putting the respected head of the New York Federal Reserve in a key role as the U.S. economy staggers toward recession, NBC news reported on Friday.

Geithner, 47, was seen as one of two main candidates for the Treasury job along with former Clinton administration Treasury chief Lawrence Summers.

The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton had accepted Obama's offer to become his secretary of state, bringing his onetime chief Democratic rival for the presidency into a pivotal role in his new administration.

"She's ready," the Times quoted one of two Clinton associates who confirmed the deal as saying.

But Clinton senior adviser Philippe Reines told Reuters: "We're still in discussions, which are very much on track. Any reports beyond that are premature."

If confirmed as Treasury secretary, Geithner would be at the helm of efforts to pull the country out of a financial crisis which some analysts predict could lead to the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

U.S. stocks jumped sharply higher after reports that Obama had picked Geithner, sending major indices up more than 4 percent within minutes.

A further cabinet job appeared locked up as NBC reported that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- who also had sought the Democratic presidential nomination -- had received Obama's nod to become commerce secretary.

Richardson's elevation to the cabinet would give the Obama administration its first high-profile Hispanic member as its main liaison to the business community.

Obama, who beat Republican John McCain in the November 4 election, takes over from George W. Bush on January 20. He has criticized the Republican's administration sharply for harming the United States' stature in the international community.

Retired Marine Gen. James Jones emerged as a leading contender for White House national security adviser, according to Democratic sources. Jones is a former top operational commander of NATO.

Obama is also leaning toward keeping Robert Gates as secretary of Defense.

Has he reached across the aisle yet for a pic?

Unless its reversed, Robert Gates will stay on for Defense.

Hillary is like the Angeline Jolie of American Politics...an Attention-whore Drama Queen.

Hopefully this brilliant stroke of political calculation on Obama's part won't backfire on him because of Hillary being...Hillary.

I wonder how pissed Richardson is that he endorsed Obama over Hillary in the primaries, but she gets the Secretary of State office instead of him?

Oh well, he's still a good cabinet pick none the less, even if I don't understand how as a previous Secretary of Energy and US Ambassador to the UN will work as Commerce Secretary, especially considering that the Commerce job was booked for the Obama Campaign's financial chief (winning campaign treasurers usually get that post) but she backed out reportedly because of shady deals worthy of the name Chicago.

What are you talking about? Senator Clinton was twice chosen by a sizeable number of the people of New York to be one of their US Senators. She was selected by an even greater number of people across the US to be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. You ought to show her respect for achievements which, by the way, you can't match.

Geithner is a former Republican, turned Independent.

Hilary has achieved a lot but she's still scary...

Dude, Jolie is an Oscar-winning actress has given here and there some terrific performances.

But she still is an attention whore Drama Queen.

The same with Hillary, and despite my personal dislike for her, she is the closest we've gotten to a female President in our history, with some 18 million primary votes, and the first First Lady to be elected to office.

I am disappointed in the Hillary pick, but not because I don't think she's capable. I just don't care for her anymore (personally). However, I do think it most likely is a very smart political move because she IS well respected and liked throughout the world, and is a smart woman. I give Obama credit for having the guts for this pick. As long as she knows who's boss, it'll probably work out just fine (I hope anyway).


TIS

He's the boss, Tis. If she doesn't like being told what to do, she can resign.

It's a good move by Obama because it gets her out of the Senate, where she can make all kinds of noise about him, with an "I-told-you-so" type of attitude.

I doubt there's any real trust between the two of them.

I'm just thrilled to get her the Hell out of New York.

I think I said it before, but I believe this was a deal in the works that was made a long time ago, in order to get the Clintons on board during the campaign. She had to have been promised something.

What pisses me off is that the article in my local paper today says that the Governor will likely pick someone from upstate NY (Niagara Falls area) to fill her seat. NY is such a complicated state, with the needs of the Niagara region so different from the needs of the downstate region. There, the economy was depressed long before it hit here. Plus, the cost of living is so much less there. With someone from upstate in the seat, how can they really represent the downstate area???

Obama: Congress right in sending Detroit 3 back empty-handed

http://www.freep.com/article/20081124/BUSINESS01/81124033

This is how I wish the auto industry CEO's had responded to the Congress and President-Elect..

Feds: "So we won't approve a loan until you can show us a plan and agree to produce cars we think you should sell.."

Auto Industry: "Now Citigroup and AIG have already received over $50 Billion in GRANTS, not loans, and are getting more as we speak, is that right?"

Feds: "That's right."

Auto Industry: "So why on earth would we consider accepting anything other than what they got?"

Feds: "Because we don't like you. You and your gas guzzling old industry Midwestern dinosaurs and corrupt greedy unions. You come out here to Washington D.C. and pollute this nice clean place. Oh we'll do business with you but we despise you. None of us would drive an American vehicle if we didn't need the votes from your simple minded workers. Now don't talk to us again. When you decide on your answer, contact Axelrod or Waxman."

Auto Industry: "You can have my answer now if you like."

Feds: "Yes?"

Auto Industry: "My answer is this. No. We will take the same bailout you're giving to Citigroup and AIG. And no on the "business plan" either, which I would appreciate if you personally created for us."

It's not out of the question that Bill Clinton would be nominated to take Hillary's Senate seat.

Bill Clinton in the Senate? His ego could not take it.

Why don't the Gov. just nominate himself?

He said he didn't want it and that he wants to run for re-election in 2010 or 2012 or whatever. My money is on Andrew Cuomo...it removes a political threat to Patterson in his bid for re-election.
Long shot....Caroline Kennedy.

BTW why do they have to have someone from upstate? I don't remember any upstate NY senators. RFK, Damato, Schumer, Hillary Javits all from down state.

Because upstate is where the energy is, my friend - Niagara Mohawk and all of its hydropower.

chicagotribune.com
Gates to remain as defense secretary

By Julian E. Barnes, Paul Richter and Christi Parsons

Tribune reporters

9:39 PM CST, November 25, 2008

WASHINGTON


Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has agreed to serve in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet, advisors said Tuesday, setting up the unusual situation in which a wartime Pentagon chief remains to work under a president who has condemned the previous administration's policies.

An official close to the Obama transition team said it was likely Gates would be named Defense secretary when the president-elect begins to unveil his national security team in announcements expected next week.

A former government official who has advised the Obama transition said that it was "99% certain" that Gates would remain as Defense secretary for about a year in the Obama adminitration.

"Nothing is definitive," the fomer official said. "But Gates did agree to stay on."

Advisors also said that Obama appears poised to name Gen. James L. Jones, a former Marine commandant and onetime supreme allied commander of NATO, as his national security advisor.

In both men, Obama apparently has settled on respected defense leaders who have worked well with ranking officials of both political parties and would have been welcomed in either a Democratic or Republican White House.

In two years as Defense secretary, Gates has stepped off considerable distance from the approach and policies of his predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and projected an image of independence from President Bush, including over the nation's ongoing wars.

As early as his Senate confirmation hearing, Gates shunned the administration's stubborn insistence that it was winning the war in Iraq, and has represented a potent check against White House troop strategies.

But along with his non-partisan appeal, Gates is valued as a careful steward whose execution of White House policy is marked by caution and an aversion to acting precipitously. For Obama, who wants to remove U.S. combat brigades quickly, support from Gates would provide considerable credibility for the new administration's policies.

Talk of a possible partnership between Obama and Gates has circulated since early this year. But for much of that time, military officials have voiced concern over Obama's proposed timetable for withdrawal.

However, a recent accord between U.S. and Iraqi officials sets a withdrawal timeline similar to Obama's proposal, narrowing differences between the two sides in the debate and easing military resistance to Obama.

Not all details have been worked out, those familiar with some of the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been made publicly.

The former government official said some difficult issues may still be unresolved, including questions deputies who Gates will be allowed to keep, and which Pentagon jobs Obama's transition team will fill.

"The real issue is: Who does Gates keep, and does Obama have a say in what team is there," the official said.

Gates may want Gordon England to remain as deputy Defense secretary, the official said. But some Obama transition officials have indicated they want that job to go to Richard Danzig, a top foreign policy adviser to Obama. Danzig then could be nominated for the secretary's position when Gates leaves.

The negotiations over such details could prompt Gates to change his mind, the former official said, but added he considered that possibility to be remote.

Senior advisors to Gates remained tightlipped on Tuesday, and military officials said they did not know what Gates had decided to do. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, said he didn't know whether Gates would stay on, but said he hoped he would.

"If the president-elect has prevailed on the secretary to stay, I think that would be a healthy thing, a good thing," Schwartz said. "For stability and continuity it is a good thing."

Since joining the Bush administration, Gates has insisted he plans to leave government service when a new president arrives and retire to his home in Washington state. But he also has criticized military commanders for what he has seen as a failure to adequately equip and protect rank-and-file troops, leading some who know him to suspect he would remain in the job if possible.

A chief motivation for him staying on for a period of about a year would be to provide a smooth transition. Obama's defense transition team began meeting with leaders of the military services this week, receiving unclassified briefings on priorities and needs.

Gates also was seen as a likely pick for Republican presidential John McCain, who differed sharply with Obama on the wisdom of invading Iraq and proposals for getting out.

Obama is expected to broaden his administration's military depth next week by naming Jones, 64, as his national security advisor, advisors said.

Jones is known as a nonpartisan, centrist figure who is respected by Congress and the military.

Like Gates, Jones was courted by campaigns of both parties in the past two years. He was approached by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2006 to be her deputy, but declined her offer.

Analysts believe Jones would be a strong figure in the White House job, able to hold his own against bureaucratic challenges from the Pentagon and the State Department. Obama's team believes too much power has migrated to the Pentagon since the Iraq war began, and would prefer to restore the White House's role at the center of command.

However, Jones has not agreed with all of Obama's stances. He has said that the United States should not set a deadline for departure from Iraq.

Jones has been serving as a Bush administration Mideast envoy charged with helping reorganize the troubled Palestinian security forces. He grew up in France, where his father was an International Harvester executive, and speaks fluent French.

Next week's appointments are likely to include Hillary Clinton as secretary of State. Clinton has agreed to accept the post, giving a central administration role to Obama's main primary election opponent.

Obama also is expected to appoint James B. Steinberg, who was deputy national security advisor in the Clinton years, to be deputy secretary of State under Clinton. Steinberg is known as brainy and intense, and could help backstop Clinton in areas in which she is less familiar.

Obama is expected to make Thomas E. Donilon, a former State Department official and close Clinton ally, to be deputy national security adviser.

Kurt Campbell, who was the top East Asia official in the Clinton Pentagon, is expected to return to the defense department in another top post. Campbell, Donilon and Steinberg have worked together, and are considered close friends.

Susan E. Rice, a former assistant secretary of state and one of the original Obama foreign policy advisers, is expected to be chosen U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Interesting fascinating TIME article on how the Obama-transisitional Administration is planning with the Democratic Congress to get that economical stimulus package ready for Obama's pen on January 20.

That's right, hours after he is sworn in, he plans to sign it at the Capitol building. Forget his first 100 Days, how about his first 100 hours?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1862452-1,00.html

Oh and ABC News reports that Susan Rice will be US Ambassador to the UN.

Officials: Obama set to introduce Clinton
Move would turn once-bitter rivalry into a high-profile diplomatic union
The Associated Press
updated 12:32 p.m. ET, Sun., Nov. 30, 2008

A deal with Bill Clinton over his post-White House work helped clear the way for Hillary Rodham Clinton to join President-elect Barack Obama's national security team as secretary of state, reshaping a once-bitter rivalry into a high-profile strategic and diplomatic union.

Obama was to be joined by the New York senator at a Chicago news conference Monday, Democratic officials said, where he also planned to announce that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would remain in his job for a year or more and that retired Marine General James M. Jones would serve as national security adviser.

The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for the transition team.

Concessions by former President Clinton
To make it possible for his wife to become the top U.S. diplomat, the officials said, former President Clinton agreed:
# to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997 and all contributors going forward.
# to refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference.
# to cease holding CGI meetings overseas.
# to volunteer to step away from day-to-day management of the foundation while his wife is secretary of state.
# to submit his speaking schedule to review by the State Department and White House counsel.
# to submit any new sources of income to a similar ethical review.

Bill Clinton's business deals and global charitable endeavors had been expected to create problems for the former first lady's nomination. But in negotiations with the Obama transition team, the former president agreed to several measures designed to bring transparency to those activities.

"It's a big step," said Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who said he plans to vote to confirm Clinton.

The former president long had refused to disclose the identities of contributors to his foundation, saying many gave money on condition that they not be identified.

Putting together a 'team of rivals'
Lugar said there would still be "legitimate questions" raised about the former president's extensive international involvement. "I don't know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite measures up to this who has such cosmic ties, but ... hopefully, this team of rivals will work," Lugar said.

Obama's choice of Hillary Clinton was an extraordinary gesture of good will after a year in which the two rivals competed for the Democratic nomination in a long, bitter primary battle.

They clashed repeatedly on foreign affairs. Obama criticized Clinton for her vote to authorize the Iraq war. Clinton said Obama lacked the experience to be president and she chided him for saying he would meet with leaders of nations such as Iran and Cuba without conditions.

The bitterness began melting away in June after Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. She went on to campaign for him in his general election contest against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Advisers said Obama had for several months envisioned Clinton as his top diplomat, and he invited her to Chicago to discuss the job just a week after the Nov. 4 election. The two met privately Nov. 13 in Obama's transition office in downtown Chicago.

Clinton was said to be interested and then to waver, concerned about relinquishing her Senate seat and the political independence it conferred. Those concerns were largely resolved after Obama assured her she would be able to choose a staff and have direct access to him, advisers said.

No leadership prospects in Senate
Remaining in the Senate also may not have been an attractive choice for Clinton. Despite her political celebrity, she is a relatively junior senator without prospects for a leadership position or committee chairmanship anytime soon.

Some Democrats and government insiders have questioned whether Clinton is too independent and politically ambitious to serve Obama as secretary of state. But a senior Obama adviser has said the president-elect had been enthusiastic about naming Clinton to the position from the start, believing she would bring instant stature and credibility to U.S. diplomatic relations and the advantages to her serving far outweigh potential downsides.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Clintons will have to tread carefully to avoid the appearance of conflicts.

"The presumption will be that both Secretary of State Clinton and former President Clinton will be very judicious in what they take on, because there's a new dimension here," Reed said.

Lugar and Reed both spoke on ABC's "This Week."

It's official - Obama named Hillary Clinton as his choice to be the new Secretary of State.

She's a tough old bird and FWIW I think she'll do a good job in that position.

Robert Gates to remain Secretary of Defense; Eric Holder named as Attorney General; Governor Janet Napalitano named as head of Homeland Security; Susan Rice named as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; General James Jones named as National Security Advisor.

Obama has assembled some good, young talent and by surrounding himself with such knowledgable and capable people will enable himself to get off to a great start in office.

Poor Susan Rice could barely see over the podium.

Agreed this is a top flight team, and with all that's going on we are going to need them. So far so good for Obama.

The only issue I had with her "speech" was that she mentioned how it was the U.S. who started the United Nations... not a particularly smart political statement.

I missed most of what she said because I was on the phone.

SC, I think the U.S. pretty much did start the U.N. It was, as I recall FDR's idea. The Rockefellers donated the land where it sits in New York. The concept of the U.N. was to create a kind of world parliament which was to have powers much greater than the league of Nations. FDR, and the Brits believed that in such a parliament we could outmaneuver totalitarian regimes such as the USSR and get things done. OF course as soon as they crested the security council where the old USSR had a veto, the UN becme little more than a debating society.

Personally I think it is a great concept, but in truth no one is really going to give up sovereignty and come under the U.N.'s thumb. That said there is a window of opportunity for the N to become active in so called "failed states" and supposedly Rice is big on Genocide, hunger etc., and we could put some focus on Africa.

For rhetorical reasons, I think it might be in the U.S. and European's interests to start talking about sections of eastern Pakistan as a "failed state" to try to bring that government to heel and allow elite US forces to go in there and knock out some of the crazies holed up there.

It might also be useful to start to divide the Muslims into one camp that wants to educate their children and have a better world from the radicals who want to impose Sharia law on everyone. Its a long slog, but you gotta start with rhetoric to get anywhere.

"It is very difficult having a standup debate with you because you never take responsibility for any vote. It's just very difficult to get a straight answer."

-Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama


"Sometimes it's difficult to understand what Sen. Obama has said because as soon as he is confronted on it he says that's not what he meant."

- Hillary Clinton


“Shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public.”

- Hillary Clinton


"You represent change you can Xerox."

- Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama


She's right about change that can be Xeroxed :


Robert Gates was picked as Secretary of Defense; Eric Holder was named as Attorney General; Rahm Emanuel as Chief of staff; Hillary Clinton, secretary of state; and former energy secretary Bill Richardson is being considered as commerce secretary. Weren't these people referred to as "the Clinton era retreads?" :


"We need change from tired Washington insiders and Clinton-era retreads"

-Barack Obama during Democratic debates.

Give it up, Cardi. It's politics.

All I know is, things were pretty good during the "Clinton era". Or at least they seemed real good compared to the Bush error. Would you prefer he picked people without experience to lead his national security team? I wouldn't.

Don Cardi, Don Cardi, I understand how hard you are taking this election, but when you come to these boards you should understand what these pezzanovante say to one another in their campaigns has little to do with what they do when they get into office. It was not so long ago I racall the term "compassionate conservative" being bandied about by that Texas politician who you had in your pocket like so many nickels and dimes. You come here and ask for fair judgment on Obama, but he is not even sworn in yet so there can be no judgment. If you had come to here in friendship and respect we could reason together without having to broadcast to everyone what we are thinking. Please my friend, stop acting like a Hollywood finocchio who cries like a woman. You look terrible. I want you to eat. Get some rest. This Marine big shot who is the chief foreign policy advisor will give you some comfort.

[/quote]

Don Cardi, Don Cardi, I understand how hard you are taking this election, but when you come to these boards you should understand what these pezzanovante say to one another in their campaigns has little to do with what they do when they get into office. It was not so long ago I racall the term "compassionate conservative" being bandied about by that Texas politician who you had in your pocket like so many nickels and dimes. You come here and ask for fair judgment on Obama, but he is not even sworn in yet so there can be no judgment. If you had come to here in friendship and respect we could reason together without having to broadcast to everyone what we are thinking. Please my friend, stop acting like a Hollywood finocchio who cries like a woman. You look terrible. I want you to eat. Get some rest. This Marine big shot who is the chief foreign policy advisor will give you some comfort. [/quote]

"Let's hit 'em while we got the muscle."

Let's see, Clinton-era retreads, when there was low unemployment and prosperity, or 4 more years of policies similar to the current administration's failed ones?? Hmmmmm...OK!! I take the retreads!!!!

They are not "retreads" they were all young up and coming assistants. Its not like they are bringing Warren Christoher back.

Sec. Defense Gates a "retread"??
Former Marine Corps Commandant a "retread?"
Governor of Arizona (the next blue state) a "retread?"


P.S. That booming noise you hear is Rush Limbaugh's head exploding.

Of course not. And I really want him to be a successful President and sincerely hope that his policies and ideas do make things better for all. I do know that I would have felt a lot better had he picked an "experienced" person, perhaps someone like Senator John McCain, to serve as Secretary Of Defense.

You do have to admit Lou that it's really interesting, if not funny, that Obama built a campaign platform calling for "change" all through the democratic campaign and all through the presidential campaign.....and then goes and picks several former Clinton people to serve under him...including Hillary! What happened to all this "CHANGE" that he talked about for the last 9 months?


"We need change from tired Washington insiders and Clinton-era retreads"

-Barack Obama during Democratic debates. These are HIS words, not mine!







dontomasso, I said that I would listen to you because, I heard that you're a serious man, to be treated with respect.

But uh, I must say "no" to you -- and I'll give you my reasons. It's true, I have a lot of friends in politics, but they wouldn't be friendly very long if they knew that I supported Hillary Clinton for this position. Hillary is a dirty whoring power monger. It -- makes -- it doesn't make any difference to me who a man votes for, understand. But your party's pick is ah -- a little dangerous. I don't like Clinton's kind of people. I don't like to see her come out to represent this clean country with her horrible hair -- dressed up in those silk pantsuits - and try to pass herself off as decent a American. And -- the dishonest way she poses yourself. Her and her whole fucking family. We may be part of the same hypocrisy, but don't ever think that it applies to my family.




Hillary Clinton, and up and coming assistant?
Rahm Emanuel, and up and coming assitant?


The only positive out of Hillary being picked for this position is that she will be gone as the Senator of my state!




Again SB, President Elect Barack Obama's words....not mine. Perhaps you should e-mail HIM and ask HIM why he referred to them as "Clinton Era Retreads."





My point exactly!

Puh-leeze. Now who is being naive, DC?

Picking Clinton was the smart move. She's known all over the world, Bill had to make a deal to behave himself, she's smart, savvy ands well-connected, and I think she'll be magnificently successful as Secretary of State.

As for quoting things they said about one another on the campaign trail, that's useless. They were adversaries at the time. Now it's time to make peace and move on.

As for them being "retreads", you pick the best person for the job. If they have prior experience getting things done, then all the better.

SB, you're totally avoiding the overall issue here. You're not looking at what I am saying with an open mind.

Generally speaking, Senator Obama talked about CHANGE.

"We need change from tired Washington insiders and Clinton-era retreads"

-Barack Obama during Democratic debates.

He made the statement that I quoted above in a debate with Senator Clinton, in a context which obviously not only meant that this country was tired of the Bush administration, it's people, and it's policies, but that this country was also in need of a change from the Clinton administration, it's people, and it's policies. No matter how you may try to spin it, it's exactly what he said and there's no way around it.


As far as Hillary Clinton goes, well as you indicated to me a few months back how you despise everything that Sarah Palin stands for, well that's exactly how I feel about Hillary Clinton. I totally despise everything that she claims to stand for, and despise her even more for the hypocritical way that she snaked her way into Washington.

But getting back to Presidnet Elect Obama, I said earlier, and as I sincerely mean, I really want him to be a successful President and sincerely hope that his policies and ideas do make things better for all of us.

The Clintons and Bushes have been in power for 20 years. If Obama wants to surround himself with experienced people, they're going to be from one of their administrations. He surely wasn't going to pick Bush people, although he made a smart move keeping Gates around for at least awhile. The stuff that gets said in the primaries always gets forgotten once the general election starts. It no different every 4 years.

And just who is he supposed to hire? People with no experience? People with experience in other fields, but no Washington insider knowledge? People with no connections with the House or Senate who wouldn't begin to know how to get things done? How could he get anything accomplished that way?

I appreciate that you don't like Senator Clinton. Lots of people don't. I'm no cheerleader on her behalf, I just feel that she gets a bad rap for doing what men have been doing for years. Sarah Palin, with her empty-headed answers, when I'm positive that she's far from empty-handed, set women back about 100 years, IMO. That's what I despise about her.

DC, no matter how many Clintonites are in the Obama White House (no different from the Nixonites/Fordians.Reaganites in Bush Sr. and Dubya's House), and no Carterites because all those Carter people are either dead or in the retirement home (except for Volker of course)...just remember this:

OBAMA is still the boss. Yes his assembled crew so far is impressive, and even some right-wingers like Fred Barnes (yes, THAT Fred Barnes) actually are sort of digging it. Remember, alot of those same folks months ago were preaching weekly of how Obama was a socialist naive liberal muslim terrorist.

Then again, remember when Dubya came into office in 2001? His Cabinet was seen by the media as impressive.

*=Vice-President Dick Cheney was Chief of Staff under Ford and Secretary of Defense under Poppycock.
*=Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was US Ambassador to NATO, Secretary of Defense under Ford, and Special Assistant to President Nixon.
*=Secretary of State Colin Powell was National Security Advisor for Poppycock.
*=NSA Condi Rice was under Poppycock's Director of East European Affairs on the National Security Council.

And so on.

Yet 8 years later, here we are.

Ultimately DC, Obama has campaigned over 16 months to get this elusive gig. Now that's he got it, he's the daddy now, which means fairly or not he'll earn all the praise, and the blame, for what is to come.

Bill Clinton mentioned for wife's Senate seat

After eight years as senator from New York, Hillary Clinton is trading places, moving from Congress to the incoming administration.

On Monday, President-elect Barack Obama announced that he asked his former rival to be his secretary of state.

That means the scramble begins to replace Clinton on Capitol Hill. Among those mentioned to take her seat as New York's junior senator is her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

At a news conference in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, after Obama announced her selection, Clinton said she wanted to "thank my fellow New Yorkers who have, for eight years, given me the joy of a job I love with the opportunity to work on issues I care deeply, in a state that I cherish."

Clinton added that "leaving the Senate is very difficult for me."

The task of choosing a successor falls to David Paterson, New York's Democratic governor. Whomever he picks would serve for two years, before a special election in November 2010 to decide who fills the last two years of Clinton's term.

Paterson has a strong bench to choose from. There are a number of contenders, including at least eight members of New York's delegation in the House of Representatives, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, Caroline Kennedy, and her cousin, Robert Kennedy Jr.

"This is not an election. This is not a campaign. It's a constituency of one. David Paterson. It's all about what the governor wants to do," said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report.

"Paterson has said he would prefer someone from upstate New York, or a woman or an Hispanic candidate," Rothenberg said.

As for some of the more unconventional picks, Rothenberg said Paterson could "try to make a splash with a big name like Robert Kennedy Jr." or a "quirky interesting pick" of someone like Caroline Kennedy, who is not a politician.

But some are suggesting the former president should take his wife's seat.

In an op-ed column last week in The Washington Post, journalists Karl Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac urged Paterson to "send Bill Clinton to the Senate."

If that happened, Clinton would become the third former president to go from the White House to Capitol Hill.

President John Quincy Adams lost his re-election bid in 1828. Two years later he returned to Washington after winning election as a congressman from his home state of Massachusetts. He served in the House of Representatives until his death in 1848.

President Andrew Johnson also served as a Senator from Tennessee in 1875, 7 years after the Senate acquitted him of impeachment charges. He died a few months after taking office.

Bill Clinton would bring gravitas to the job, and he obviously knows his way around Washington.

But some Democratic strategists who used to work for Bill Clinton don't think the former president would want to go from leader of the free world to being the junior senator from New York. Clinton's office deferred to Paterson's office when asked for a comment.

In a statement released Monday in which he praised the choice of Hillary Clinton for the nation's top diplomatic post, Paterson said, "In order to appoint the best possible candidate to replace Sen. Clinton, I am consulting with a wide variety of individuals from all across New York State.

"I expect to announce Sen. Clinton's replacement when the position becomes officially vacant," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/01/clinton.replacement/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Thank God I don't live in NY.

Jersey's gotta get it's stench from somewhere (or someone)...

I think it blows in from Indiana (those who use IT'S instead of ITS) lol

Two Years From Now:

Hillary - I was pretty much kept in the dark.


Obama - Thats ok. We have time. Is there anything else you can tell me about why I am now being blamed for the economy, and my polls are tanking?

Hillary - I ran into Sarah Palin in Beverly Hills. She said you were being tough about the negotiations for the debates in the 2012 race, and that if I helped her there would be something in it for me.

Obama - And you believed that story.

Hillary - There was something in it for me...on my own.

Obama - I've always taken care of you.

Hillary - Taken care of me. You've taken care of me? You're a kid and I was passed over.

Obama - That's the way the people wanted it.

Hillary - Its not the way I wanted it! I'm smaht, not dumb like everyone says, I'm smaht and I want respect. And what do I get? Hillary go meet some dignitary at the airport. Hillary go negotiate with some mickey mouse dictator somewhere....
I can handle things.

Obama - Is there anything else you can tell me about these poll numbers.

Hillary - My husband Bill leaked some bad stuff to the press. He belongs to Palin.

Obama - You can leave the administration now. I don't want to see you in the government buildings, I don't want to see you on Meet the Press. When you come to Washington I want to know three days in advance so I can have you watched. You're nothing to me now, Hillary, you're not my secretary of state, and you're not my friend.

Hillary ... Barry......

DT loves his GF quotes.

Most approve of Obama's Cabinet picks, poll shows

By Paul Steinhauser
CNN Deputy Political Editor

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new national poll suggests that Americans think President-elect Barack Obama's getting it right when it comes to his Cabinet picks, especially Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates.

Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey approve of Obama's Cabinet choices, with 22 percent disapproving.

That's 16 points higher than those in favor of then President-elect Bush's Cabinet picks eight years ago.

The poll indicates that 71 percent approve of Obama picking Sen. Hillary Clinton for secretary of state. Democrats overwhelmingly approve of the choice, with two-thirds of independents agreeing and Republicans evenly split on the pick.

Clinton and Obama were rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination during the very long and bitter primary season, and the two didn't see eye-to-eye on some major international issues. VideoWatch more on the Obama-Clinton alliance »

But the poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday, suggests that Americans don't think Clinton will go rogue when she and Obama disagree.

"Will Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton try to push their own foreign policy agenda? Americans say no," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director.

Fifty-seven percent say Clinton will follow Obama's policies rather than her own when she disagrees with the future president, and 54 percent think her husband, former President Clinton, will stay out of U.S. foreign policy.

Holland adds that the "favorable ratings for both Clintons have risen dramatically since the election."

Americans also seem to like Obama's move to keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon for at least the next year. Gates was appointed two years ago by President Bush. Eighty-three percent of those polled approve of the move, with just 15 percent disapproving.

iReporter Ben Hicks, a self-described liberal who attends the University of Houston, said Obama's choices represent "a good combination of conservative and liberal views." iReport.com: What do you think about Obama's cabinet?

"Bush's Cabinet was strictly conservative, and it's proven that too much of anything cannot be a good thing," Hicks, 23, told iReport.com. "Instead of having an abundance of liberals and pretty much angering every conservative in the nation, you can have both."

Many of Obama's choices for his Cabinet, his White House staff and other high level positions in his incoming administration are people who have ties to Washington and the Clinton administration. But nearly three-quarters of those questioned think an Obama administration made up of such Washington insiders can bring about change.

A similar amount feel that that the Obama Cabinet should be made up mostly of people who have served in the federal government in Washington.

And 88 percent feel that an Obama Cabinet made up of former rivals and opponents of the president-elect will be able to work together.

"Obama is so popular that 52 percent of Republicans approve of his Cabinet choices," Holland said.

iReporter Tracy Crews, a Republican from Jacksonville, Florida, isn't among them. She said she doesn't believe that Obama can bring change with an administration containing people linked to Clinton's.

"The men and women he's chosen these past few weeks ought to be a warning to all the Obama supporters out there. He either can't or has no intentions of [fulfilling] the many promises he's made to the American people," Crews wrote on iReport.com.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Survey was conducted by telephone with 1,096 adult Americans questioned. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

This made me laugh my ass off...

Someone has too much time on their hands

I think Longnecks just waiting for the moment.

For you to be banned (again)?

I mean for when its due.

When what is due?

I hope when Lompac's banishment is due.

Lot of people baying for Lompac's blood. Interesting.

I'd be careful messing with Lompac. After all, he is a Mini Mafia boss!!

Oooh Scary!!

Very Scary

Don't roll your eyes at me MMB!!!

Back on topic... sort of -

Because Hillary Clinton will likely be the Secretary of State, her Senate seat has to be filled by someone else. It's up to the Governor of NY State (David Patterson) to name a replacement. The news is he will be meeting with Caroline Kennedy tomorrow to discuss this.

The last of the "royal" family ....

and probably least controversial of that brood. Unless she's crashed head onto a wall while drunk or left a sinking car with a woman still alive inside that we don't know of.

Seriosly though, it's a politically neutral pick because again, she doesn't piss people off needlessly in a polarizing fashion like other picks could boomerang against Patterson and the New York state Democratic Party, and plus considering one of her certain uncles once held that seat, its good press.

If Caroline does take that gig, will she even run for re-election in the special election in 2010?

How ironic is it that Caroline is in the Senate at a time when a history-making President with young children, just like her family, is about to take office?

I've heard her cousin Robert's name mentioned for head of the EPA. He'd be an excellent choice. He's done a lot of work with Riverkeeper, a local environmental agency.

I was always under the impression that Caroline would not ever get into politics and/or not interested in it (not that I don't think she'd be good at) She hasn't made a decision yet has she?

And yes, Robert would be perfect as head of EPA.



TIS

Supreme Court refuses to hear case claiming Obama was not born in Hawaii.

Yea, I heard. It was expected that they would hear it. Boy, talk about "hangers on". :lol


TIS

Obama is meeting with Al Gore. I wonder what's up with that?
Energy Czar?

I heard that they are looking for an Auto Czar. Al the Auto Czar. It has a lovely ring to it.

Auto Czar sounds like a sleazy used Car Lot.

"HOLIDAY EXTRA SAVINGS SPECIAL AT THE AUTO CZAR!!! 2006 Honda Accord Like new

only $7,999. NO MONEY DOWN! NO PAYMENTS DUE UNTIL FEBRUARY AND REMEMBER:

"IF YOU NEED A CAR, COME TO THE CZAR!"

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff have been taken into federal custody on corruption charges. They were allegedly both willing and quite eager to "sell" Obama's Senate seat for anything and everything they could get.

"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. "They allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."

That's amazing. If I remember correctly, the previous governor was sentenced to prison for similar corruption, kickbacks and fraud. If the allegations prove to be true, this will result in a long jail sentence.

Yeah. Big news here since the Chicago news stations are my local stations.

Yes, Klyd. Former Governor Ryan was brought up on corruption charges almost exactly five years ago.

From the wiretap data released by the FBI, apparently Governor Blagojevich was apparently pissed that Obama's camp wouldn't give anything in political considerations or kickbacks in favor of Blagojevich appointing Obama's supposed prefered pick.

"He promises in return only appreciation? Fuck him."

That is unbelieveable isn't it? To actually try to sell a Senate seat? That is really low I am listening this morning to more details and this Governor, evidently, is not well liked (gee,ya think?) How predictable that the media is trying desperately to make Obama part of this.
Oh, and this morning the media is hanging out by the Governor's house because it's reported that he will go to work today...business as usual hu?

Btw, they said the previous Illinois Governor is in jail now. What's up with Illinois?
On another note, I really like the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald (from the Valerie Plame case, if you remember). He is known as a bulldog, straight forward type. What a story.

TIS

By the way, one of the "bidders" has been identified as Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

There's a big fuckin' surprise.

Why is when these officials get a little power under their belts they become sleezebags?

I got news for you, Miggie, they're all sleazebags before they take office.

It's part of the megalomania that goes along with political aspirations.

So why bother voting? For rights?

For Cake.

Your a funny guy! Your not funny like a clown, you are.......

Jesse Jr. seemed a bit too defensive yesterday. Looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Jesse Jr. is hoping to be on Paterson's short list as the next Senator of Hymietown.

Just quick random thought regarding Obama thus far.... I know some are disappointed with the fact that he choose a few Republicans for his cabinet, but I am not. We will see how it plays out, but I think he is doing what he said he would do and I give him credit. Wouldn't it be nice if this was the beginning of "reaching out" and the parties wouldn't be so viciously divided and see only in black white? (I know that's a real dream)

I understand the issue with this Rev. Warren too, but I honestly feel that right now, with the economy and two wars to deal with, that this President is walking into a world of shit and MUST deal with the economy front and center first, not to mention Iraq.

TIS

I haven't been keeping up who he's been appointing so I didn't know he appointed Republicians.

What's up with this Rev. Warren story? I didn't hear anything about it. I haven't been watching the news alot lately.

Rev Warren is a relatively right wing evangelical leader who is anti-abortion and vociferously against gay marriage. However he has also tried to get evangelicals to do more anti-poverty work and get involved in more Christian outreach activities that are not necessarily centered around sexuality. He's of the next generation of evangelical leaders. He's not as far right as Falwell or James Dobson.

Warren invited Obama to speak at his church about 2-3 years back. More recently during the campaign, a "debate" (really more of a dual campaign appearance) between Obama and McCain was held at Warren's church.

So President-Elect Obama reached out and invited Warren to give the opening invocation at the inauguration.

Because the feelings are still raw around the passing of Prop 8 in California ,(which Warren of course supported) for some in the gay community/left community, inviting Warren to give the opening prayer was downright heresy. It made them so mad they could just SPIT.

My take is that they are overlooking the inconvenient fact that like Warren, Obama also opposes gay marriage. More to the point Warren will not be making policy. This is a purely symbolic role. The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a civil rights veteran, who does happen to support gay marriage will be giving the closing prayer.

So I think the whole brouhaha is silly. There are a lot of policy issues (from a VERY progressive standpoint) that I think Obama can/must be criticized on but this isn't really one of them. Obama consistently kept a campaign theme of reaching out and engaging people who disagreed with him. Personally I think he does this to a fault and it will backfire on him one day but so far I've been WRONG. Also a lot of people didn't believe it but Obama is not really all THAT progressive. He's going to be a liberal centrist. Obama also said repeatedly that he is going to be the President of all. That includes Americans who are anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage and who didn't vote for him.

Obama is a superb politician and this could also be a way of muting or slowing future opposition from the Warren camp to his policy decisions. It could also be a way of getting political cover to make real progressive changes. Who knows.

I just think that in the big picture, Warren giving an invocation is no big deal. Obama will be President, not Chief Inquisitor...

Thanks much Lilo

Excellent assessment, Lilo. Obama seems to truly believe that in order to make progress, you've got to invite everyone to the table.

Spider-Man Punches Out Obama

In an upcoming issue of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN...

"The comic starts with Spider-Man's alter-ego Peter Parker taking photographs at the inauguration, before spotting two identical Obamas.

Parker decides "the future president's gonna need Spider-Man," and springs into action, using basketball to determine the real Obama and punching out the impostor.

Obama thanks him with a fist-bump."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/08/obama-spiderman-to-team-u_n_156329.html

I'm not into Spiderman comics, but that is so cool!

I'd give my right arm (well, maybe I shouldn't go that far) to go to the inaugaration. I'm may either take a vacation day or call in sick...yet, after still being off on a three week Christmas break, I feel kind of bad asking for another day. It will be historic that's for sure.


TIS

Thus why YouTube is a Godsend.

Also, the panels themselves so no one here has to bother buying the damn thing:

http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/6944679.html

RR,

I know of live journals, but fill me in on the one you posted???? I'm not quite sure how it works. I am definitely over 14 but what's the "adult content" mean? Will they be live journaling the Inaugaration?

Thanks for your help.

TIS

Just pleas YES or ok or go on, for its more a generic warning label, a liability-protection from rowdy nasty people who comment.

Interesting poll, where 79% of Americans support Obama's stimulus plan. Though 538 website does analyze how many questions in that poll are misleading.

But still, I wonder if the GOP minorit in Congress, and squabbling Dems, are in danger of getting burned if they oppose too hard Obama's plan.

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM104_090107_politicoallstatepoll.html

So from a SPIDER-MAN comic book to cheesy schilling on late night airwaves of coins and plates (by Montel Williams of all people), Obama now has...

His own TOPPS Baseball card.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P7Z...ASIN=B001P7Z4JE

He has packs of cards, I saw them browsing for football cards.

One week from today, we'll have a new President. Woo Woo!!!!! It's been a long long long 8 years.




TIS

Sounds like you're Bushed.

More like tired of Dick.

I talked to the Principal yesterday and asked him if we could keep a tv going on Inaugration day and he said yes. Fortunately he's an Obama supporter (our last Principal who retired last year, was not). As long as we all sort of watch in shifts, (and of course depending on the activity as far as traffic in/out of the office)it's ok.

TIS

My friend sent me this article:
Mets' Cyclones change for Obama


I thought it was a cute idea and would love to have the bobblehead, but it seems like some baseball fans don't appreciate the intrusion of politics in their sport!

What do you think of Obama's official portrait? It's nice no???




TIS

Better than his predecessor's crooked strange Alfred Neuman-esque smile.

Will Smith wants to play Obama in a Movie

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...wood-movie.html

King: Obama 'bizarre' to use 'Hussein'

Apologize? Not so much.

But Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who last March predicted Al Qaida would be “dancing in the streets” if Barack Obama were elected president, now concedes that the dynamic has merely “shifted” on the terrorist front.

“They have made statements against Obama,” King acknowledged to Politico. “This thing has shifted and now I think Obama’s position of immediate withdrawal [from the war zone] has changed.”

Shortly after making his comments last year, King took his bluster to Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera:

“[I]f I am wrong, Geraldo, and we elect Obama to the presidency and he declares defeat, if they don't dance in the streets, I will come and apologize to you and everybody in America. But I'm saying, I'm right.”

Well, Osama isn’t doing an Obama jig, and this week, Bin Laden released an audio tape challenging the new president.

While he was willing to concede he was wrong about the whole terrorist street dancing routine, King has moved on to the whole “Hussein” controversy.

He doesn’t like the fact that the president-elect will be sworn in using that middle name during Tuesday’s Inauguration.

After telling the Associated Press last year that Obama’s middle name was among the reasons Islamic terrorists would rejoice over his election, King says he’s since been careful to avoid using it. Thus he found Obama’s decision to allow it be mentioned on the steps of the Capitol “bizarre” and “a double-standard.”

“Is that reserved just for him, not his critics?” King asked.

The congressman says he doubts Obama’s sincerity when he explained that he chose to use his middle name so as to be historically consistent with past inaugurations, when America has heard the full names of its presidents echo from the inaugural stand.

“Whatever his reasons are,” King said, “the one he gave us could not be the reason.”

He continued: “The society is a little strange about this. If you’re speaking the truth and in an effort to be objective, there should be nothing off limits in a free society, [but] there are many biases building and clearly a double-standard.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17506.html

I see nothing wrong with Obama using his full name. I think he should, as every other President did. Your name is....well, your name. You get use to it you have it all your life, like it or not. Even if it's not a name any of us would chose, it is ONLY a name. Unfortunately there will always be those who find criticism in it but that's life.



TIS

I just have to say, I would soooooo love to go to this inaugaration. It will be like no other. I predict an unbelieveable crowd. I sure hope they are prepared for this. They are even having concerts and events on tv starting on Sunday I hear with some great music guests. Wow!!!

I read that Obama is riding a train from Philly to D.C. which is a first and concerns secret service. I will go out on a limb and predict almost everything about this President will be different.....thank God! What a shit load of problems he has thrown on him hu?

TIS

Not for nothin', but, just about every president has had a "shit load of problems" thrown onto him. Odds are, new presidents get elected because the previous one fucked something up. Truth be told: they're still all politicians. Don't confuse anti-someone with pro-someone else. I'm not anti-Obama at all -- I hope he does do great things! -- but I'm getting kinda sick to my stomach with all this (as of yet unearned) "savior" bullshit that so many are putting on his shoulders! Give the guy a break for chrissakes -- why all this pressure??

Are/were you people REALLY pro-Obama (or pro-Gore or pro-Kerry), or just so ANTI-Bush that it didn't matter who the hell ran against him?

Shit, WTF am I doing posting in a political thread??? Never mind!

Sure, every President has problems to deal with. Some very serious, some not, but tell me a recent President (or even older) who has had walked into office with just about every "major" issue in the toilet or in such turmoil (to put it mildly)? We all hoped Bush would do well too, but he didn't. That's a fact, as a recent poll shows a 30 something (which is actually up), approval rating. But, for the here and now...

IMHO, It's NOT business as usual for the incoming President It's simply NOT. Will he do a good job? I don't know yet, maybe he'll fuck up, who knows. Give him a chance, yes. Hope springs eternal. It's gotta get better.

I disagree with you, BUT I still love ya Geoff!!!!



TIS

Well, THAT is certainly true!

I truly believe that Obama has a lot of pressure. Being the first black President, he will be remembered and so will his mistakes.

It's times like these that which leaders can make history, or fail tremendously. That's why as you've heard in the news media how probably that Obama can do as much in equality with the shit he's stuck dealing with.

In 1932, FDR was seen by the media and masses as the American Savior and the Depression and Hoover. Of course Depression only ended after WW2 began (war machine needed men to make weapons), but FDR's administration was mastery in propaganda with his Fireside Chats (and First 100 Days actions), for making people actually feel connected with their President, as if he's their champ, their guy.

In 1980, Reagan got elected mostly because he wasn't Jimmy Carter. But with a America at that time struck with the idea that it's weak, and Reagan really made an impression when he fired those striking Air Traffic Controllers without pause. This guy is action. I don't like his administration's bullshit guilt-by-association in El Salvador and such, but Reagan did re-engage his public with why America was great in the first place, at least the idea of it.

Point is, both Presidents were well-liked by the public, and shit even after the Iran-Contra mess that could have gotten Reagan impeached, the people went back to liking REagan, enough that when he left, he had the highest approval rating for a departing Prez (which Clinton surpassed).

I mean look at Obama now. He's got what, 67% approval rating? His likeness rating is 77%. People just like him right now, and with two wars we won't be leaving anytime soon, a shit economy, and a useless Congress....Americans want something to feel good about themselves.

Its like that stimulus package that Obama got passed, mostly because he had 80% roughly of America behind him. I heard off-handidly yesterday at the supermarket, a woman telling another how while he has some doubts about Obama's economic proposal: "At least he's actually proposed a solution. Nobody else has."

FDR and Reagan within US History is mostly propaganda-myth, with truth distorted to fit how we want to view those two, but hey why do we insist in believing that myth? Right now Obama is really popular partly because he aint President yet, and for all we know he could end up the next Jimmy Carter.

But for now, Americans like that they rub it in the noses of the Europeans that for all their self-proclaimed sophistication and "racial tolerance"*, that none of those nations will come close anytime soon to elect a minority with a "funny name." Shit even in frickin France, the African/Muslim minority population sees U.S. right now as more progressive than Paris.

USA!
USA!



More like I voted against the 2000s.

So Obama being the President makes the USA feel good about itsself.

So what do we, the UK, get to feel good about itsself?

Do we get more economic ripple effects off the USA?

Why Cameron Brown later this year or 2010. No?

Or who knows, maybe your minority population in Europe will finally rise up and get more representation. Not that racial tokenism is the answer, but consider how you guys in the UK have something over America: The ridiculous number of high-ranking Parliament gay officials in all parties, and none whom try to hide like Lindsey Graham.

I'm a Lib Dem.

The circumstances are different but nevertheless you are very very right.

Well that "*" above, I was going to say how those football games over there, lets just say with American football crowds, we never have Nazis out in the open in mass.

Plus if any sorts tried that in any NFL or College Football game in America, someone would probably shoot them.

Yes circumstances are different, you are right, but there was a legit reason for years back with that massive Arab rioting in France.

Tuskegee Airmen invited to inauguration

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Tuskegee-Airmen-invited-inauguration/ss/events/us/011709inaugtuskegee

Anyone watching the concert by the Lincoln Memorial? I missed most of it, but wow!! What a crowd.



TIS

Yeah, doin some channel flippin I seen Springsteen singing "This Land". Is BHO even there?

I've got to say whenever I see BHO it takes me a second to realize you're not talking about a band.

Why do everyone put the Hussein part in Obama's name?

Do we have to be reminded of you know who from Iraq?

Yes.

You must have been a Republican!

Weird, I could have sworn I voted Obama.

Sorry mate, all the other forums when people stated "Barack Hussein Obama", they all turned out to be Republican.

Pretty much, and I must say, thats why maybe I dig that Obama is using his full name when he swears in.

A sly "Fuck You," if you ask me.

Estimated at about 500,000 people.

I gotta say, hearing all them sing along to Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" was....well, I guess Queen at Live Aid in 1985 finally got topped.

Thanks RR, for as usual being right on the ball to respond with a link. I came in with Stevie Wonder and Usher (I think it was Usher). Don't know how much I missed. I know I missed Spingsteen and I wanted to see John Mellencamp too.

Wasn't it said of Woodstock that "never had there been such a large crowd of a half million people in one spot before?" No wonder Huffington Post headline showed "Obama Stock".

TIS

Note: I see i plays again at 4:00 PST (7:00 EST) on HBO, for anyone who wants to catch it.


Edit: I'm catching the part that I missed. John Mellencamp's (I was waiting to see his performance) "Little Pink Houses" was great. So appropriate and patriotic with the group of back up singers behind him a great touch.

2nd Edit: The old guy singing "This Land Is My Land" is Pete Seeger!!

I couldn't believe Pete Seeger was still alive. Where's that 2009 dead pool when you need it!

His name is Hussein. It could also be the former King of Jordan. Its a common name.

Hey TIS and gang, remember when "A Black President" was the stuff of Science Fiction? Better yet, imagine the weird parallels between Obama and Rock in HEAD OF STATE:



HEAD OF STATE (2003) - **1/2

The other day, comedian Chris Rock was complaining to CNN of how hard it is to make jokes about President-Elect Barack Obama, a sentiment also shared by writers for THE DAILY SHOW and Conan O'Brien, etc. Apparently unlike our previous Commanders-In-Chief, Obama is a tough pickle to define down to a general public humorous stereotype. You know what I mean, George W. Bush the redneck imbecile, Clinton the fat man-whore, and Bush Sr. the dry long-winded wimp. Now that last one I never got the "wimp" label, for unlike those others, he did actually fight in a war, but whatever. Surely there is someone out there who can write solid gags about good rhetoric or being an egghead or (so far) not embarrased out country?

So within hours of Obama's inauguration as our 44th President, I figured it was opportune time to review a movie that star/writer/director Chris Rock had produced several years ago. Now kids, this was back when the concept of a popular-elected black President was optimistic science fiction, thus the idea itself was the whole fucking joke. HEAD OF STATE wasn't exactly a hit, but will Rock continue to recieve his monthly residual checks for STATE after that whole punchline was muted by Obama's election?

What I do think may stick around for STATE is how eeriely similar Rock's character is to our new President. I mean think about it, Rock is an Alderman in D.C., basically portrayed here as a glorified community activist, which Obama started as in Chicago. Both cities notorious for their corrupt Democratic party-machine politics, but these men seem to have played the game and succeeded without being severly tainted by the process. Both have pivotal connections to Abe Lincoln, with Lincoln a hero of Obama, and Rock making a crack about black janitors working at the Lincoln Memorial having to polish his brass balls. Both guys are unabashed liberals and were initial long-shots because they were unknown quantities, their ethnicity and also they supposedly lacked the "experience" for the Oval Office, yet ultimately prevail over the more veteran white Republican candidate in the debates and election.

The difference though is that Rock only gets his party's Presidential nomination after the candidate and his running mate both die when their planes crash into each other. I think we need more stringent guidelines against pilot drinking, don't you? A nasty white Senator (Bill Arnot) from the party decides the election is a dog, so his scheme is to draft a guaranteed loser (preferably a black), so that next time he'll be both the nominee, and win easily. Arnot has always been fucking great in movies and LAW & ORDER as the sleezy shithead, so here's a shout out to him. You rock (pun!)

Rock as a stand-up, he's always funny while giving accute social commentary, and not afraid to criticize his own people. He shits on bullshit, no matter who or what, and I always welcome his HBO specials. What I've never understood was, why is he such a lame filmmaker? He's got the smarts, but what is with his incapability to write a decent narrative or plot around his comedy? Nevermind the fact that he's a weak director, and STATE is painfully obvious. Hell I think outside of his good political jabs, STATE just isn't funny, unless Tracy Morgan talking on and on about his meat while waiting for reruns of MARTIN is hilarious to you.

I mean, MARTIN?!?! Shit Chris, pick a black sitcom at least that was good.

What also sucked was the annoying running joke of his stalking bitchy ex-girlfriend (Robin Givens) and Rock crying "Security!" Urgh.

Sub-par thematics aside, STATE is at best when Rock rambles about politics. His campaign in the beginning is as safe, non-offensive, and dull as it could be, which reminds me alot of John Kerry. If you remember, Kerry in 2004 was the liberal nominee too, but he was rather afraid to be outright about that little fact. We got so many painful Photo-Ops with Kerry pretending to be a hunter and drinking beer, and speaking always of how you should vote for him because simply he isn't Bush. The GOP successfully painted him as a classic weak-kneed flip-flopping pussy liberal, and with such a piss-poor campaign, Kerry deserved to lose.

In the dumps emotionally and in the polls, Rock gets advice from big brother and running mate Bernie Mac to quit that sillyness, and just be himself.... like Obama did. He also ran against the Bush Years, but agree with him or not, he presented an alternative vision for America, which appealed to war-weary/jobless Americans. Unlike Kerry and Bill Clinton, Obama didn't run away from the liberal label, but rather embraced it. Hell, consider that scene when Rock during the debate basically yells bullshit on his opponent Nick Searchy over the issue of guns, and asking God to bless not just America, but the whole world.

That too brings back that pivotal moment in the 2008 campaign, when John McCain announced to suspend activities to solve the failing economy, including skipping the first debate. I think his party were outright shocked when Obama instead called his bluff, planned to do the debate anyway, and famously quoted as saying: "A President has to do two things at once." Well McCain despite his pledge slinked back to the debate in time. Hey, who's the pussy now?

Now one sequence in STATE I hated when I saw it in theatres was when Rock makes his great come-back this side of Truman by airing cartoonish ads of how the KKK and Osama Bin Laden endorse Searchy. I thought it was rather ridiculous and way too far fetch to be credible, even with the dirty commercials we've gotten before. Then last year, all those viral racist propaganda of how Obama was a socialist Arab Muslim terrorist foreigner (mostly produced in the South), including recently the head of my state's Republican party producing a CD which called him "The Magical Negro." As a Tennessean, I apologize that he humiliated my state with such a stupid public spectacle that it evidently cost him the RNC Chairmanship. Seriously dude, we're still having to live with the fact that the Klan was formed in Pulaski. Don't make it worse for us ok? If we aren't careful, we'll be equal to Alabama or Mississippi soon enough.

How about also Rock and Obama both have white advisors who greatly factored into their victory (David Axelrod for Obama, Dylan Baker for Rock)? Consider too that Rock appears in a TNA wrestling match, while Obama (with Hillary Clinton and McCain) taped a short address for WWE. Obama is an avid basketball fan, and so is Rock. Sharon Stone also sponsored both.

Man, I'm getting scared with all these parallels. Hopefully, in the never-made STATE sequel, Rock didn't appoint bitter rival Arnot to Secretary of State to neutralize him as a possible future threat. Maybe too that Mac is wise to keep his damn mouth shut, or since his death in office he's replaced by little brother Dave Chappelle. I'm Vice-President bitch! Rock's archnemesis in his quest for re-election would be Tina Fey, playing a clueless Governor of a western state who knows more about hunting moose than politics, and maybe her running-mate would be former doctor-turned-southern governor Richard Jenkins, or slick charming douchebag Mormon, played by Donny Osmond.*

But I'll give Rock something over Obama, which is when Rock personally buses his original constituents on election day, which Obama and his $800 million campaign couldn't apparently find the time to do. He'll get another chance in 4 years.

Yes He Will!

*=Apologies to Donny Osmond, for I doubt that he is a douchebag in reality, or at least I hope he isn't. I didn't know any other Mormon actor. Just so you all know, not all Mormons are shitheads like Mitt Romney.

This isn't the movie review thread, spammer.

The day is here at last!!! At last!!!

I am heading home to watch the whole thing.

Unfortunately, I have an appointment and will miss the ceremony. I'm sure it will be shown all day, though, so I'm not too upset.

Obama is alright, isn't he?!

My cable network channels are down and I got a message saying that the Secret Service has arrested a guy for pointing a gun at him.

Someone is spinning you a load of crap then cos everything is proceeding very nicely! I am watching it right now. Great stuff,even for a non-American.

Amazing! You get news that nobody else can see or hear! You're incredible. Thanks for letting us in on this secret newsfeed that you and you alone receive. It's SO appreciated.

Hey Sicilian Babe, I know its a hoax message.

The new presidential limousine is nick-named "the rolling bunker". Designed to withstand even a chemical attack!!

Very impressive!

I hope it's never needed for anything apart from getting him from A to B of course!

Now that he has successfully been sworn in, he now has the huge weight of proving himself and making history see that "America's first black President" works out perfectly.

He also has to stabilise the economy and bring things back to how they were in 2000, all before the end of his first term.

Let's all keep in mind what a President can and cannot do. For one, a President cannot legislate. Only the Congress can do that. A President cannot generate demand for products and services nor raise or lower supply.

A President can inspire though and propose legislation. However, that optimism will last only as long as it is consistent with reality and, to be successful, his legislative proposals must be consistent with any number of variables.

The US President is, as we all know, the "World's Most Powerful Man".

So why then can't he have free reign?

Even Hitler had more power!

I am sure he will do more than okay. He certainly has the people behind him. These crowd scenes are awesome!

I'm watching the Inauguration live right now.

It's on 3 of the major channels down here in OZ!!!

We are so try hard American I tell ya.

He hasn't been sworn in yet.

Well it's on live. It's the lead up etc. At the moment some old lady is on TV and it's showing people walking around etc.

I'm looking at the Clintons right now!

Looking very smart and smug!

Yeah, Clinton always cracks me up. The guy just looks funny to me.

He always looks smug to me. I have his life story but i have not read it yet!

We are now watching the Kenyan community in London sitting in a cinema watching the TV form the US!!

Globally confusing

Because he's not a dictator. Rather, the president's authority is limited to that which the Constitution specifically provides.

Much is expected of Obama. I don't remember a president taking office with greater expectations than Obama has. While reagan is revered today for his presidency, I don't recall as much excitement in 1981. Of course, the hostages were released on his innaugural, so that was exciting.

Hurry up and show the damn speech already!!

It's 3am over here in the East Coast of OZ.

Wonder what Obama will think of our Prime Minister? Guy is the biggest little dweeb.

Wait till he has to deal with Gordon Brown. I don't know if he is a dweeb but he is in the same ballpark

hahaha


How long till he does the speech. I got work for welfare tomorrow.

Half an hour or so i reckon!

Hahaha

Bush is getting "Booed"

I didn't hear many boos but i certainly didn't hear much clapping or cheering either!

I heard it only cause the Aussie commentators pointed it out etc.

Probably wasn't very loud.

Well, that was a good Inaugural Address. Maybe not the masterpiece that people expected, but some good lines:

"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
"

"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

Because we live in a democracy here, not under a dictator. Any other stupid questions?

This is my first and probably only time viewing this thread but

I can't believe Bush is FINALLY out of office!

ABC News is reporting that Senator Kennedy has collapsed at the private luncheon going on. No other news as of now.

He had a seizure, and is on the way to the hospital...

Amen.

You guys know I didn't vote for him but I wish him Gods speed. He has a long row to hoe.

From Just Lou's post above with the picture of the presidential limo:



The driver's window opens so the driver can pay a toll??

Because some 230 years ago we told the King of England, George, to go fuck himself. Another George here (Washington) became our first president and our founding fathers, in their infinite wisdom, decided that our elected leader shouldn't have free reign and unlimited powers.

OMG! That is a scary thought.

You'd think The Prez would have a non-revenue EZPass account. ....I don't think the President stop at toll booths. Actually, I know it for a fact.

As I remember, loads of people were calling Bush a dictator.

And you can keep your , start a collection with it!

And you can go fuck yourself, trollboy. How do you like me now?

More, JL. I like you more.

I agree RR. Great speech, although not quite what people may have expected. Very sober and facing reality, rightfully so. I also agree with Kly that Obama does have a whole lot to do and many have high expectations. Change will not come immediately that's for sure. Yet, people, I think will cut him some slack. He's given us some hope and we'll give him time to dig us out.

Oh, and RR, this is one of my favorite quotes from his speech as well.


To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

Oh, and I12...I'm with you kid!!


TIS

400+ posts, and he hasn't contributed a single thing with any one of them. He comes looking for attention, so I gave him some.

...And I might as well apologize to JG in advance.

Thank you, thank you,

I'll take a bow and raise a glass to the little boy who called me a Troll.

shuddup shitdick

I watched it all on MSNBC, but I waited patiently through the goofball mindless pundits (Olberman, the Liberal O'Reilly) to hear the one person there who I really was interested to hear his accuate opinion: Pat Buchanan.

A social conservative, and at times had infamous incidents in public regarding Jews and Immigrants, but otherwise a keen conservative intellectual, of which the GOP has (stupidly) weeded out for the last 8 years, which they did to Buchanan after he opposed the Iraq War.

Anyway, he called Obama's DNC speech back in August the best Convention speech he had ever heard, and he quite liked Obama's Inaugural.

He talked good points of how this Obama wasn't the "teary-eyed nice guy" Obama from two years ago, but more an authoratative figure that raises goals and a vision over the hill, but warns it won't be easy to reach. Indeed his basic foreign policy outlined isn't the traditional "weak-kneed liberal," nor Dubya Hawkish, but more inbetween, like JFK sought: Hopeful and sought peace, but be strong when necessary.

He also brought something that I thought was odd at the time, which was when Obama mentioned Khe Sahn among the battles of which Americans greatly bled for the future, along with Gettysburg, Concord, and Normandy.

Now TIS, you probably remember Khe Sahn, one of the most brutal but forgotten fights during the Vietnam War, and I liked how Obama included it, in spite of occuring in a war we "lost." Buchanan speculated it was Obama's intention, as the first post-Baby Boomer President, to finally put Vietnam behind us, and accept the good out of it into our national mythology.

But the guy also was a speechwriter for Nixon and Reagan, so I sorta assume he knows what he's talking about.

Or as he compared Obama's address: "A great mix of obvious influences from JFK to Reagan."

I liked all of it. It was inspirational and just what it should be to inaugurate an administration.

The new official White House web site is up, and is much more interactive than the "Bush Version".

Maybe our gal Asfaneh can tell us what exactly this TIME quote means:

"A soft revolution has been programmed against our country."

- A top Iranian INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL,
in a Monday message aimed at the Obama administration cautioning the U.S. against spying on Iran by stationing intelligence agents in neighboring countries

I thought he struck the right tone in the address and not going for the soaring oratory of which we all know he is capable. This was an honest evaluation of what we need to do as c ountry to right ourelves, and a moment to remind us that we are all in it together.

To me his most important line was the quote from St. Paul about putting away the things of a child. This was a clear call to everyone to stop the nasty partian bickering that has been going on since the '60's on BOTH sides, and to start acting like grown ups.

I have seen on these boards many people who did not vote for Obama and who actively questioned him take the position that they wish him well because if he succeeds, America succeeds. These people are to be congratulated.

I regret to say that my generation, the "boomers" have failed miserably at governance. We have two presidents for our entire generation, neither of whom are going to be Mt. Rushmore material.

I think that he will do well. He's a leader, which is what we need. Someone who is bold and willing to think outside the box. He has also shown that he won't take the bait.

Say what you will about Reagan, but he was decisive and he was not afraid to say what he felt was right, and to stand by it. After the wishy-washiness of the Carter administration, Reagan's firing of the air traffic controllers sent the world a message - do not mess with us.

Amen. I did not agree with many of his programs, but he had a clear vision and was absolutely a man of great principle.

I've compared Obama to Reagan before, but they both do seem to share the mentality they truely believe that indeed America is the greatest country on Earth, not because of power or guns, but because it's the most unique as the oldest continuing active republic.

A nation indeed where anything is possible, and in spite of mishaps, bad deadly mistakes, and poor choices in who we help at times, we can still be a moral leader. China nor Russia or much of Europe can't do that, but we can at anytime, when we get our shit together.

That's probably why alot of conservatives voted for Obama, and indeed notice some of them like Peggy Noonan giving thumbs up to his Inaugural address. Obama is different from the Gipper for his liberalism and foreign policy, but alot of that rhetoric he used to describe America and its history...

You could have heard Reagan say them himself.

First day on the job the man means business

Does this mean you're changing your opinion of him already?

He holds the office now. And if he can get the job done then God bless him.

BTW Obama save the country even more money by putting a pay raise freeze on the Senators and Congressmen. Or make them take a pay cut. Other people have to so why not them.

After his $150-170 million inauguration, I think Obama was wise to do this. Now if he had enough money back home, he could also forego his Presidential salary for this year (which is about $400,000) which JFK did, but Obama doesn't.

The lobbying guideline is nice, and I support his Executive Order plan to close Guantanamo.

Though he'll have a headache in having to come up with a new court system, and actually try alot of these terrorists, and shit if I know the right best solution for that mess.

But at the least, Guantanamo closed would rob the terrorists a visual propaganda location of symbology for the Middle East.

I don't think he has the power to do that. I'm sure they'd have to pass a bill to do this, and I doubt many of them are going to vote in favor of it.

Only Congress has that power, but yes I agree with that sentiment.

But with Reid/Pelosi leading Congress, knowing how tone-deaf they are, they'll never realize how they could capitalize on this simple action of great PR value.

I'm sure me, Pizzaboy, and others have patiently waited for this image to come to reality...

I don't see it happening like term limits but it was a nice thought.

I've been waiting for this one even more.

God Bless President Obama!

Kind of sounds like George W Bush. He didnt care about the polls. He did what he thought was right for the country.

It's official. Hillary Clinton is now Secretary of State (once she takes the oath of office).

DAILY SHOW mocks Inaugural Address

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index....bamas-inaugural

I just heard on Fox News that Obama re-did the oath of office tonight since he goofed up a couple words yesterday.

Whatever trips your trigger.

Except for Obama jumping the gun on the first line, Judge Roberts is the one that screwed up the oath by mixing up the words.


Obama retakes oath of office after Roberts' mistake

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama retook his oath of office Wednesday after Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed while delivering it at Tuesday's inauguration.

Roberts administered the oath the second time as well, according to the White House.

The move was aimed at dispelling any confusion that might arise from Tuesday's take and erase any question that Obama is legally the president.

Roberts made no comment on becoming tongue-tied Tuesday.

Count me in as one waiting for this image too. I read earlier (I think on Huffington Post) that Obama broke a Bush tradition by taking off his suit jacket while in the oval office. Hmmm!

My co-worker's son went to the inaugaration yesterday and said it was awesome. I can't wait to seek pictures.

Anyway, I hear Chris Wallace from Fox News still has doubts that Obama's oath "counted" because it was botched , totally ignoring the fact that Obama was President at noon oath or not. (I too thought it was Obama that messed up, but except for the very beginning he did ok, like JL said). It was Roberts, the news reported, this morning that messed it up.

TIS

Now you know why people want Civics to be taught seriously again in schools.

Man, did he ever screw up the oath. While he was flubbing it, Bush leaned over to Laura and said, "Even I never did THAT."

Honestly, if Bush had butchered one of his oaths, it would be played and replayed on the late night shows.

He didn't butcher it. Roberts did. Obama didn't repeat it at first because he knew Roberts was wrong.