President-elect Barack Obama talks about his economic stimulus legislation and says “There is no reason why we can’t do this”  He emphasized the need for bi-partisan support saying this is “an American problem, not a Republican or Democrat problem.”

Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 3rd, 2009

Recount is complete; Franken up by 226

Norm Coleman’s term as a U.S. Senator ended at noon Washington time on Saturday, and by evening his hopes of winning a second term had been dealt an expected but serious setback as state officials counted previously rejected absentee ballots in St. Paul.

Democrat Al Franken held an unofficial lead of 226 votes over Coleman as this edition of the Star Tribune went to press, according to a newspaper tally of officials’ count of the absentee ballots. Franken had led unofficially by 49 votes going into the day and gained a net 177 votes from the new ballots.  More…

Denver Post, January 3rd, 2008

Gov. Bill Ritter this afternoon officially named Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to fill Colorado’s vacant senate seat.

Bennet, 44, will be sworn in as the nation’s youngest Senator after Sen. Ken Salazar is confirmed as interior secretary.

“I am humbled and honored to serve the state of Colorado as your next U.S. Senator,” said Bennet, standing with his wife and three daughters in front of about 200 people gathered in the state capitol. “My experiences, not only in public service but also in business, have taught me that when people come together, put aside partisan differences, and focus on pragmatic problem-solving, we can accomplish great things.” More…

Iraq: The Necessary Withdrawal

The Nation, January 3rd, 2009

The passage by the Iraqi Parliament in late November of the US-Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) adds credibility and urgency to President-elect Obama’s pledge to get US troops out of Iraq by the midpoint of his first term. Bush’s costly and illegal war has been a drain on the economy to the tune of a trillion dollars if hidden costs are included, a sum likely to triple in coming decades as the public pays for the care of injured veterans. The war has left tens of thousands of military personnel wounded, suffering from brain trauma or dead. The toll on Iraqis has been monumental. It cannot end too soon.

The general Iraqi hostility to the presence of foreign troops was apparent in the process whereby the SOFA was enacted. The fierce debates that it provoked signaled that there are only two major factions in Iraqi politics: those who want the United States out within a couple of years and those who want the United States out now.

The Washington debate on withdrawal, in contrast, has been peculiarly removed from reality since the early days of the presidential campaign. Such opponents of withdrawal as John McCain called it an act of “surrender,” a waving of a white flag. (To whom would we have been surrendering?) The US military would have to stay in Iraq forever, they implied, because it would be too embarrassing to leave. They demanded “victory” but carefully avoided defining what they meant by the word. They warned that parts of Iraq, or even the entire country, would become an Al Qaeda base were the United States to depart. Even as they spoke, Shiite militias were systematically cleansing about half the Sunni Arab population from the capital and a Shiite prime minister was gathering military power into his hands. The Republican visions of Osama bin Laden occupying Saddam’s palaces were paranoid fantasies. More…

The Charlotte Observer has put together a clever website with information and background data on all of Barack Obama’s cabinet choices. We’re impressed.  Click here to vist the site and learn more about our next administration.

“Pay for Play” is being alleged by federal prosecutors appointed by Bush to succeed David Inglesias.  The case involves a $1.4 million consulting contract awarded over five years ago.  The case will probably drag on for months and Governor Richardson didn’t want the distraction for the new administration.  We think Richardson will likely be cleared but, one thing that is clear is that Democrats need to do a better job in vetting our candidates and officials.

Washington Post, January 4th, 2009
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from consideration as commerce secretary for President-elect Barack Obama, citing an ongoing investigation about business dealings in his state.

Richardson, 61, who competed unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination, was secretary of energy and U.N. ambassador during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and also the first high-profile Latino named to Obama’s Cabinet.

But a grand jury in New Mexico is currently looking into charges of “pay-to-play” in the awarding of a state contract to a company that contributed to Richardson.

The importance of the inquiry was apparently dismissed when Richardson was first nominated. But it may have taken on more weight in light of the “pay-to-play” allegations involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“It is with deep regret that I accept Governor Bill Richardson’s decision to withdraw his name for nomination as the next Secretary of Commerce,” the president-elect said in a statement released early this afternoon. “Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office.  More…

Washington Post, January 5th, 2009

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will become chairman of the Democratic National Committee later this month, serving as the top political messenger for Barack Obama’s administration even while finishing his final year in the governor’s mansion, several sources said.

Tom Kaine & Barack Obama during the campaign

Kaine, 50, who emerged as a finalist for the job of Obama’s running mate last summer, will operate from Richmond in a part-time capacity until January 2010, when he will become the full-time DNC chairman. Kaine is constitutionally barred from running for reelection.

Kaine, a friend of the president-elect’s, is a gregarious chief executive who is known to relish political combat and helped put Virginia in the Democratic presidential election column for the first time in almost 50 years. More…

In the meantime, the Republicans are having a difficult time picking someone to run the Republican Party.  Today’s issue of Politico has a story about the Republicans and their quest for a new leader.  There are six elephant candidates dividing the vote in to small piles.  Mike Duncan, the incumbent, is likely under these circumstances to retain his seat.  However Republicans are still squabbling so we will have to wait and see.

New York Times, January 5th, 2009

President-elect Barack Obama has selected Leon E. Panetta, the former congressman and White House chief of staff, to take over the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization that Mr. Obama criticized during the campaign for using interrogation methods he decried as torture, Democratic officials said Monday.

Leon Panetta Named for CIA

Yet the choice encountered early opposition on Capitol Hill, with some senior Democrats questioning why the president-elect would pick a C.I.A. chief without a deep reservoir of intelligence or counterterrorism experience.

“My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein who, as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, would be in charge of Mr. Panetta’s confirmation.

Senator Feinstein said that she had not been notified by Mr. Obama’s transition team about the selection.

Mr. Panetta has a reputation in Washington as a competent manager with strong background in budget issues, but has little hands-on intelligence experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he will take control of the agency most directly responsible for hunting senior Al Qaeda leaders around the globe, but one that has been buffeted since the Sept. 11 attacks by leadership changes and morale problems.

More…

Huffington Post says this choice is a clear break from Bush administration policies.

Burris: Out of the Rain, Into the Senate

The Nation, January 8th, 2009

With what is effectively an endorsement from President-elect Barack Obama, Roland Burris went to the Capitol this morning to arrange for his seating in the US Senate.

And, make no mistake, the Illinois appointee is now all but certain to be seated.

By wandering around in the rain for an hour on Tuesday, Burris grabbed all the media attention that was going to be afforded to the day when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should have been outlining the agenda of the new Democratic majority in the chamber.

In so doing, Burris beat Reid.

The majority leader, who had said that he would not seat an appointee of scandal-plagued Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, was left with no alternative but to fold. And fold he did after meeting with a smiling Burris on Wednesday morning.

Reid hailed praised the Illinoisan’s intellect and hailed Burris as “candid” and “forthright.” Then the majority leader laid out a face-saving strategy — not for Burris but for himself.

He said that the appointee could be seated once legal wrangling in Illinois about whether Burris can be seated without Secretary of State Jesse White’s signature on a certification of his appointment. This matter is now being considered by the Illinois Supreme Court, although it could be resolved even more quickly if White decides to sign the document, as statements made by the Secretary of State on Tuesday seemed to suggest was a possibility.  More from The Nation…

Meanwhile Reid is seen as increasingly vulnerable in his home state of Nevada where his popularity trails.   Reid has been identified a “top target of opportunity for Republicans in 2010.”  And to put a fine point to it, many progressives are wondering if Reid is our most capable choice to lead Senate Democrats now that we are the Majority Party.  They point to the last congress where Democrats utterly failed to convert their majority status into signs of leadership.  Most observers think the Republicans out-maneuvered Reid at every single point.  Here is a story at The Politico…..

Daschle was praised today by Senate Republicans and Democrats alike.  He is passionate about health care reform and we highly recommend his new book, Crisis.  The Washington Post reported today that he’ll have very close access to President Obama and that his confirmation hearings start today.

Daschle’s approach: Anything but Clinton

The Politico, January 8th, 2009

They might sit side-by-side in Barack Obama’s Cabinet room someday, but Tom Daschle didn’t much like Hillary Clinton’s tactics for fixing health care 15 years ago – so much so that he wrote a book critiquing them.

Now as Obama’s point-person on health care, Daschle’s approach is a simple philosophy of ABC – Anything But Clinton – that he’ll start to lay out at his confirmation hearing Thursday for secretary of health and human services.

Tom Daschle will lead Health Care reform

Daschle wants an overhaul plan moving on Capitol Hill by spring. Clinton waited almost a full year. Daschle wants lawmakers to take the lead in drafting it. Clinton kept the job inside the White House.

Perhaps the biggest change: Daschle is planning a major grassroots push to build public support for his plan outside Washington, possibly with spokesman-in-chief Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN at the helm as surgeon general. Clinton let opponents carry the day with their famed “Harry and Louise” TV spots.

“It is just a world of difference in so many ways,” said Sheila Burke, the chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) from 1986 to 1996, who followed Clinton’s process. “You’ve got people paying close attention to what those lessons were, and they have already avoided some of the missteps.”

The stakes for Obama are high: his promises on health care were among the most specific of his campaign, setting a deadline of the end of his first term to provide universal coverage for “every single American.”

As Daschle sits down for the first confirmation hearing of the Obama Cabinet, senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee are expected to press for details of the incoming administration’s strategy on the issue. The failure of Clinton’s plan was so politically traumatizing the last time around, Congress hasn’t attempted something as sweeping since.  More…