Election Central Morning Roundup
Report: Bill Clinton Has Agreed To Major Concessions With Obama Team
Bill Clinton has reportedly agreed with the Obama transition team to disclose the list of donors to his charitable foundation to allow the White House to vet his future overseas trips and speaking engagements, in order to smooth the road to Hillary being nominated for Secretary of State. The potential for a conflict of interest from Bill's foreign dealings has been the major roadblock to a Hillary nomination, and Bill's apparent new agreements could go a long way in fixing the situation.
Obama In Chicago; Biden Celebrating His Birthday In Delaware; Rahm Meeting With GOP On The Hill
Barack Obama is holding private meetings today in Chicago while Joe Biden will spend today -- his birthday -- in Delaware, with neither having any scheduled public events. Meanwhile, Rahm Emanuel is headed to Capitol Hill to meet with House and Senate Republicans, in order to discuss how the new Democratic White House might be able to work together with the GOP minority.
Napolitano Could Be Tapped For Homeland Security
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano's office is not commenting on the story that she will be picked for Secretary of Homeland Security, and reportedly no formal offer has yet been made, but multiple reports say an offer is likely and that she would accept. Napolitano's résumé does seem to fit the bill: She is a governor from along the Mexican border and previously served as a U.S. Attorney, and on top of that she was an Obama surrogate during a time when his campaign was on the ropes.
NYT: Daschle's Private-Sector Work Could Conflict With Health And Human Services Post
The New York Times points out that Tom Daschle's selection to be Secretary of Health and Human Services could create a conflict with Barack Obama's promises about lobbyist influence, as Daschle has served on the board of the Mayo Clinic and also advised a major legal/lobbying firm: "Although Mr. Daschle's work might not preclude his appointment, it could raise the possibility that the administration could require him to recuse himself from any matter related to either the Mayo Clinic or some of the clients he advised at Alston & Bird -- a potentially broad swath of the health secretary's portfolio."
Kerry Poised To Claim Foreign Relations Chairmanship
John Kerry will reportedly win the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- the same committee where he shot to fame when he testified against the Vietnam War over 35 years ago -- as a result of Joe Biden vacating the chair to become vice president. The Boston Globe reports that Kerry is already working on an ambitious agenda for the committee, including oversight of plans to withdraw from Iraq, dealing with nuclear proliferation and the spread of other weapons, and focusing on the fight against terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Big DC Suburbs County Could Cancel School Day For Inauguration
A school board member in Montgomery County, Maryland (the DC suburbs), has proposed making Inauguration Day a school holiday so that students can watch the historic event that will be Barack Obama's swearing-in. The school superintendent has recommended against it, citing the limited number of allowed snow days on the calendar, but the school board president believes the motion will have majority support when brought up at the meeting in three weeks.
The Minnesota Recount Goes On
Today is the second day of the Minnesota Senate recount, as we find out whether or not Al Franken can overcome GOP Sen. Norm Coleman's paper-thin lead from the original totals. The major thing to keep in mind while watching this story develop is to not get too shaken up by the results as they come in, as there will be numerous small swings going in either direction -- instead, pay attention to the overall pattern.
Janet Napolitano as SHS peaks my curiosity. Other than watching her head bobbleing around like everyone else on Hardball and Countdown I know little about her. I understand she's not very controversial in AZ so what does she bring to the HS table?
You're her neighbor, Tena give us the low down :-)
November 20, 2008 9:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have a feeling that Obama is going to completely retool the DHS, and maybe whatever he does with it will make it a really good fit for Napolitano (that said, I really want her to run against McCain).
This is also why I'm somewhat less bothered over what happened with Lieberman than I might have been -- ultimately, Homeland Security is Obama's department, and he can completely dismantle it and make Lieberman's chairmanship meaningless if he wants to.
November 20, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Per Wikipedia:
One of Time magazine's "five best" governors in the US. Got her Juris Doctorate from the U. of Virginia on a Truman Scholarship. Was US attorney for District of Arizona under Clinton. Was AZ state attorney general prior to being governor. Cancer surviver. She's been chair of the Western Governors Associaton and the National Governors Association, is currently on the exec. committee for the Democratic Governors Association.
As an Arizonan:
She's popular as all hell. She could run and easily win a third term as governor of AZ if she weren't term limited out in 2010. One issue is that it's my understanding that if she left office for a cabinet seat she'd be replaced by a Republican with decidedly contrary views.
November 20, 2008 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's why I never considered Kerry as a real choice for SoS. He's the easiest to turn down for the position because he'd just become Chairman.
November 20, 2008 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
So... Bill agreed to disclose the list of his donors to "smooth the road" for Hillary, but what if, after examining the list, the conclusion is the list includes some shitty thing that can make the road rockier?
November 20, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't worry. Bill will lose the damaging files for a while. She'll sail through the vetting process.
November 20, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's my kids' school district and my school board member, proud to say, and the superintendent is an utter moron for opposing this. Whether school is open or closed, I'm taking my kids to the mall because history is much better witnessed in person than in a classroom. To gain back the day lost, maybe they could actually keep school open on a day when there are snow flurries, which is all it takes to shut things down in these parts.
November 20, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
What about the parents that work?...should they have to make special arangements so your kids can have the day off? Where's the liberal love for the less fortunate?
November 20, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
LOLOLOL!!!!!
One fucking day off school, Wallace.
You're too funny.
November 20, 2008 9:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am here for your entertainment.
November 20, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know that and I often appreciate it.
Might get dull without you to laugh at. LOL
November 20, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually in the D.C. area, all federal employees and most private sector workers will have the day off.
By contrast, they usually don't get days off when the schools have snow days, and they have no time to make arrangements, yet that doesn't stop the schools from shutting down when they see a single flake tumbling to the ground.
November 20, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly.
Talk about Faux Outrage over nuttin!
LOL!
November 20, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Going to see the Inaugural of course worth it!
We're so glad we went to Clinton's. Very cool to see the moving vans leaving while Clinton's were coming in. Real.
AND we got stopped at a street corner as we wandered around to the (outside of) various events and the Secret Service jumped out and asked us to 'Just stay put" and next we see the Clinton's limo turn the corner right in front of us and Bill and Hillary waved and we called "Congratulations!" back.
Real 'Ain't that America' moment!
PS Tina: how did it ever turn out with your snow storm and the airport transport issue?
November 20, 2008 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Opps! "TENA"
November 20, 2008 11:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
This will be my first winter in the DC area with school-aged children. I lived here back in my single days and used to think "How do working parents DEAL with this nonsense?" They would close schools because they thought it MIGHT snow. Don't get me started! (Okay, sorry I'm already started.) What I really came here to say, though, is that here in Arlington, Virginia, it was always the plan for schools to be closed on Inauguration Day. And I'm super super excited about taking my kids downtown for the parade! (Back when I worked at a DC law firm, we always had Inauguration Day off and the firm held a big party for clients. I tried to nab tickets for this year's shindig but apparently they've had to institute some restrictions!)
November 20, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
A large percentage of parents in the DC area are Federal employees who get the day off anyway.
Prince George's County, the other adjacent MD suburban county, made the decision a week ago to close for Inauguration Day. (PDF link)
I don't know about Montgomery, but for once Prince George's is getting it right. Prince George's schools have a long history of having random days off (such as parent teacher conference days, staff development days, and teacher grading days) that fall when federal employees are at work creating child care headaches, and then within days, often the same week, there being a federal holiday when the federal employee parents are off work and their kids are at school.
If anything both districts should have planned their school years around not having classes that day to begin with. DC is a 'company town' and whenever possible, school closings should be coordinated with federal holidays, and as I noted earlier, this year (as with every four years) inauguration is a federal 'holiday' for employees in the metro Dc area.
November 20, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Texas lets school kids off all over the state for a State Fair Day.
I think DC parents can handle a day off for their kids for the inauguration.
honest to god...
November 20, 2008 9:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
SFCWallace is clearly suffering from outside-the-beltway ignorance on this one.
Wallace, buddy, you have to be here to understand what I am about to tell you. But here goes:
No one--and I repeat no one--will be going to work on January 20th in or around DC.
It is going to be traffic Hell, and no employer wants to make his staff suffer through that, let alone have to truck his own ass in from Loudon or Silver Spring or wherever he or she lives. The Metro is going to be more jammed than it already is, the MARC and VRE are going to be like those trains you see in India, with people sitting on top of them and everything, the roads are going to look like the highways looked in the last 20 minutes of Deep Impact or the first 20 minutes of I Am Legend.
This is a company town, kiddo. And the company's having a 2-million guest party. And no one with any sense of adventure is going to be anywhere near D.C. Smart ones qre renting out their houses for $5,000 a pop--and no, I am not kidding about that--and getting out of Dodge for a nice four-day weekend.
November 20, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Loudoun County, VA just decided to make Inauguration Day a school holiday:
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=600&sid=1521904
(I sure hope Webb or Warner come through with tickets, but that's beyond reasonable hope.)
November 20, 2008 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
The only way you are getting Inauguration tickets is to either be a staff member in the House or Senate, or be willing to do things to a staff member of the House or Senate that involves using your mouth in a seedy alley.
November 20, 2008 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, and Montgomery gave Obama a hell of a larger margin than Loudon did. Not that this should matter, but...
I'm gone the senator/congressman route too, but I'm assuming I'll be standing somewhere in the vicinity of the Washington Monument watching on a jumbotron.
November 20, 2008 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good for Kerry!!!
November 20, 2008 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is it possible that all the Clinton as SoS hoohaw is just a clever gambit to up the ante so she can negotiate a more powerful position in the senate?
The fact that she hasn't accepted yet speaks volumes I think. If she were the perfect fit, then I could understand it better. She isn't. So why the hassle? Why all the vetting? Why all the contingency?
Call it intentionally indirect; the end seems to validate the means and it would solve several problems or dilemmas for both Obama and Clinton if she didn't accept. She will have improved her position in the senate and Obama will have solidified his standing with all the Clintonites.
It's not that far out to imagine such a scenario anyway. Is it?
November 20, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
I kind of agree with you. I think she may have found she can leverage herself into a lot of power in the Senate, where she doesn't have that kind of seniority and I wouldn't be surprised.
It would be a hell of a lot less hassle for Bill. I don't know why Bill wants to put himself through this, except he owes her and is dying to start paying off that huge debt.
;)
November 20, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
For all his weirdness during the campaign, Bill is a professional. He came through at the convention and he was right about how to deal with Palin.
This move for Hillary will be the signature move defining the rest of her career. They will position themselves very carefully to get all they can out of it.
November 20, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
I totally agree with that.
November 20, 2008 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
To your point, Sen. Kennedy has already offered her a lead role on his healthcare team. Whatever the end game, something just isn't right about this whole drawn-out dance. I just don't think Clinton as SOS makes sense for HRC or Obama. First off, any personal enmity between them would be a deal buster. Then there's the conflict-of-interest thing with Bill. I can't see how carrying Obama's water advances her presidential ambitions, or how Obama can be convinced the trust level is there.
Like I said, something's not right. Like you say, Roadkill, maybe they're negotiating an out that leaves them both looking good.
November 20, 2008 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd rather have Feingold as the Chair of Foreign Relations- and he could still at that. C'mon Kerry cabinet appointment!!
November 20, 2008 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe Obama is considering her as SoS for a few other reasons I haven't seen mentioned. He may want a look at those Clinton foundation donor files to know exactly where Bill and Hillary are coming from if they stray from the message and start acting like he's goring one of their oxes in the future. There also might be something he can use as leverage in those files.
And speaking of goring oxes Obama is going to have to drastically alter the way Wall St. is regulated. With Hillary still in the senate he'd have to contend with two very politically powerful senators from NY to get it done. A Cuomo or Spitzer aren't in as deep with the financial boys as Hillary, hell Spitzer could write the legislation Obama prefers, but regardless of who gets the senate seat he or she won't be nearly as strong an advocate for the status quo as Hillary.
November 20, 2008 10:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Spitzer? He of the high-priced call girl ring? I live in NY & I can tell you with absolute certainty that Eliot Spitzer will not be the senator from NY if Hillary goes to the State Department. David Paterson is not going to give the state Republicans that kind of an issue to bash him with when he comes up for election.
November 20, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're probably right but tell it to David Vitter and Larry Craig. I'd rather see Spitzer heading up a fully funded and enabled SEC anyway.
November 22, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Need a Catchphrase
I don't get why Josh would solicit catchphrase ideas but turn off the commments feature so readers could offer them.
Oh well. My idea:
"Glut and grub"
November 20, 2008 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
The "leak of the day" is that Governor Kathleen Sebellius is being tapped as Labor Secretary in Obama's cabinet.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/11/20/1683066.aspx
"Another governor to keep an eye on today as the next potential "leaked" pick: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. The vetting process is well under way for her, and the most likely spot for her appears to be Labor secretary, although she might also wind up at Energy. But Labor makes the most sense, as both the business community and labor seem to be fans."
November 20, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
That seems odd to me. Why not Ag or Commerce for her? She belongs in the Cabinet and I'm sure she'd be fine at DoL, but why not someone who has more hands-on experience in labor issues.
November 20, 2008 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
I liked Bonior as Labor.
November 20, 2008 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow. WSJ CEO confab yesterday, Hill GOP today. This guy is fearless. I luvs it!
November 20, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just to focus on an issue not getting strong enough attention...
From drift glass…by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
“Directly and indirectly, the economic breadth and contribution of the U.S. automotive industry is deep and far reaching across the country. U.S. automakers directly employ approximately 355,000 American workers and indirectly employ nearly 5 million additional jobs through related industries that are dependent on auto manufacturing, sales, and related activities. Over the last two decades, the automotive industry has invested nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars in the U.S. and is among this country’s top industries for R&D spending. Automakers also are among the largest purchasers of U.S.-manufactured steel, aluminum, iron, copper, plastics, rubber, electronics, and computer chips.”
"...Manufacturing directly employs 14 million America and supports 8 million more.
Each manufacturing job supports as many as four other jobs, providing a boost to local economies. For example, every 100 steel or every 100 auto jobs create between 400 and 500 new jobs in the rest of the economy. This contrasts with the retail sector, where every 100 jobs generate 94 new jobs elsewhere, and the personal and service sectors, where 100 jobs create 147 new jobs.
Well, there are a lot of good, compassionate reasons for picking those three, but if your goal is to save the Middle Class from extinction, then you…
Enact health care reform…to take the burden of wildly-overpriced employer-based health-care off the backs of American business, in order to make them more competitive in the global marketplace.
Enact education reform…because the days of a million high-school drop outs making a Middle Class living pounding anvils and running lathes is over; because the new good jobs (and the prosperity of the nation) depends entirely on a skilled and adaptable labor force.
Pour real money into a green energy portfolio…first, because tethering your manufacturing and distribution systems to a variable like oil which is controlled by hostile foreign powers is suicidal. Second, because somebody’s gonna have to actually man-u-fac-ture the solar cells, fuels cells, windmills and so forth.
To pull us back from the feudal abyss, all these pistons (and more) need to be firing harmoniously in a 21st industrial engine powered by manufacturing.
Yes, the Big Three automakers have been run by short-sighted dolts with ridiculous business models.
So has the financial sector.
So shut up and fix them already..."
www.driftglass.blogspot.com Really worth the visit.
Also the site talks about shunning the big three auto makers because they have strong unions attached...and republicans hate unions. They go under and our economy will collapse. A .3% down turn in ADP caused our current economic disaster and the collapse of the big three auto makers would result in a 4% downturn. That's a 370% difference in the negative effects. Why let greedy self serving CEOs from all the industries and financial services turn into "million dollar gold gliders" when it is destroying our economy. Confiscate the holdings of those who brought us this disaster rather than reward them on their way out. The people who got screwed are paying million for the demonstration??? Thanks but no thanks...Id rather avoid a Palien Nation shopping spree.
November 20, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink