:: IPD Daily Political Cartoon Find.
Gary Wasserman, the Boston Globe
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:: Update on the Coleman-Franken senate race.
See the story at the bottom of this post for more background. Coleman's office has now been ordered closed, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. And, the Dems may try to seat Franken as Minnesota's new senator over Republican objections.
“"Republicans will object to trying to seat him," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley. Later in the day, Manley said that Democratic leadership would not seat Franken when the new class of Senators was sworn in on Tuesday.”Source: HUFFPOST
UPDATE 1 - Franken officially wins the Minnesota senate race. Now for the power struggle.
“The Minnesota State Canvassing Board confirmed on Monday that Al Franken has won his Senate election, ending a weeks-long recount process that started with the Democratic challenger facing a roughly 215-vote deficit.
The final tally left Franken with 1,212,431 votes to Sen. Norm Coleman's 1,212,206 votes, a 0.0077 percent margin of victory.” Source: HUFFPOST
UPDATE 2- 8:30 PM: Reid won't seat Franken because he says that the Republicans will object cry and whine.
DAMN it, Reid!! Grow a freakin' BACKBONE, you spineless dick! You completely SUCK!
“"Republicans will object to trying to seat him," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley. Later in the day, Manley said that Democratic leadership would not seat Franken when the new class of Senators was sworn in on Tuesday.” Source: HUFFPOST
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:: Obama to name Leon Panetta as CIA director.
Panetta's selection is unusual, and points to the difficulty Obama had in choosing a director with experience and with NO ties to the controversial counterterroism policies of the Bush administration.
“In disclosing the pick, officials pointed to Mr. Panetta’s sharp managerial skills, his strong bipartisan standing on Capitol Hill, his significant foreign policy experience in the White House and his service on the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan panel that examined the war and made recommendations on United States policy.”Source: NYT
| Feinstein Not Happy With Obama's CIA Pick » HuffPost
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:: Obama, back on Capitol Hill for meetings with Pelosi and other congressional leaders.
“"The reason we are here today is because the people's business cannot wait," Obama said as he arrived on Capitol Hill in late morning for talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "The speaker and her staff have been extraordinarily helpful in working with our team so we can shape an economic recovery plan and start putting people back to work."”Source: HUFFPOST
Image courtesy of HuffPost.
|Obama's Private Pelosi Meeting: Economy, Labor, Lilly Ledbetter » HuffPost
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:: Reagan's former "shadow" named White House Photographer.
Pete Souza, Reagan's white house photographer during his second term, received the offer from Obama press secretary, Robert Gibbs.
“ATHENS, OH (January 4, 2009) - Photojournalist and NPPA member Pete Souza has accepted the position of official White House photographer for President-elect Barack Obama, he told News Photographer magazine tonight. ”Source: NPPA
Image courtesy of NPPA, by Larry Hamel-Lambert
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:: Obama announces his choices for four top DOJ positions.
He is nominating David Ogden for Deputy Attorney General, Elena Kagan for Solicitor General, Tom Perrelli for Associate Attorney General and Dawn Johnsen for Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. Kagan currently holds a position as the first female dean at Harvard Law School. If Kagan is confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first woman to hold the position of Solicitor General.
Image courtesy of The Chicago Tribune.
“Dawn Johnsen -- a former legal director for NARAL -- has written scathingly about former Bush DOJ official John Yoo's 2002 "torture memo."
"Where is the outrage, the public outcry?! " Johnsen wrote in Slate. "The shockingly flawed content of this memo, the deficient processes that led to its issuance, the horrific acts it encouraged, the fact that it was kept secret for years and that the Bush administration continues to withhold other memos like it--all demand our outrage."”Source: ABC News, Jake Tapper
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:: President-elect Obama to deliver major speech on the economy on Thursday, January 8.
“President-elect Barack Obama plans to give a major economic speech Thursday, an Obama spokesman confirms for CBSNews.com. No other details are available at this time.
Obama will meet with his economic team at the transition office in Washington, D.C. at 12:15pm today. He will also talk stimulus with Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill today.”Source: CBS News
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:: Obama family shares Malia and Sasha's first day of school via images.
At the Hay-Adams in Washington, the Obama family sends the two girls off to their first day of school at Sidwell Friends. To view all of the images, click here.
“Sasha and Malia Obama will arrive at their new school today, protected from physical attack by the Secret Service but still being thrust into the global glare accorded to celebrities.
The girls — aged 7 and 10 — who are already being spoken about as role models for a generation of African-American children, will be educated on separate campuses at the private Sidwell Friends School. ”Source: The TIMES online
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:: Obama considering $300 billion in tax cuts to appease Republicans.
The stimulus plan is expected to be on Obama's desk in February. Can this country survive more Republican maneuvering?
“"Obama strategists say he wants to get 80 or more votes in the 100-member Senate, and the emphasis on tax cuts is a way to defuse conservative criticism and enlist Republican support," Mike Allen relays.”Source: HUFFPOST
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:: President-elect Obama chooses Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, as the next chair of the DNC.
Kaines will work for the DNC on a part-time basis until 2010, when his term as governor is over, at which point, he will chair the DNC on a full-time basis. This is a really good choice, in my opinion. Kaine is responsible for turning Virginia blue for Obama. Obama was the first Democrat that Virginians elected to the presidency in 44 years. GO, Kaine!
“WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has selected Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, two Democrats said Sunday.”Source: HUFFPOST
| Kaine Expected To Expand Faith Offensive As DNC Chair »HuffPost
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:: Democrat Al Franken to be declared the winner in the Minnesota recount battle.
That is, unless the Minnesota Supreme Court responds to Coleman's plea, thus possibly starting the whole thing all over again.
“Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of the tight U.S. Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, state officials said on Sunday.
But Coleman, the incumbent, has asked Minnesota's supreme court to require that a few hundred additional absentee ballots be included in the recount -- and he could then ask the court to investigate the contest all over again.
"At the moment, Franken has a 225-vote lead," after the weekend counting of what were deemed the last uncounted absentee ballots, said Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat who oversaw the process.
Ritchie said unless the supreme court acts on Coleman's request and orders more ballots to be counted, he will reconvene the state's Canvassing Board at 2:30 p.m. CST (2030 GMT) on Monday to certify Franken as the winner of the November 4 contest.”Source: Reuters
UPDATE - 12:24 PM: The Minnesota Supreme Court Rejected Coleman's plea. »HuffPost
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:: President-elect Obama chooses Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, as the next chair of the DNC.
Kaine will work for the DNC on a part-time basis until 2010, when his term as governor is over, at which point, he will chair the DNC on a full-time basis. This is a really good choice, in my opinion. Kaine is responsible for turning Virginia blue for Obama. Obama was the first Democrat that Virginians elected to the presidency in 44 years. GO, Kaine!
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:: On Sunday, Bill Richardson withdrew from his nomination as the Secretary of Commerce.
Richardson, under investigation by a grand jury, withdrew on Sunday.
“Obama accepted the news with "deep regret," according to a written statement from the president-elect. "It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time," said Mr. Obama.
Richardson is withdrawing because of questions raised by federal investigators, who have been looking into whether Richardson and his administration improperly steered state contracts towards CDR Financial Products, a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based firm founded by David Rubin, a major financial contributor to Richardson. ”Source: ABC News, Jake Tapper
| Obama Team Feels Richardson Wasn't Forthcoming About Investigation Before Being Offered Commerce »ABC News, Jake Tapper
