Republicans Cheer for Chairman Steele

In the United States, in 2009, the head of the Democratic Party and the head of the Republican Party are black.

Granted, one has much more power than the other. (One is titular, the other is de jure.)

And one may have been chosen in reaction to the other.

But -- for a party that was not too longer ago openly dedicated to a strategy of using racial fears to attract white votes, it's something.

In a short stemwinder, Steele promised to broaden the party's geographic base and "stand proud" as the country's conservative party.

"It's time for something completely different," he said, to cheers.

 "To my friends in the Northeast, get ready baby, we're going to turn it on.  We're going to win in the Northeast.  We're going to continue to win in the South... In the West."

"To those who are ready to obstruct," he warned. "[G]et ready to get knocked over."

Did Republicans choose Steele as a token? Some RNC members will think so, as will many skeptical Democrats.  But Steele won this thing by himself.  The RNC is a fractious, uncooperative bunch. And Steele patiently politicked his way through six ballots. Just a few hours ago, my correspondent Will DiNovi saw Steele and Ohio's Kenneth Blackwell face to face in the hall. "I know we've disagreed on a lot of things," Steele was telling him. Blackwell waited a little -- then he endorsed Steele.

Steele's election won't help the party attrack black voters immediately, but if Steele sets the right tone, he could help the party compete for them in the (way)  future.  As GOP strategists have always known, and noted, somewhat dyspeptically, it's white suburban voters, particularly women, who are responsive to a diversity message. The RNC isn't diverse yet; only five black delegates were chosen to attend the national convention. Steele was disgusted by that. It prompted him to run.

Continue reading "Republicans Cheer for Chairman Steele" »

Bulletin: Steele Wins

With 91 votes.

On the sixth ballot.

Labor's Day At The White House

While labor supports the stimulus bill and White House priorities in general, they want more spending on direct infrasturcture out of the Senate bill, and will in all likelihood make those differences known if the White House disagrees with them.

RNC Round 5: Steele On The Verge

Steele: 79

Dawson: 69

Anuzis: 20

Ken Blackwell dropped out and endorsed Steele. Anuzis just dropped out.

Holland Redfield, a committeeman from the U.S. Virgin Islands, tells correspondent Will DiNovi that the U.S. territories proved to be a "kingmaker" for Steele. "We're going to push the Republican Party from vanilla to butterschotch," he said. 

RNC Round 4: Duncan Support Goes to Dawson

Katon Dawson: 62

Michael Steele: 60

Saul Anuzis: 31

Ken Blackwell: 15

RNC Chairman Duncan Drops Re-Election Bid

It's over for Mike Duncan.  The current RNC chairman has dropped his re-election bid.

RNC Round Three: Steele Leading

Maryland's Michael Steele: 51

Kentucky incumbent Mike Duncan: 44

South Carolina: Katon Dawson: 34

Michigan's Saul Anuzis: 24

Ohio's Ken Blackwell: 15

Typical of the mood in the room, as related by correspondent Will DiNovi, is what Joe Trillo, a national committeeman from Rhode Island, had to say:  "It's a diverse party. We're tired of being labeled as white supremacists."

Maine GOP chair Mark Ellis says he's still supporting Duncan, owing to Duncan's proven ability as a manager and a fundraiser.

Watch for Anuzis to make a deal with Steele...

The Judd Gregg Project

Now that Sen. Judd Gregg has confirmed that Obama administrations are putting him through the feelers for the Commerce Secretary job, we should pause to untangle the various political ramifications.

The White House isn't commenting, but my understanding that Gregg is a leading candidate for the job, not just a regular candidate.

On the surface, Gregg's nomination would help the administration bolster its bipartisan credentials. Gregg, a budget hawk, might been seen as the budget-cruncher's advocate inside the administration. Blue Dog Democrats and moderate Republicans would be satisified that the Obama Administration is serious about reforming the budget project and committed to fiscal discipline.

Under the surface, there are fears.

Republican politicos don't want Gregg to abandon the party and potentially give Democrats their 60th seat. They figure that New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) is certain to appoint a fellow Democrat to replace him for the duration of his term, which ends in 2010. 

But Lynch doesn't have those partisan proclivities. He is very sensitive to the coalition in New Hampshire he has built. And he might -- just might -- find an acceptable Republican or independent to fill the seat.

The White House understands that Gregg's successor might be a Republican; Gregg understands that the White House does not object to this possibility, which is one reason why Gregg is taking the call to serve so seriously.

RNC: Steele Bounces On First, Second Ballots

Results from the second round of balloting:

Chairman Mike Duncan -- 48

Michael Steele -- 48   (the crowd seems to be pro-Steele; he had more seconding speeches than anyone else.)

Katon Dawson -- 29

Saul Anuzis -- 24

Ken Blackwell -- 19

Here's my handicapping on the results of the first ballot:

Chairman Mike Duncan  -- 52 -- lower than expected

Michael Steele: 46 -- about 5-6 votes higher than expected.

Katon Dawson: 28: -- he'll get some Blackwell votes in the second round. 

Saul Anuzis:  22:  -- a tough finish for the Midwesterner.

Ken Blackwell: 20 -- this is his ceiling.

To watch: whether the RNC members interpret Duncan's showing as evidence that he's going to win.

The Organizing For American E-mail

[REDACTED] --

Last year, America lost 2.6 million jobs. This week, some of our
biggest companies announced plans to cut tens of thousands more.

The economic crisis is deepening, but President Obama and
members of Congress have proposed a recovery plan that will put
more than 3 million Americans back to work.

You can learn more about how the plan will help your community
by organizing an Economic Recovery House Meeting:

http://my.barackobama.com/recoveryhost

Join thousands of people across the country who are coming
together to watch a special video about the recovery plan.
Invite your friends and neighbors to watch the video with you
and have a conversation about your community's economic situation.

The economic crisis can seem overwhelming and complex, but you
can help the people you know connect the recovery plan to their
lives and learn more about why it's so important.

Sign up to host an Economic Recovery House Meeting the weekend
of Friday, February 6th:

http://my.barackobama.com/recoveryhost

The President's plan passed the House of Representatives on
Wednesday. But if it's going to move forward, we need to avoid
the usual partisan games.

That's why supporters are opening their homes to talk with
neighbors and friends about how the plan will work -- and what
it means for their community.

The video will outline the basics of the plan and how it will
impact working families. It will also include answers to
questions from folks across the country. Invite your friends and
family to watch the video, discuss the plan, and help build
support for it.

Don't worry if you've never hosted a house meeting before --
we'll make sure you have everything you need to make it a success.

Take the first step right now by signing up to host an Economic
Recovery House Meeting:

Time and again, you've demonstrated your commitment to change.
Now you can help America move in an important new direction.

Please forward this email to your friends and family, and
encourage them to get involved as well.

Thank you for your hard work,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Obama List To Be Tapped Today For Economic Recovery

A Steele Surge?

A Cheat Sheet To Today's RNC Race

Young Republicans Want More Open Party, Prefer Steele

Young Republicans feel marginalized and ignored by party leadership, and they're concerned that the current generation of Republican Party standard-bearers have yet to properly balance a conservative ideology with the reality of existence in the 21st century.

A survey conducted for the Young Republican National Federation, which claims more than 10,000 members, finds that the RNC chairman candidates' views on social issues are important to only 6% of the 1,249-person sample. The candidates' positions on the economy and job creation were most in demand, followed by their views on taxes, energy independence and national security. Illegal immigration, a subject of outsize importance to the vocal wing of the party, ranked 8th out of 10; only five percent of the members said that they were curious about how candidates would talk about the subject.

More Republican Triangulating On Bipartisanship: Cantor Responds To White House

House Republicans are reacting strongly to reports that the White House plans a political onslaught to pressure Republicans into supporting the stimulus package and to punish those who don't.

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)  will soon issue a statement contending that Obama's promise to "put an end to petty politics" is "threatened" as the White House and their allies "are making political threats rather than crafting a bipartisan economic stimulus plan."

He'll call on Obama to "immediately disavow" plans by liberal interest groups who have announced their intention to run attack ads against the Republicans. These groups, organized under the Americans United for Change umbrella, coordinate regularly with Congressional Democrats and are in touch with White House officials.

Earlier, an Obama aide said that the White House was not directly involved in these most recent efforts and had not encouraged its allies. The plans were reported in the Politico by its chief political reporter, Mike Allen.

"Let us be clear: attack ads will not create jobs or help struggling families but will only serve to undermine our nation's desire for bipartisanship. Instead of thinking about winning at any cost, we should all be thinking about creating the jobs Americans need," Cantor intends to say.

Politics Of Stimulus: Tying The GOP To Bush

The Center for American Progress Action Fund is about to release a report advocating a new political tack for Democrats. They're going to tie the GOP alternative proposals to -- yes -- President Bush's now-unpopular agenda. 

CAPAF calls it the "Bush-Boehner-Cantor" Economic Agenda. 

It's the first real pushback by Democrats to the substantive pushback by House Republicans. Lots of pushing back.  Based on this theme, a coalition of labor, liberal and progressive groups will unveil some television advertisements designed to pressure frosh and vulnerable House Republicans. CAPAF notes where the B-B-C team uses the same language as President Bush to describe their proposals -- although, to be fair, criticizing the GOP for wanting an Alternative Minimum Tax fix is questionable.  We'll learn more details on a conference call later today.

McConnell: GOP Needs A Better Sales Job

Here is the basic diagnosis of what ails the Republican Party from Dr. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader.  The internal organs are fine. No problem with the composition of the blood that pumps through the party's activist veins. The brain is top-notch -- Republican ideas are well considered, broadly desired, and politically feasible. The body, however, looks ragged; the accent is too...regional (Southern?). The GOP needs to get some exercise. It needs a jot of cologne here, and maybe a hair transplant there.  McConnell subscribes to what might be called the "sales job" theory of Democratic dominance. That is -- the message is fine; the techniques used to communicate it are not. The "sales job" theory is quite attractive to many Republicans because it relieves them of having to question whether Americans, at their corps, are beginning to distrust what the party stands for, what the party does, who the party is. What a relief! All that's need are some cosmetics. Maybe it's Mabeline. McConnell's view is shared by many Republican current office-holders. It is not the view that Republican strategists tend to hold, and it certainly is not the view of the younger conservative intellectuals, like the Atlantic's own Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam. The massive data compiled by Gallup about party identification suggests that the party has an identity problem.

Other evidence, including exit polls from 2006 and 2008, locate this problem at a microskeletal level: it cannot deal with globalization, with a flat world, with religious diversity, with institutional decay. Since the 1960s, the GOP's DNA has dutifully replicated activist cells to inflame and attack on culture, and Democratic efforts to minimize the demands and pressure of culture haven't worked. The selection of Sarah Palin got them replicatin' again, but then reality -- in the form of a global economic crisis -- intruded, and Republicans couldn't fight their way out of a plastic bag.   

In his speech to the Republican National Committee today, McConnell offers mostly placebos.

The first task, in my view, is to find the voters who've left the party. As we do this, the temptation for some will be to run from our principles or to dilute our message. I think that's a temptation we need to resist. These people were Republican for a reason. You don't get them back by pretending to something else. And you certainly don't gain voters by running away from the ones that are most loyal. But it's clear our message isn't getting out to nearly as many people as it should. We need to give voters who've turned away a reason to take another look. And that takes a lot of work.

He makes an interesting point about religionism; the sales job is the problem, not the product.

"We all hear a lot about how these things have affected our party in particular. We're all concerned about the fact that the very wealthy and the very poor, the most and least educated, and a majority of minority voters, seem to have more or less stopped paying attention to us. And we should be concerned that, as a result of all this, the Republican Party seems to be slipping into a position of being more of a regional party than a national one. In politics, there's a name for a regional party: it's called a minority party. And I didn't sign up to be a member of a regional party. I know no one in this room did either. As Republicans, we know that commonsense conservative principles aren't regional. But I think we have to admit that our sales job has been. And in my view, that needs to change."

McConnell says that Republicans need to better explain their principles, because "too often we've let others define us. And the image they've painted isn't very pretty. Ask most people what Republicans think about immigrants, and they'll say we fear them. Ask most people what we think about the environment, and they'll say we don't care about it. Ask most people what we think about the family, and they'll tell you we don't -- until about a month before Election Day."

Easier said that done; what, again, are those principles? Who made the decision to run against immigration? Which party decided that global warming was a liberal conspiracy? Who intervened in the Terri Schiavo case?  All of this is to say that Democrats might not be responsible for voters who conclude that Republicans are all these things. The party's leadership, responding to a variety of pressures, chose to follow certain courses of action. The art of marketing had little to do with it.

We need to communicate our ideas to everyone who ran away from the Republican Party in November -- and to many others. And we need to show them that our policies are developed with a human being in view, not just an abstract principle. As we do this, we should avoid the false choice of being a party of moderates or conservatives. America is diverse. The two major parties should be too. But this doesn't mean turning our backs on commonsense conservatism, or tailoring our positions to suit particular groups. Our principles are universal. They apply to everyone.

These principles are what, specifically? And how universal are they? 

Every so often, there comes a time when a political party has to reexamine itself. For Republicans, now is such a time. For some, the work might seem daunting. It shouldn't -- because there are signs that a revival is already taking place.

 McConnell runs down some suggestions.

The Long Tail Of Cooperation

Republican Discipline

Holder's Promises On Prosecution

Kyl: ...in your view, if a government agent has reasonably and in good faith relied on Justice Department assurances that his actions are lawful, do you believe that it would be inappropriate for the Justice Department to commence a criminal investigation of that individual? Or do you instead believe that it is appropriate to investigate such an individual and force him to incur legal fees, but that the Justice Department is unlikely to bring a prosecution because obtaining a conviction could be "exceedingly difficult?"

 

 Holder: Prosecutorial and investigative judgments must depend on the facts, and no one is above the law. But where it is clear that a government agent has acted in "reasonable and good-faith reliance on Justice Department legal opinions" authoritatively permitting his conduct, I would find it difficult to justify commencing a full-blown criminal investigation, let alone a prosecution.

The Union Rise, Explained

The labor-backed Economic Policy Institute calls the rise in the percentage of union jobs in the country "remarkable" given the current economic climate. Given the collapse of industry in the Midwest, in particular, it's a little jarring.

But it's easily explained, I think.

The increase overall due to an increase in the number of government employees who belong to unions -- and a corresponding slight shrinkage of the private sector relative to the public sector. During a recession, government often cuts jobs later than the private sector does. And -- non-union employees generally have fewer protections against job loss than unionized employees with contracts do. The lowest-hanging fruit in a downturned economy are non-union jobs. I think.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics release on the numbers is worth reading in full.

2012 Watch: The 90% Governor

I'm sorry to have to say it again this year, but skyrocketing healthcare costs are bankrupting businesses and leaving too many Utahns with no options at all.  In a state as compassionate as ours, certainly we can find a better way to cover the uninsured.

I recently visited a public health clinic in St. George. Due to the goodness of volunteer doctors and staff, 10,000 people were seen last year, this in a city of 70,000.  Why?  One out of every seven people in Dixie must go to a volunteer clinic to receive adequate health care?  These people have been completely left out of the healthcare equation; they don't qualify for existing programs, and they can't afford a basic healthcare plan.

So, to Dr. Doxey - who started this volunteer clinic - and the staff there, I say thank you for your humanitarianism.  I assure you and those you serve, we will fix this problem.  We are going to find policies that are affordable, the political will to enact them and, through perseverance, provide a pathway to coverage for everyone.

Therefore, I am asking all involved: doctors, insurance companies, consumers and we in this chamber to close the gap on the uninsured by 2012.

Twittering From The White House

The RNC Chair Race: The Missing Issue

"Few have publicly discussed this element of the RNC race but some Chairman candidates are believed to have promised spots on the drafting committee in exchange for votes. And there is some discussion about which candidates are stalking horses for a particular presidential candidate. One question RNC candidates have not been asked, is, to whom have they promised drafting committee spots? Have any candidates promised more appointments to the committee than the number of available spots? And under what conditions would each candidate favor forcing a state to abandon its primary for a caucus, or cut its delegation in half?"

The Political Case For The Stimulus, If You're A Vulernable Republican

Interview: Cantor On What Republicans Want

This evening, I spoke with Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip, about what Republicans really want out of the stimulus package, and about elements of the Republican counter-proposal, which they'll unveil tomorrow.  My questions are edited for clarity; his answers are verbatim.

Obama's met with you three times now, but House Democrats don't seem to be listening, or haven't done much to include you guys.  What did Obama say when members informed him that they'd had no input?

We didn't have a conversation that was focused on process. Certainly, he listened and he acknowledged the difficulty of working a bill through Congress. We just told him that we appreciate his gesture and take him at his word that he wants to get this bill right and he does welcome our ideas. He said: "continue to bring them." His exact words were: he had no pride of authorship in this bill. We're hoping very much that as this bill works its way through the process, the House will deliver on its bill tomorrow, and the Senate will do likewise, probably next week or so, and hopefully, at some point, he'll be able to begin to influence what it is that comes out. Because right now, the bill, as it stands, simply misses the mark.

If you could wave your magic wand and make two changes to the bill that would make it much more palatable to Republicans. What would they be?

I think first of all you have to focus spending on actual stimulus. You've got CBO saying that  only 25 percent goes out in the first year. You've got to have some type of ability to provide that jobs will be created or maintained because of the government spending. Listen, this is all borrowed money. That is an added burden you have to overcome in order to justify the government spending the money, not the private sector. Number 2, you'd have some meaningful tax relief for small business. There's a lot of discussion about the NOL provisions - net operating losses - which are good. That will help save jobs. There's a lot of discussion and support for accelerated depreciation. That's great because that will help spur big business to purchase assets. But that provision itself really kicks in when you purchase [something] over $850,000. What about the real small business person? There is only 41 million dollars allocated toward the relief for small business and small business expensing. That's where we start to look. For every one dollar you allocate for small business tax relief, you're spending four dollars to replace the grass here in Washington.

Continue reading "Interview: Cantor On What Republicans Want" »

Specter To Support Holder

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-up-for-re-election in Pennsylvania), the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, just announced his support for AG nominee Eric Holder.  His full statement is after the jump. It's not clear how many Republicans will take his lead, but Specter hopes to influence his colleagues' votes.

"I have decided to announce my position on Attorney General-designate Holder a day in advance to give my colleagues some notice as to my thinking on the subject. 

Continue reading "Specter To Support Holder" »

TARP Dispenses $386 Million To Banks

Internal Minutes Of Obama's Meeting With House Republicans

Below, some notes that House Republicans took in their private meeting with the President; these have have been turned into a thumbnail sketch which is circulating on the Hill. Rather than summarizing the summary, here's the whole thing:

Rep. Sue Myrick did the opening prayer.

 

The President gave a summary of the economic situation.  Said, "I would love to not have to spend this money."

 

The President admitted that all of the spending can't be done in two or three years.

 

When the meeting began to run long, the President said that he would add more time for Q and A, and that his friends in the Senate could wait.

 

Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp pushed for tax cuts to move the money more quickly. The President said that if there are new ideas that we haven't seen that he would like to talk about them. He stressed that there is simply a philosophical difference between Republicans and Democrats on giving tax cuts to people who don't pay taxes (refundability).  The President said he would not compromise on that issue.

 

Rep. Pete Roskam told the President that he won by rising above "Republicans" and Democrats" but that House Democrats are not living up to the Obama standard.  They have written a bill that spends more on re-sodding the Mall than small business tax relief.

 

Rep. Kevin Brady got applause for asking the President to commit to no tax increases to pay for all this spending. He said should make congress cut spending first. The President replied that he is inheriting a huge deficit and doubled national debt.

Hensarling passionate appeal to focus on the national debt.  President agreed, but these are extraordinary circumstances so we have to pass this bill. 

Pence - the bill may be product of negotiation, but not a single Republican has been involved.  Door is always open to him. 

Obama - if there's a better way to do tax cuts for a small business he'll look at it. 

Obama - Spending is what it is, don't focus on one small part because we should not be playing politics with the bill

Obama - there are parts of the bill he thinks could be improved, but that will have to happen after tomorrow.

Take away - We expect the vast majority of House Republicans to oppose the package tomorrow, but we are optimistic that after the bill passes the House there may be a real opportunity for a bipartisan package. 

Al-Arabiya Journalist Reflects On Obama Interview

Jeffrey Goldberg spoke with the reporter of the hour, al-Arabiya's Hisham Melhem, who detected in Obama's yesterday words a "shift in approach" in the way Obama described the Middle East conflict.

"I'm not willing to say there is a shift in substance, but there is a shift in approach on the tone vis-à-vis Palestinian suffering. He showed that he understands the need for dignity and a place to call their own. And there will be a different approach, in the sense that sending George Mitchell is an important thing. He has talked both about Palestinian violence and Israeli settlement"

JG: But come back to substance: He's not abandoning Israel, he's maintaining a hard line on Pakistan --

HM: Look, in the long run, he is telling the Muslim world that it's going to have a difficult time demonizing him.  He's saying, "I'm willing to disagree with the people of the Muslim world respectfully." He was miffed and angry by Zawahiri and Bin Laden, the way they speak of him. And he jumped on it and dealt with it. There's a subtle shift here on how he looks at the war on al-Qaeda and the groups that collaborate with it. He doesn't put Hamas and Hezbollah in the same category as al-Qaeda. Is there going to be disappointment later? We're bound to have disappointments, but the main message is that a new wind is blowing. He's closing down Guantanamo, sending Mitchell, pulling out of Iraq, and maybe I'm dreaming but I hope he would show Palestinians and Israelis tough love, both of them. Do you want to tell me that Bin Laden and all these nuts are not going to be nervous about him?

Republicans To Introduce Economic Plan

Here's a peek at the major planks in the economic recovery plan being introduced by House Republicans tomorrow.

It starts with a permanent five percentage point reduction for those who qualify for the 10% and 15% tax brackets, averaging about $500 per year for the poorest of the bunch and $1,200 for the slightly more wealthy.

The talking point here is that poorer Americans would see more money from the GOP plan than from Obama's -- and it would be permanent.  Republicans will also propose to allow small businesses a 20% tax deduction, which would give them much-needed cash to hire, to retain jobs, or to invest in new equipment. Also: Republicans would remove the tax on unemployment benefits, which would, in theory, increase the size of the benefits. To stabilize the housing market, Republicans would give home-buyers a $7,500 tax credit for those who make a minimum downpayment of 5%.

That some Democrats could find their way to support these four proposals is feasible.

The next propsoal is political: Congress would hamstring itself by promising not to raise taxes to pay for future deficits.  

In Boxing In Republicans, Obama Eschews Consensus For Now

Did President Obama err in subjecting his stimulus plan to the political control of Congressional Democrats? In balancing between Democratic priorities and Obama's own internal drive toward consensus policy making, did he cede too much power to his own side?

A case can be made that a plan crafted by Obama's economic wizards, Peter Orszag and Larry Summers, would be more palatable to Republicans right now. And a bigger case can be made that when Republican and Democratic conferees negotiate on final language, Republicans might get some of what they wanted.

The chief complaint of Republicans is that while Obama is listening to them, Obama is not prevailing upon Republicans to hear them -- Rep. Mike Pence said as much to Obama during their meeting today.

House Democrats wrote the bill by themselves, and Republican amendments have been regularly killed. By meeting with Republicans regularly, by telephoning House members, by making such a public spectacle of opening his hears, Obama has boxed in the Republicans to an extent.

Even though the extent of their influence on the bill is almost nill, Obama has successfully fostered the impression that they are negotiating partners. Republicans can't really complain. It's easier to get the Presisdent and his staff on the phone than every before. And with a large majority of the country open to anything so long as it's called a stimulus, Republicans have to play along to an extent; they can't really make the argument that they're not being given the chance to provide their input. That's one reason why Republicans are so respectful in their words about Obama, calling their meetings productive and encouraging.

Obama's decision to personally lobby Rep. Henry Waxman to take the language was interally-motivated, as Obama really didn't think it belonged in the bill, and externally-directed -- it gave conservative Republicans an easy talking point, a shiny leaf, to focus on. The problem is -- the leaf is now off, and Republicans don't seem to care. What rankles them about the bill is that a lot of the spending seems gratuitious, as if Democrats are using the economic crisis as a way to avoid having to debate these items during next month's budget negotiations.

The economic debate is better left to experts, but the case Republicans are crafting centers on three points:

1. The plan's real cost exceeds $1 trillion and will lead to higher taxes within four years.

2. 90 percent of the plan's spending won't take effect until 2010.

3. Its tax cuts aren't countercyclical enough, and they're too small; small business owners have no incentives to create new jobs; rebates don't work unless they're anticipated to be permanent.

RNC Chairman's Race Update: Wadhams Endorses Anuzis

"Between now and election day, there will probably be lots of conversations between mutual friends of candidates.  That's just the nature of a campaign like this. We are not going to react to rumors of friends talking to friends.  Our campaign is focused on a Member to Member approach to the finish line.  Mike Duncan is running for Chairman and will be elected by the members and not through a deal.  Whether that takes two ballots, three ballots, four ballots, or more, he will win on the last ballot."

Continue reading "RNC Chairman's Race Update: Wadhams Endorses Anuzis" »

Updike At One With His Neutrinos

John Updike has died at age 76.

He wrote my favorite poem, Cosmic Gall, about the little neutrino.

Neutrinos they are very small.
They have no charge and have no mass
And do not interact at all.
The earth is just a silly ball
To them, through which they simply pass,
Like dustmaids down a drafty hall
Or photons through a sheet of glass.
They snub the most exquisite gas,
Ignore the most substantial wall,
Cold-shoulder steel and sounding brass,
Insult the stallion in his stall,
And, scorning barriers of class,
Infiltrate you and me! Like tall
And painless guillotines, they fall
Down through our heads into the grass.
At night, they enter at Nepal
And pierce the lover and his lass
From underneath the bed - you call
It wonderful; I call it crass.

Where Is Sen. Michael Bennet On Card Check?

Scoring The CBO Score Of The House Democrats' Stimulus Plan

CBO anticipates that implementation of H.R. 1 would have a noticeable impact on
economic growth and employment in the next few years. Following longstanding
Congressional budget procedures, however, this estimate does not address the potential
budgetary effects of such changes in the economic outlook.

Direct payments to individuals (for example, unemployment compensation or
refundable tax credits), which would generally occur fairly rapidly during fiscal
years 2009, 2010, and 2011;

● Reductions in federal taxes, which would have most of their effects on revenues in
fiscal years 2009 and 2010; and
● Purchases of goods and services, either directly by the federal government or
indirectly in the form of grants to state and local governments. Many of those
involve construction or investment activity that would take several years to
complete.

CBO expects that federal agencies, along with states and other recipients of that funding, would find it difficult to properly manage and oversee a rapid expansion of existing programs so as to expend the added funds as quickly as they expend the resources provided for their ongoing programs.

In fiscal year 2008 (and at an annualized rate under the continuing resolution for fiscal year 2009), state and local governments have been allocated $41.2 billion per year for 10 highway programs and $10.4 billion per year for transit programs. The $39 billion provided for those purposes in H.R. 1 would nearly double the recent funding levels. Grantees would be required to move quickly to obligate the new funds (that is, commit them for specific projects). After obligation of funds, grantees would need to muster significant staff and private-sector resources to undertake the projects. Simple projects typically take several months from the time the funds are obligated to the start of construction. Complicated projects can take significantly longer. Scheduling many projects during the warmer months (as would be necessary in some areas of the country) and ensuring that adequate traffic management measures are taken (such as nighttime work hours) can also affect the pace of spending. Many projects funded under these programs take several years to complete. Historically, money appropriated for highways and transit is spent at a slow rate in the first year and has an extremely long "tail," in that funds provided in a particular year are frequently spent over a six-to-eight-year period. As a result, when those programs have seen previous significant increases in budgetary resources, outlays have increased more slowly. For this estimate, CBO consulted with transportation officials in nearly half of the states, accounting for roughly two-thirds of annual highway spending. CBO found that many states are anxious to receive additional funding and can probably begin some projects quickly, but that many states are also concerned about how quickly local governments can undertake new projects. In addition, concerns exist about how quickly state and local governments can adjust their contracting procedures to accommodate the significant increase in the amount of funding. On balance, CBO concludes that many states would probably move as rapidly as possible to obligate new funds, but that much of the construction and procurement work associated with highway and transit projects would occur over an extended period of time, leading to federal outlays over several years.

Continue reading "Scoring The CBO Score Of The House Democrats' Stimulus Plan" »

Obama On Family Planning Funds

"While he agrees that greater access to family planning is good policy, the President believes that the funding for it does not belong in the economic recovery and reinvestment plan," Gibbs said.

Why Al-Arabiya Got The Obama Interview And Al-Jazeera Didn't

On Obama's Urging, House Dems To Drop Family Planning From Stimpak

RNC Chair Race Update: Unentangling Alliances

Dear RNC Members:
 
Welcome to fun week!
 
Just a quick note from me to knock down a silly rumor.  Several blogs today erroneously reported that I am making a deal with Chairman Mike Duncan. 
 
As I'm sure you know, this is absurd, complete fiction.  I'm running for Chairman, not for deal-maker.
 
Here is what is true -- this weekend a senior Republican official called me to offer me some sort of power-sharing deal with Chairman Duncan. 
 
I completely dismissed the concept out of hand, interrupting before the deal could even be fully articulated, and thanked the gentleman for calling.
 
I've always felt that the best way to deal with silliness like this is to address it straight up.
 
I look forward to seeing all of you this week.
 
--Michael Steele

Cap-N-Trade Timing Watch

It's time to revisit this feature; or, since I've never written it before, to visit it.

The basic question is: will the administration and Congress make significant progress towards a national emissions trading and cap system by the end of the year?

Based on reporting and reading, my guess is that the answer is -- probably not.

The House will move the bill; Rep. Henry Waxman intends to get it out of his committee by Memorial Day, as Dan Weiss tells us below.

But action in the Senate will be stalled for a while. Some powerful senators aren't sold that it's the best thing to do quickly.

And the Obama administration does not seem to be inclined to pursue cap-and-trade over comprehensive health care reform during this time of crisis. Cap-and-trade is a complex Rube-Goldberg-esque legislative contraption, and one that will require sacrifice from business and consumers. The impact will vary by region; McCaskill's state relies more on coal than some others, for example. And the one existing national -- or supranational -- cap-and-trade regime -- Europe's -- doesn't seem to be working well.

Now -- the administration and Congress will still make their way through the morass of unfinished business of regulating carbon emissions. The EPA will change a whole lot of rules. For those who believe that global climate change and our dependence on foreign oil are our greatest threats, there will be plenty to digest.  Just not cap-and-trade.

E-Mail Meltdown At The White House

For the second or third time in as many work days, the White House e-mail system has gone down. E-mails aren't getting in; they're not getting out; they're being lost in transit.

Maybe that's why Robert Gibbs won't return your e-mails -- actually, that's not why he won't return your e-mails, but at least now he has an excuse.

NB: The White House website is underutilized, unidirectional and thinly resourced. The top story right now is last Saturday's Weekly Radio Address.  This isn't a knock at the White House, its new media team or anyone -- it's just an observation about the challenges they face in merging a campaign culture with the culture of the presidency.  

One is dynamic, the other is static. Habits of mind must be broken; to succeed, the White House website ought to have a structural a bias in favor of transparency, information saturation and communication, rather than a bias in favor of consistency, security and prudence. Lawyers have to check everything. Why? There are laws governing everything; protocol rules; a way things are just done.

With balky technology and security concerns, it's hard to communicate, even when you have something to say -- something this White House is finding out daily.

Pollster Ad Nauseum

Interview: Daniel Weiss On Obama's Orders And What's Next

Me: How significant, in the realm of actions that the President can take, were today's actions?

Weiss: Today's action was very significant. It continues the emphasis that President Obama has put on clean energy and reduce oil dependence since he took office on Jan. 20. The stimulus package has close to 90 billion dollars in spending on clean energy over the next two years.  Today's action will increase fuel economy and lead automakers to build the gas-sipping cars of the future. President Obama has done more in one week to foster clean energy and energy independence than George Bush did in 8 years.

Is the Obama administration certain that the auto industry , given all of their other troubles, can make the deadline?
The auto industry has never seen a deadline that they couldn't meet. ... Once standards are set, they turn it over to their engineers, and find a way to do it faster and cheaper than what their lobbyists said.  The auto companies do not like the California waivers. But, their plans indicate they will probably come close to meeting the standards based on what they'll do in their reconstruction plan. ...  One question for Obama and the Congress is, are they going to allow the bridge loans that [the automakers] reiceved or the future bridge loans that they're going to seek -- are they going to be allowed to use any of that money to challenge the waivers in court?

That was part of the round of debate...

 Pelosi had it in her bill..

And it was dropped from the Senate. 

Right. I think it's going to come back because the next round is not legislative.

How does today's actions effect the other states seeking waivers?

It is important to note that other states have to adopt the California program in toto, so that you will have two standards: one for California and these 18 other states, and one for everywhere else. What that means is that half the market will have these cars with these standards and hopefully, the auto companies will just make all the cars that clean. This has the potential to drive much less global-warming-polluting cars much more quickly than would otherwise occur.

What other steps can the president take unilaterally?  You've talked about an "endangerment finding," which is something that a lot of climate scientists have been pushing for....
We hope that EPA administration Jackson will re-examine the endangerment finding that [ex-EPA administrator] Steven Johnson failed to make and will make it promptly rather than slowly.

Realistically, given the challenging economy and Congress being extremely busy, do you think it is likely that there will be significant progress made towards writing legislation for a cap and trade system this year? 

Yes. Chairman Waxman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee says he intends to have a bill out of committee by Memorial Day.  Whether or not that deadline is met, that's the target.  .... When Speaker Pelosi did the same thing in '07, it was done by the fourth of July.  So, that means they're going to be going on a fast track.

Yemen Detainees At Gimto Going Home Soon?

The roughly 100 Yemeni detainees are going to be among the toughest of Gimto residents to repatriate. In its waning hours, the Bush Administration tried to launder a bunch of them -- the word is chosen advisedly -- through Saudi Arabia, according to Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah al-Saleh.

Saleh says he refused to go along with this plan, which would have sent between 60 and 90 men to rehabilitation camps in Saudi Arabia, like the one profiled in the New York Times in November.

Now, Saleh claims that 94 Yemenis will be released into Yemeni custody within several months, where the government will send them to "edification" camps designed to rid them of their extremism. The detainees would be reunited with their families at these camps.  Once the detainees are sufficiently re-educated, they'd  be released. As a sign of how real this is, the camps are apparently already being built.

Saleh's timetable conflicts with what the administration is telling Congress and the American people about the detainee review process -- unless they're proceeding along parallel tracks.

Two Yemeni ex-detainees appear in the latest Al Qaeda video. 

Time For A Blago Break

Pollster v. Pollster, Continued: A Challenge

Obama's "Downpayment" On Energy and Climate Change

Today's orders by President Obama mandating higher CAFE standards (to at least 35 miles per gallon) by 2011 would be more newsworthy had he not written them, and there are numerous pending lawsuits challenging the denial of the "waiver" letting California adopt the stricter standards; they weren't going particularly well for the Bush administration.  Observers say that failure to approve the California standards was "exhibit A" for the need to change by most enviro groups. "The days of dragging its heels are over. Our administration will not deny facts," Obama said today. Now -- forcing that much redesign and retooling when people aren't buying any kind of car is going to require some real cash, which is hard to come by at this moment. Washington seems to love handing out money to all kinds of investment bankers with no idea of what they will use it for while imposing extremely harsh standards on companies that are #1 (GM) and #3 (Ford) in their field,  it wouldn't take much to loose faith that Washington is going to help pay for this unfunded mandate.  Maybe if Washington required banks to lend the money, then the credit markets would loosen up enough to make it possible to raise that kind of cash. "Our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry, it is help the automakers prepare for the future," Obama made sure to say. Obama calls the CAFE rule changes a "downpayment" towards his Green Economy.

Obama Appoints Stern As Enviro Envoy

Barack Obama plans to appoint Washington lawyer and climate change expert Todd Stern as his chief envoy on global climate change, two officials said. Sen. Hillary Clinton will introduce Stern to the State Department press corps at 11:30 a.m. today. In the role, Stern will serve as the administration's chief negotiator on environmental accords and will attend on the Obama Administration's behalf the UN Copenhagen Climate Confernece in the fall.  He will be an Undersecretary of State. Stern, a senior deputy to John Podesta at the Center for American Progress, was staff secretary in the Clinton Administration and helped to negotiate the memorandum of understanding between the Clinton Foundation and the Obama transition.

Today is climate change day in Obamaland, and the announcement of an environmental envoy to the world is meant to signal to foreign governments that Obama is serious about the United States's leadership role in combatting global climate chage.

Always Read To The End

Undercovered Political Story Of The Day

It's that Pat Toomey, who proved to be a terrible thorn in Sen. Arlen Specter's side in 2004, wants to run for governor of Pennsylvania and will leave Specter alone.  There are other Republicans who might challenge Specter, but none would have had as good a shot as Toomey.  Now, Specter doesn't have to watch his right flank... and might be amenable to certain things -- like... EFCA (I know, I know) that he otherwise might feel obligated to oppose.

The DNC Transition Begins

The Democratic National Committee began a four-week-long transition yesterday.

Jennifer Dillon O'Malley, the DNC's new executive director, greeted employees at an all-staff meeting, bringing with her two lieutenants, Mitch Stewart and Jeremy Bird. Stewart and Bird will run Organizing for America, the presidential incarnation of Obama's presidential campaign. Dillon O'Malley promised the DNC staff that she's committed to continuing Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy, although she did not provide specifics. She's begun meeting with current staffers to seek their input. How many will stay, how many will go -- all that is to be determined.

Over the next month, Dillon O'Malley has a lot to figure out. The DNC's internal politics can be tough to negotiate, with state chairs often at odds with each other, with an executive committee that wants some independence, with a chairman, Tim Kaine, who hasn't worked with Dillon O'Malley before. And then there's the White House: the executive director of the DNC will recieve marching orders from senior adviser David Axelrod and the White House political office. Kaine is not expect to make day-to-day decisions.

Previously published reports indicated that the new Obama organization would have a budget of $75 million and put organizers in every county in America. It is by no means clear whether those reports are accurate. There is no indication yet that the DNC will go on a hiring spree. The new staff hasn't hired a new fundraising staff, yet.

Poll v. Poll: AFL-CIO's Pollster Responds To Mike Murphy

Dirk Kempthorne In 2012?

Here's a name I've not heard linked with presidential aspirations before: former Idaho governor and senator Dirk Kempthorne.

Republicans familiar with his activities say that Kempthorne has begun to reach out to allies gauge their opinion about whether he should run for President in 2012.

Greg Casey, the CEO of the Business and Industry Political Action Committee, has known Kempthorne for 30 years . If Kempthorne were talking to anyone, it would be Casey, who wouldn't quite bite when I asked him whether his friend had national ambitions.

"This is an immensely capable guy. I've never seen anyone who has connected with people then.He's always been able to work in a bipartisan fashion," Casey said. "I do know that Dirk is very pleased and happy to be looking in the private sector for a while. I think Dirk right now is enjoying his time with his family."  

Is he thinking about a presidential run?

"... if he isn't, then someone will think about it for him. People just gravitate to him," Casey said.

Kempthorne, who served as President Bush's final Secretary of the Interior, is widely known to environmental advocates as a dedicated opponent of regulation and of the Endangered Species Act. His tenture at Interior was pockmarked by scandals -- all gifts from his predecessors. But he was also a fan of the National Park System and convinced the administration to prioritize its expansion. In his farewell address, he took credit for tough new ethics rules. During his one term as a senator, his bill to quash unfunded federal mandates for local governments is now law.  Californians and Oregonians credit him for breaking the longstanding impasse over damming the Klamath River. In Idaho, he took the sleepy and rundown city of Boise and rebuilt it.  But his public profile is no higher than that although the American Indian community presumably knows him well from his Interior service. Kempthorne began his political career as a consultant and campaign manager. He's a fiscal and social conservative with no deviations from the orthodoxy. As a former chairman of the National Governors' Association and because of his dealings with oil, coal and natural resource enterprises, he could probably raise enough seed money to get started. 

I couldn't reach Kempthorne for comment.

The Other Whitehouse Wants A Reckoning For The Bush Administration

The Obama team has indicated that it does not want to prosecute intelligence officers or former administration officials for their conduct during the Bush years.

Dawn Johnsen, the incoming head of the Office of Legal Council, has called for a Truth Commission-esque accounting of everything that's gone on.

Obama's nominee for Attorney General, Eric Holder, pointedly would not tell Senators whether he would prosecute intelligence officers; this drew the ire of Sen. John Cornyn, who, as a former Texas Supreme Court judge, ought to be wary of prosecutors who DO announce their intention to prosecute anyone before they have all the facts.

The continium is long: the administration could do nothing and say nothing and let things be, hashing out their differences in private as all the facts come to light.

Or -- they could order the DoJ to investigate the programs and prosecute however many lawbreakers come to light.

Or -- they could do something in the middle -- a Truth Commission -- although, as I've argued, it might be more disruptive than a series of prosecutions.

The Intelligence and Judiciary Committees in the Senate will have intellectual jurisdiction over how the Obama administration makes these choices.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is a member of both committees. On Wednesday, he gave a little-noticed floor speech entitled "As We Go Forward, We Must Also Look Back."  The message:

As the President looks forward and charts a new course, must someone not also look back, to take an accounting of where we are, what was done, and what must now be repaired.

Our new President has said, "America needs to look forward." I agree.

Our new Attorney-General designate has said, we should not criminalize policy differences. I agree.

And I hope we can all agree that summoning young sacrificial lambs to prosecute, as we did after the Abu Ghraib disaster, would be reprehensible.

But consider the pervasive, deliberate, and systematic damage the Bush Administration did to America, to her finest traditions and institutions, to her reputation and integrity.

I evaluate that damage in history's light.

....

[W]hen you have pervasive infiltration into all the halls of government - judicial, legislative, and executive - of the most ignoble forms of influence; when you see systematic dismantling of historic processes and traditions of government that are the safeguards of our democracy; and when you have a bodyguard of lies, jargon, and propaganda emitted to fool and beguile the American people...

Well, something very serious in the history of our republic has gone wrong, something that dims the light of progress for all humanity.

As we look forward, as we begin the task of rebuilding this nation, we have an abiding duty to determine how great the damage is. I say this in no spirit of vindictiveness or revenge. I say it because the thing that was sullied is so, so precious; and I say it because the past bears upon the future. If people have been planted in government in violation of our civil service laws to serve their party and their ideology instead of serving the public, the past will bear upon the future. If procedures and institutions of government have been corrupted and are not put right, that past will assuredly bear on the future. In an ongoing enterprise like government, the door cannot be so conveniently closed on the closets of the past. The past always bears on the future.

Does this call for a little sunshine, a call to "show where the tunnels were bored, when the truth was subordinated; what institutes were subverted" mean that Whitehouse supports an investigation, an accounting, a Truth Commission, or something else?

A spokesperson said that his words speak for himself, but that Whitehouse does not consider the past "over."  Indeed, ongoing investigations remain by several inspectors general; those reports might increase the pressure for Congress and the White House to open the books.

Poll v. Poll: A Response

Marc,

I'd argue with your assertion that the two card check polls are opposite, yet equal sides of the same coin.   Our data [note: data collected by pollster John McLaughlin and Associates]  is far more  accurate.

The AFL polling -- despite the great polling skills of my pal Peter Hart -- asks a very generic question about employee rights.  We focus  on the way a worker's life would actually change if this bill passes  and the secret ballot that is the usual situation in unionizing  efforts today essentially vanishes.  I think our more specific  question is far more predictive.   The AFL question is just a crafty  attempt to frame the debate, but in an artificial way; it is too 
generic to really have any real world force.   If the Hart question  added just three words  -- "replacing the secret ballot" --  then it  would be much more accurate.

It is like an income tax question.  If you ask "should government have the power to levy income taxes to pay for national defense, healthcare and other other government programs" most people would say yes.  If  you ask "should your income taxes go up 7% next year to pay for  government programs like national defense and healthcare" you get a different answer that is much closer to political reality.

The final proof is labor's own actions.  They are rushing this measure because they know public scrutiny is their greatest enemy on this bill.

Best,

Murphy
(Proud dues paying member of two unions)

In The Interest Of Transparency....

Imagining 100 Days In The Future

Continue reading "Imagining 100 Days In The Future" »

Poll v. Poll: How Each Side Describes "Card Check"

I've obtained some internal polling from proponents of the Employee Free Choice Act that shows us precisely how interest groups shape public opinion as they gague it.

Let's take the main provision of EFCA -- "card check," which the AFL-CIO now calls "majority sign up."

The AFL-CIO's polling firm, Hart Research Associaties, asks respondents whether they'd support legislation that "[a]llows employees to have a union once a majority of employees in a workplace sign authorization cards indicating they want to form a union."

75% say yes.

Pollster John McLaughlin, working for the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace,the question this way: "There is a bill in Congress called the Employee Free Choice Act which would effectively  replace a federally supervised secret ballot election with a process that requires a majority of workers to simply sign a card to authorize organizing a union and the workers' signatures would be made public to their employer, the union organizers and their co-workers. Do you support or oppose Congress passing this legislation?"

74% say no.

Most American workers don't know what EFCA is, or what 'card check' would mean. So the definition is contestable in the public sphere, a case where the framing metaphor really applies.

The AFL-CIO's definition of the legislation leaves out some details -- namely, that workers participating in card check events won't be able to keep their choices  a secret.

The CDW definition includes loaded language implying that their co-workers and bosses could intimidate them into signing the card. Privacy is the killer for unions; when Americans are read descriptions of the bill that make it plain that their votes won't be kept secret (that's the point of card check, in a way), their support plummets. 

Now -- EFCA doesn't eliminate secret ballot elections. Since the National Labor Relations Act was passed, there have always been two ways to join a union, either through "card check" or a ballot election. Current law allows companies to force an election, even if a majority of workers have signed up. In effect, EFCA switches the choice to the workers; they can choose whether to hold a card check election or whether they want a regular secret ballot election. Effectively, EFCA would increase the frequency of card check elections, which are easier for unions to win.

Provocation Of The Day: Obama's Middle East = Bush's Middle East

Jeffrey Goldberg just wandered into my office and observed that, at first blush, President Barack Obama's reckoning of the last month's worth of Middle East history would be the exact same reckoning that George W. Bush would have had. In other words -- there's nothing that Obama said today that George W. Bush wouldn't also say. 

Is this true? Significant? 

What Obama's Torture and Gitmo Exec. Orders Do -- And Don't.

"Sin is a suppurating wound; punishment is the surgeon's knife."

The Bush Administration prisoner, torture and rendition apparatus was effectively dismantled today with four pen strokes. President Obama convened a panel to determine how to closure the Guantanamo Bay detainee prison within a year. He ordered that all intelligence gatherers limit their interrogation techniques to the published Army Field Manual, revoking Executive Order 13440, the now infamous Bush administration gloss on the Geneva Conventions.  He directed the Justice Department to request a stay in a critical policy-determining court case. He explicitly rejects the legal advice promulgated by President Bush's legal counsel on interrogation policy. He ordered the government to give the International Committee of the Red Cross immediate access to detainees. Renditions to countries that are known to torture prisoners will be stopped. All CIA "black" detention facilities will be closed. Now -- even as he limited interrogation techniques -- the result of a recommendation from his transition advisers -- he's convening a  task force to determine whether these techniques are too restrictive. The intelligence community worries that smart armies will train their soldiers to resist AFM techniques. Basically, Obama's stance is: the AFM will govern intelligence interrogations unless we decide that it won't. It's not entirely clear what the administration wants to do with those held in Gitmo. The GOP introduced legislation today prohibiting detainees from being released into the United States. Previously, Obama advisers have said that when they establish an orderly, public process to determine these prisoners' status, it will buy goodwill with allies who will be pressured to accept their citizens. Fewer than 100 detainees are already designated for repatriation, but many of their home countries -- say, Egypt, Jordan -- aren't known for not tortuting, and other countries don't want to take citizens of other countries.  A large number of present detainees will be prosecuted by the military; the Obama administration wants to review and modify the process. What happens when -- if -- there is evidence that these detainees are dangerous but not enough to convict them of a crime -- is unknown.  As to the most dangerous detainees, policy is undetermined at this point. They will continue to be detained, and their status won't change. (Republicans ask: what happens when and if Usama Bin Laden is captured? During his campaign, Obama said he'd put UBL on trial in criminal court.)  For insight into the perplexities here, check out this interview with Bruce Riedel, a top Al Qaeda observer and Obama adviser, in Der Spiegel; he's asked about which group of prisoners will be the most difficult to release:

The Yemenis. They are the largest group among the remaining detainees. According to the US military, which is holding them, there are now 248 prisoners: 27 of them are al-Qaida leadership cadre; 99 are lower level al-Qaida operatives. A big chunk of those are Yemenis. They cannot go back to Yemen because Yemen can't be trusted to keep dangerous prisoners from rejoining the global jihad. What is left in Guantanamo is the hard core; the easy cases are long gone. Another difficult problem are the Chinese. They cannot go home because China cannot be trusted when it comes to human rights and abuse.

There are Uighur Chinese prisoners in Gitmo.... and China has warned just about every developed country in the world from accepting them.

Announcing Atlantic Business....

Today,we launched Atlantic's new business page, with new content, new bloggers, and Megan McArdle's curation.  Our Conor Clarke has an interview with Michael Lewis (a New, New Interview), Jeffrey Young writes on the prospect for health care reform and Harvey Wallbanger writes on customer-focused companies. Here's how the Editors are describing our endeavor:

Atlantic Business, the first of several channels we'll be launching in early 2009 at TheAtlantic.com, is a guide to the policies and debates at the intersection of economics, commerce, and regulation. As power shifts from Wall Street to Washington, our bloggers and writers and data gurus will be here to chronicle and explain the new business landscape.

Edited by Megan McArdle, who has been lauded by The New York Times' David Brooks as a "brilliant economic blogger," Atlantic Business delivers analysis and commentary from Megan and her team of outside experts, including professors, researchers, entrepreneurs, and journalists. The channel also features commentary from Andrew Sullivan, Marc Ambinder, James Fallows, and other Atlantic writers covering Washington and business. The channel's assistant editor, Conor Clarke, blogs here about economics and also maintains some of the site's standing features, including What We're Reading, our collection of the best business stories on the Web today.

Anti-Card Check Forces Target Obama Supporters

Here's an unusual web ad from the business-backed Workforce Fairness Institute. They were set up to oppose EFCA, or "card check" legislation making it easier to unionize. They've been active in states, and are trying to persuade soft Democrats and independents that EFCA would be harmful in this economy.

The ad praises Obama is glowing terms -- perhaps too glowing. They contrast his "priorities" with those of "Congressional leaders" and "big labor bosses."  Obama "has a choice." "Solve the great challenges that face us or cave in to big labor bosses hungry for payback." 

"Payback" is the phrase they want to resonate; it's how AFSCME president Gerald McEntee described the legislation in terms of labor's political support for Democrats.

A labor strategist e-mails: "If this is going to be their paid media strategy I will dance a jig.  Union bosses, congressional leaders, bureaucrats, these are the exact same words and images they attacked Senate candidates across the country with millions of dollars of ads during the last cycle. Every one of those candidates stood strong on giving workers the free choice to join a union and bargain collectively. Every one of those candidates won."

Robert Gibbs's First Briefing: Minute-By-Minute

Overall Grade: B+

Detail Evasion Technique:   7 out of 10.

Telegeniousity: 10/10. The accent kills. The suit was nice. Pointing technique was sharp.

Strength of opinion; tenacity; obstinacy: 9 out of 10.

Timing: 10 minutes late.

Gaffes: 1 -- mentioning that White House counsel Greg Craig was one of the officials who briefed reporters "on background" earlier in the day.

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

1:39 pm: GIBBS, wearing a brilliant light blue tie with a Windsor knot and a dark suit, arrives at the podium.

1:40 pm: GIBBS announced that a economic daily briefing will be given to the president every day in the Oval Office. The president will receive a memo each night; Larry Summers will brief the President each morning. Obama asked that this be added to his schedule.

1:41 pm: GIBBS: Asked about interrogation policies, says that "POTUS believes that there is no more important job than to keep the American people safe. POTUS believes what he did today will enhance the security of the American people and will protect American men and women in uniform."  GIBBS refused to "prejudge" the outcome of the commission. "What started today was a process that the president committed to during the campaign and reiterated during the transition to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay."  Asked whether the admin is saying that the AFM applies unless the admin says it doesn't.

1:44 pm GIBBS: CBS's REID asks GIBBS about GOP concerns about detainee releases. GIBBS: Obama met the generals. "I'm told that there was a special reaction in the room, in a real palpable pride on behalf of these generals and flag officers...[that Obama] with his signature, made America safer."

1:46 pm GIBBS is asked the re-swearing in by Chuck Todd; did Obama re-sign the executive order. GIBBS apologizes to Mark Knoller for saying that there was no discussion about re-doing the oath. There was discussion later in the afternoon about one word.... GIBBS mentions that there was two times in history previously when this happened. Chuck and GIBBS go back and forth. GIBBS repeats "abundance of caution" a lot of times. That seems to be the talking point. "Abundance of caution."  "Abundance of caution." "Abundance of caution." Chuck asks Gibbs "Why didn't you show the word this?" GIBBS: "Let's be clear. You just mentioned the audio. I was there. We took a print pool in there. We released a photograph from the White House. We think it was done in a way that was upfront and transparent and we think we also did it in a way..." Abundance of caution.

1:49: GIBBS says "abundance of caution" again. The WH press corps laughs. GIBBS notes that Obama was "in a pretty casual mood" yesterday, implying that it wasn't a big deal.

1:50: Jake Tapper returns the briefing to Intel: he asks who Obama talked to who disagrees with him on this?  GIBBS: "I can certainly look into something like that."  Tapper notes that current CIA director disagrees. What does Obama know that Mike Hayden doesn't?  GIBBS: people have different opinion.

1:51: Ed Henry asks GIBBS how he could possibly claim that America is safer today when nothing is actually done?  GIBBS's answer is a bit opaque. Tautology: he says that the process is beginning. What assurances can Obama give the American people that the detainees won't be turned loose on the streets? GIBBS: commission, commission, process, commission.

1:54: Henry asks about the dep. sec. defense/Raytheon lobbyist William Lynn and Obama's lobbying policy? GIBBS: "Experts laud the steps that the President took yesterday....that that exceeds what any administration has previously done in the history of the country....that's what he did yesterday. Those same excerpts that lauded the greatest ethical standard ever administered to the executive branch also believe that any standard is not perfect, that a waiver process that allows people to serve their country, is necessary." 

1:57: M. Garrett asks about U.S. forces capturing UBL ... will only the field manual apply?  He also asks that Geithner that a new TARP-type proposal may be in the works? GIBBS says that he needs more guidance on UBL. On TARP, "larger decisions on how to use that money going forward is part of a process."  

2:00: Asked about whether, given the economic numbers today, the financial stability plan can wait. GIBBS: "We need to work as quickly as possible." ... Jonathan Weisman of the Journal asks whether the Obama economic team is looking at a "considerably" larger financial rescue package. GIBBS won't go there. "I don't want to get in front of the recommendations of the economic team."

2:04: Helen Thomas asks if the President is against torture. GIBBS: "Yes." 

2:05: GIBBS asked about Iran -- when will Obama start engaging Iran? "The President believes that, as it relates to Iran, we are going to have to engage our friends and our enemies. I don't have anything specific about that now." Says POTUS will make recommendations soon.

2:12: Why did the administration believe that the American people didn't have a right to know [the names of the] senior administration officials who briefed us on the Guantanamo orders? GIBBS is pointed to the fact that he used the names of one of those people in the briefing.

2:14: Ann Compton asks if any of the commanders on the teleconference yesterday expressed any concern on the speed of withdrawals? GIBBS said POTUS outline the goals expressed and reiterates the process that POTUS will participate in over the next few weeks. Compton: "Did he learn anything yesterday that he didn't already know?" GIBBS says there will be more "stops" in the next week to continue the planning process.

2:17: Bill Plante asks "how is it transparent" when the White House controls all the images from the second oath, when he gives an interview to the network that paid $2m for the rights to cover the inaugural ball. GIBBS repeats his earlier answer to this. Plante: "We have a tradition here of covering the president."

2:19: David Corn asks GIBBS if Obama "has decided to drop the war metaphor." GIBBS: there's no larger meaning.

2:20: GIBBS is asked about Obama's salary; says it's determined by law. He says that changes would have to be made by Congress. GIBBS: "We'll check on that."

2:22 GIBBS is asked whether the honeymoon is over because GOPers seem to be opposing the stimpak en masse. There's a process, GIBBS says. Final outcome is unknown.

2:25: GIBBS admits that the President has a Blackberry through a compromise that allows him to stay in touch with a small group of senior staff and personal friends. Security is enhanced. The presumption regarding those e-mail are they're all subject to the presidential records act. There are some narrow exemptions in the presidential records act to afford for strictly personal communications. GIBBS won't get into specifics.

2:28: GIBBS asked about committee chairs who were miffed about not getting heads up on cabinet choices. Admits "failings" to keep some members "approrpiately advised."

Tobacco Regulation In 100 Days

Folksy v. Disciplined

The somewhat awkward episode yesterday at the White House staff swearing-in ceremony may be a harbinger of the Obama-Biden relationship for the remainder of this Administration.  For all his respective strengths he brings to the office, Biden is a very different person from Obama.  Biden is folksy, gregarious, undisciplined, an attention seeker and always the life of the party.  Obama is sober, serious, and disciplined.  At some point, the two styles will clash in a more significant fashion than yesterday.

To put it another way, Obama respects Biden for his years of experience, relationships with world leaders, and working class roots, but I don't think the two will become personally close.  I doubt you will see the Obamas and Bidens vacation together or socialize. 

Interview: Col. Peter Mansoor On Petraeus And Obama

Yesterday, President Barack Obama held the first meeting of his military cabinet. Expectations are huge; among those in attendance was Gen. David Petraeus, the commander in chief of Centcom and the officer who will be responsible for the Obama administration's strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For some insight into what Gen. Petraeus expects from President Obama, I spoke with a friend of his;  Col. Peter Mansoor (Ret)., a key adviser who served two tours in Iraq. Mansoor is the author of Baghdad at Sunrise and an architect of the counterinsurgency doctrine that proved successful in Iraq. Mansoor is now a professor of history at Ohio State University.

What do you think Gen. Petraeus, or any general in this situation, would want to hear from a new president?

I think Gen. Petraeus will want to hear, "Mr. President, what's the mission. What do you want the military forces in the central command area to do." He probably would rather hear that then "send four brigades to Afghanistan. or I want to withdraw from Iraq in 16 months," or some of these specific things. He would probably rather hear the President sat that it's my intention to draw down combat forces as quickly as possible while maintaining the ability to train and equip the Iraqi security forces and keep a lid of sectarian violence as the provincial and national elections occur. It's my intention to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan, reverse the spiral downward and conduct a counterinsurgency campaign in order to reinforce the legitimacy of the Afghan government in Kabul." And then, in return, the military can say, here are two or three courses of actions, associated with timelines and risks associated of withdrawing more quickly from Iraq and not reinforcement more quickly in Afghanistan.

It's almost cliché now to say that the geography and history of Afghanistan are so qualitatively different from Iraq. The type of clear-and-hold approach that worked in urban centers in Iraq obviously would have to be revised significantly?

Clear and hold can still work, but it's of a different magnitude, because Afghanistan has a lot more people, it's very mountainous with a very poor communications strategy

Is it workable?

It can in most of the country, a and I've never been to Afghanistan, and that's why it's still a question mark, is whether are the Pashtun tribal people amenable to reconciliation in some sort of political framework where they remain part of a larger Afghanistan governed by whoever's in power in Kabul.

Doesn't that all depend on the Pashtuns in the ISI in Pakistan who're helping Pashtuns in Afghanistan? You can't just treat the Pashtuns in Afghanistan in isolation.

Clearly, the Pashtun tribe straddles the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. That tribe has to be dealt with in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, and so Pakistan is clearly part of the solution to the solution in Afghanistan. There are very few insurgencies with a major sanctuary across the border like the FATA, where the counterinsurgents are successful because the insurgents have the ability to ramp up whenever they want to by infiltrating across the border. My question is more funfdamental than that; even if you're able to work counterinsurgency with the Pakistani army, are the Pashtu's people amenable to a political solution to their grievances in the current state structure that exists in southwest Asia. I don't know the answer to that question.

Continue reading "Interview: Col. Peter Mansoor On Petraeus And Obama" »

I Will Execute, Faithfully, This Post Without Skepticism

At 735 pm, Roberts administred the oath of office again to obama in the map
room. Robert gibbs said the wh counsel, greg craig, believes the oath was
fine Tuesday, but one word was out of sequence so they did this out of a
"an abundance of caution."
"We decided it was so much fun..." Obama joked while sitting on a couch.
Obama stood and walked over to make small talk with pool as roberts donned
his black robe.
"Are you ready to take the oath?" Roberts asked.
"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," obama replied.
Oath took 25 seconds.
After a flawless recitation, roberts smiled and said, "congratulations,
again."
Obama said, "thank you, sir."
Smattering of applause.
"All right." Obama said. "The bad news for the pool is there's 12 more
balls."

How's It Looking? Obama Reacts To Biden's Joke

The President doesn't seem terribly thrilled with his VP's off-the-cuff joke about the oath of office and Chief Justice Roberts.  Obama is stony as Biden is cutesy.

The Most Technologically Advanced Administration In History: Use The Telephone

The tech savviest administration history is facing an existential crisis: their preferred mode of communication -- e-mail, IM and text messeges -- are subject to stringent government regulations.

Ben Smith reported last week that deputy counsel Cassandra Butts laid down the law in a staff meeting: no Instant Messaging; assume that every e-mail you write will be logged.

For a generation so used to communicating so easily with each other, with outsiders, with the press, it will be an enormous challenge.

One senior official told a colleague of mine that he would no longer rely on e-mail for casual conversations -- that he would pick up the phone instead of using e-mail for sensitive communications -- sensitive here, meaning anything other than communications with White House colleagues.

White House officials can't use thumb drives -- these can harbor viruses or security-penetrating worms, and sensitive information could be easily removed from the building.

For political e-mail, the plan is to use an e-mail system that's being set up by the Democratic National Committee, although those e-mails will be subject to public disclosure, officials said.

Also pressuring the staff: Obama. "For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city." The White House will err on the side of those who seek information, not on the side of those who seek to withhold it. He ordered revisions to the Freedom of Information Act guidelines used by government departments and tightened the exceptions to disclosure of presidential records.

Interview: Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Reagan, His Party, And His Advice To Obama

Continue reading "Interview: Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Reagan, His Party, And His Advice To Obama" »

Fighting For Office Space

While Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid is scheduled to meet with Al Franken late this afternoon, the other party in the Minnesota recount fight is also on the Hill today. Norm Coleman was spotted walking out of his vacant office around lunchtime today, according to two sources. Apparently his office is strewn with boxes and bubble wrap. [NORA MCALVANAH]

What Karen Hughes Didn't Like About Obama's Speech

On a panel this morning here at Atlantic's HQ, former Bush administration communications counselor Karen Hughes praised President Barack Obama's inauguration speech, but she was uncomfortable, she said, with a few nasty jabs that Obama seemed to sneak in. Highes said that Obama's use of antithesis at points was offensive, such as when he implied that President Bush had shrunk from making the tough decisions. 

She noted that Bush "went against his free market principles" to support massive government interventions in the economy, that he supported the surge of troops into Iraq when almost no one else did. Hughes that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair praised Bush's singular courage in a videotaped messge the former President watched yesterday.

Later, when Obama spoke "[t]o the people of poor nations" and pledged "to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds," Hughes recalled President Bush's insistence on sending tens of billions of dollars to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa and did not like the implication that the government was just now discovering its obligation to the poor of the world.

Hughes insisted she was speaking for herself -- "he didn't say a word," she said of the former president.  Asked what Bush did say, Hughes said he said he felt "joyful" and "free."

Obama Will Get His Blackberry

Even The Motorcades Changed

What Whitehouse.Gov Says About Clinton, Bush

Kafka In Washington

Give Us Your Tired, Your Freezing, Your Happy Masses

Muslims, Nonbelievers and Data

No EFCA On White House Website

Who Stumbled? Fox Says Obama, MSNBC Says Roberts

Chief Justice John Roberts stumbled slightly over the 35-word constitutionally prescribed oath of office as he swore in Barack Obama as the 44th president on Tuesday, sending the new chief executive into a verbal detour of his own.

View From Trafficland: The Motorcade

Kennedy's Condition

Kennedy suffered through about two minutes worth of convulsions... the ambulance that was assigned to the presidential motorcade was the one that took him to Washington Hospital Center.

He was alert, awake and breathing when he was put into the ambulance. His convulsions had stopped by then. 

Sen. Chris Dodd told CBS News that Kennedy was unhappy at having to be driven away from the event.

Obama's Promises To Gays

The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goal

CIVIL RIGHTS

"The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs.... We have more work to do."

-- Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

President Barack Obama has spent much of his career fighting to strengthen civil rights as a civil rights attorney, community organizer, Illinois State Senator, U.S. Senator, and now as President. Whether promoting economic opportunity, working to improve our nation's education and health system, or protecting the right to vote, President Obama has been a powerful advocate for our civil rights.

• Combat Employment Discrimination: President Obama and Vice President Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also pass the Fair Pay Act, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: President Obama and Vice President Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.
• End Deceptive Voting Practices: President Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.
• End Racial Profiling: President Obama and Vice President Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.
• Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support: President Obama and Vice President Biden will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama and Biden will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.
• Eliminate Sentencing Disparities: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.
• Expand Use of Drug Courts: President Obama and Vice President Biden will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
• Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
• Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
• Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
• Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
• Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
• Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

Listening To The Inaugural: From The ABC Truck

Cornyn's Objection Holds Clinton's Confirmation

Cornyn is holding up Sen. Clinton vote by a day -- instead of today, it'll take place tomorrow. He can block a voice vote for a day, but he can't stop a roll call vote.  NBC's Kelly O'Donnell writes that Clinton buttonholed Cornyn just moments ago and was seen engaging in animated, friendly discussion with him.

Cornyn bets that the Obama administration will give in because Obama really wants Clinton to begin her job ASAP. The first national security cabinet meeting is tomorrow at 4:00 pm...

Chia Obama Launches

First Whitehouse.Gov Blog Post

Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I'm Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog.

A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.

Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.

Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration's online programs will put citizens first. Our initial new media efforts will center around three priorities:

Communication -- Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. Check out the briefing room, keep tabs on the blog (RSS feed) and take a moment to sign up for e-mail updates from the President and his administration so you can be sure to know about major announcements and decisions.

Transparency -- President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise. The President's executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that's just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government. You can also learn about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President's policy priorities.

Participation -- President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.

We'd also like to hear from you -- what sort of things would you find valuable from WhiteHouse.gov? If you have an idea, use this form to let us know. Like the transition website and the campaign's before that, this online community will continue to be a work in progress as we develop new features and content for you. So thanks in advance for your patience and for your feedback.

Later today, we'll put up the video and the full text of President Obama's Inaugural Address. There will also be slideshows of the Inaugural events, the Obamas' move into the White House, and President Obama's first days in office.

Obama's Speech, Annotated, Part II

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.  Their memories are short.  For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.  The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.  Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward.  Where the answer is no, programs will end.  And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

This is key paragraph: where Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton spoke of government in the binary terms of "big and small," for Obama, it's now whether government 'works," or does not work.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.  Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.  The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, 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.  And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born:  know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. 

More false choices labeled as such. An intermission thought here: the language is simple, not flowing, and a lot more concrete that one might have expected.  This section got the biggest cheers.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.  They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.  Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

Obama has read his Reinhold Niebur, and his paragraph hews exactly to Neibur's view of American power and how to justly exercise it.  We are American because we know that we can make mistakes, and we can admit mistakes, and we can learn from our mistakes.

We are the keepers of this legacy.  Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.  We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.  With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.  We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

The last four lines could have been written and spoken by President Bush.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.  We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers.  We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. 

Has a president ever acknowledged non-believers before?

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.

Obama is using the inauguration to advance his foreign policy, not just define it.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.  And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.  For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

He is defining world poverty and suffering as an American national security challenge.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.  They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.  We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.  And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.  It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.  It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. 

A brief mention of Hurricane Katrina and of 9/11

Our challenges may be new.  The instruments with which we meet them may be new.  But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old.  These things are true.  They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.  What is demanded then is a return to these truths.  What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

As explicit as Obama gets to recognizing what the image won't let you forget.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.  In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.  The capital was abandoned.  The enemy was advancing.  The snow was stained with blood.  At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America.  In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words.  With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.  Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Obama's Speech Annotated, Part I

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.  I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. 

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.  The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.  Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.  At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. 

So it has been.  So it must be with this generation of Americans. 

This is going to be a classical speech. Obama begins with an exordium, a means of defining why he is giving the speech now. Traditionally, the exhordium is based on the speaker's justifying his paradigm in history -- the paradeigm.  Obama takes his oath amid "gathering clouds"  -- an allusion to the hymns of John Newton -- "("The gathering clouds, with aspect dark, A rising storm presage; O! to be hid within the ark, And sheltered from its rage!") 

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.  Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.  Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.  Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered.  Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

Obama begins the narratia -- the laying out of the facts, with an anastrophe, usually a way of beginning of a series of items that the audience knows. Four reptitions of "our," including an anistrophe, end in parralel structure.   These are not easy sentences to write, and they require the listener to appreciate the paragraph as a whole. 

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.  Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.  

Note the anthropomorphized "America" and "the next generation"

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.  They are serious and they are many.  They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.  But know this, America -  they will be met. 

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. 

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. 

So begins the partition -- the thesis -- the reason why the speaker is here from the perspective of the audience.  Note the antitheses: unity of purpose over conflict and discord (by which Obama means ideology;)  the new versus the "petty," the "false," the "worn out" and the "old."

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.  The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation:  the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

This is an allusion to 1 Corinthians 13:11; When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, ¹  I set aside childish ways.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given.  It must be earned.  Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less.  It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.  Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Call this Obama's axis of heroes: the "risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things"  -- a direct contrast to those who seek material gains and celebrity, who have "carried us" -- note that Americans are being carried in this metaphor -- up the "rugged" path towards prosperity and freedom. By "rugged," we're reminded that the path isn't like an exponential curve. These Horatio Algers served causes greater than themselves "for us" -- Obama repeats this three times -- more anaphora.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.  They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. 

This is the journey we continue today.  We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.  Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.  Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year.  Our capacity remains undiminished.  But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed.  Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

This is a direct, indirect criticism of the past administration. Note the deliberate alliteration -- caPacity, standing Pat, Protecting, Putting, Pleasant...  The last sentence is startling; are Americans really on the ground? Do we perceive ourselves that way? Or -- are we really that way, even if we don't feel it?

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.  The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.  We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.  We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.  We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.  And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.  All this we can do.  And all this we will do.

The Real Oath Of Office

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The Chief Justice seemed a bit nervous.

President Barack Obama

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Secretary Of State Or VP -- Which Would YOU Choose? (Updated With An Official Response)

This revelation came after Vice President-elect Joe Biden told Oprah that after then-Sen. Obama offered the job of VP he asked for some time to think about it and talk it over with his family.

Mrs. Biden interjected: "Joe had the choice of being secretary of State or vice president." She then seemed to realize she'd said something she wasn't supposed to have said.

Her husband laughed.

Said Oprah, trying to continue the conversation, "You said, 'Joe...?'"

"I said, 'Joe if you are secretary of State you will be away, I'll never see you,'" Mrs. Biden said. "We will see you at a state dinner once in a while. But I said if you are vice president, the entire family, because they worked so hard for the election, they can be involved ... They can come to our home, they can go to events, they can be with us and that is what is important to us."

Oprah turned to the VP-elect, asking "Were you worried about being number 2 because you wanted to be number one?"

"I think Barack was worried about it," the former senator said with a laugh.

"Like anyone who followed the presidential campaign this summer, Dr. Jill Biden knew there was a chance that President-elect Obama might ask her husband to serve in some capacity and that, given his background, the positions of Vice President and Secretary of State were possibilities. Dr. Biden's point to Oprah today was that being Vice President would be a better fit for their family because they would get to see him more and get to participate in serving more.  To be clear, President-elect Obama offered Vice President-elect Biden one job only -- to be his running mate. And the Vice President-elect was thrilled to accept the offer."

Several Obama aides who were privy to the content of Obama's private, pre-selection meeting with Biden in Minneapolis say that the Democratic nominee asked Biden what he might want to do in an administration. Biden was, you'll recall, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and had been personally sought out by the president of Georgia for advice. Aides said they issued a clarification not because they were worried about Sen. Hillary Clinton's sensitivities but because they did not want the historical record to be compromised.

The Ramos and Compean Commutation And Mandatory Minimums

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