Barack Obama's Inauguration

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The Obama Cabinet Nominees

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

 

Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner

 

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

 

Attorney General Eric Holder

 

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salzar

 

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

 

Secretary of Commerce Bill Richardson

 

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

 

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Daschle

 

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan

 

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood

 

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu

 

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki

 

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano

 

 

I managed to predict 0% of those.

 

 

Both of the nominated sitting U.S. Senators (both Democrats) come from states with Democratic governors, so the seats are safe for now. Combined with the Obama and Biden seats, 4 appointments will be necessary. 2 are members of the U.S. House (1 Democrat, 1 Republican). 2 are sitting state governors (both Democrats).

Edited December 20, 2008 by Pete Campbell

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He look good, but he ain't no Putin

 

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I wouldn't mind some shirtless pics of Argentina's president.

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Hey guys, is Obama related to Dick Cheney?

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Hey guys, is Obama related to Dick Cheney?

Yes, he is. Since I've recently taken an interest in genealogy, I looked up the lineages for you. The common ancestors are Mareen Duvall (1630–1694) and Susannah Marie Brasseur (c. 1650–1692). See the pic below.

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You can't argue with hand-written notes on a piece of crumpled paper.

 

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GOP Official Blasted for Distributing Obama 'Magic Negro' CD

 

The chairman of the Republican National Committee said Saturday he was "shocked and appalled" that one of his potential successors had sent committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a 2007 parody song called "Barack the Magic Negro."

 

In spite of RNC Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan's sharply negative reaction, former Tennessee GOP leader Chip Saltsman said that party leaders should stand up to criticism over distributing a CD with the song. He earlier defended the tune as one of several "lighthearted political parodies" that have aired on Rush Limbaugh's radio show.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/27...ican-operative/

 

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"impared"

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http://video.aol.com/partner/hulu/saturday...JuyKJ3yrsh3HHNC

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Apparently the "Magic Negro" controversy has made Chip Saltsman even more popular within his inclusive, big-tent party.

 

 

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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17032.html

 

Bill Richardson fell off.

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He insists he innocent, but doesn't want the business of the government held back because of a scandal while he clears his name.

 

That's, like, unheard of these days.

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I believe him because he's a Democrat.

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Al Franken picked up close to 1000 votes in MN, now has 225 vote lead.

 

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/fra...te-lead-on.html

 

[Guest]

Two pay to play scandals in the last month. Those are just the unlucky bastards who got caught. Many more of them with a D or an R in front of their name who never will get caught.

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Al Franken picked up close to 1000 votes in MN, now has 225 vote lead.

 

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/fra...te-lead-on.html

 

If only Ventura had decided to run.

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I believe him because he's a Democrat.

Whether Richardson is guilty or not, that he's voluntarily stepping aside (compared to Ted Stevens, William Jefferson, or Rod Blagojevich) is a rare thing.

 

 

Panel to declare Franken winner of Senate race.

 

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has pledged a GOP filibuster if the Democrat-controlled Senate attempts to seat Franken before all legal battles play out and before Minnesota's Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, can co-sign the secretary of state's certificate.

 

Ths is going to be a fun next few weeks.

 

 

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Al Franken picked up close to 1000 votes in MN, now has 225 vote lead.

 

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/fra...te-lead-on.html

 

If only Ventura had decided to run.

 

Coleman is the only man in history to lose to both a wrestler AND a comedian.

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Yet he managed to beat Walter Mondale. There's a lesson here: In Minnesota, you can only toe the party line so much. Unless youre the worst politician ever, then they name a big fucking dome after you.

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Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has pledged a GOP filibuster if the Democrat-controlled Senate attempts to seat Franken before all legal battles play out and before Minnesota's Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, can co-sign the secretary of state's certificate.

 

Ths is going to be a fun next few weeks.

 

Oh shit, you don't mean... BIG JOHN?

 

Ya see, he's from Texas where they do things quick.

[Guest Czecherbear]

Minnesota is like a joke I'm not in on.

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Electorate board declares Franken the winner.

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Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson has rejected Roland Burris' appointment to the Senate, an aide to the secretary told CNN.

 

Erickson rejected Burris' appointment because his certificate of appointment was missing the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, the aide said Monday.

 

Rule 2 of the Standing Rules of the Senate states that the secretary of state must sign the certificate of election along with the governor.

 

White has declined to sign the certificate, siding with some Senate Democrats who say Burris should not be seated because of the cloud over Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/05/burris/index.html

 

 

Okay, so let's review...

 

One legal challenge due to recount by-laws, one legal challenge to an appointment made in the midst of a scandal, and three other senators still running around the place who will be gone as soon as one is sworn in as vice president, and the other two have cabinet appointments confirmed by the very body they are now members of.

 

Did I leave anything out?

 

 

edit: And apparently Leon Panetta is going to be named CIA Director.

 

In disclosing the pick, officials pointed to Mr. Panetta’s sharp managerial skills, his strong bipartisan standing on Capitol Hill, his significant foreign policy experience in the White House and his service on the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan panel that examined the war and made recommendations on United States policy. The officials noted that he had a handle on intelligence spending from his days as director of the Office and Management and Budget.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01...d-cia-director/ Edited January 5, 2009 by SuperJerk

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Did they forget about the CIA job and pull Leon Panetta's name out of a hat?

[Guest]

Even Bush picked someone qualified for that position.

 

Terrible choice.

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Perhaps you haven't heard of Porter Goss.

 

And now, reactions from people who actually know what the fuck they're talking about:

 

"My initial reaction is, I am sorry that there was felt a need to replace the current director," former senior CIA official Paul Pillar, now with Georgetown University told me. "Gen. [Michael] Hayden is a military and intelligence but primarily intelligence professional who has performed his duties in each job he has held in an honorable fashion, so far as I have knowledge of them."

 

But former intelligence analyst Greg Treverton, now with the Rand Corporation, said Panetta's experience as a former White House chief of staff might give him a unique understanding of the presidency and its needs for intelligence. "One of my experiences with people like Panetta who have been chief of staff is that they have a clear sense of what is helpful to the president that most senior officials don't," Treverton told me. "They get it. What he could do and couldn't do. And that's an interesting advantage Panetta brings. Knowledge of what the presidential stakes are like, how issues arise, and what they need to be protected from, for better or worse."

 

Retired CIA deputy director for the East Europe division Milt Bearden said Panetta is a "brilliant" choice. "It is not problematic that Panetta lacks experience in intelligence," Bearden e-mailed. "Intel experience is overrated. Good judgement, common sense, and an understanding of Washington is a far better mix to take to Langley than the presumption of experience in intelligence matters. Having a civilian in the intelligence community mix is, likewise, a useful balance. Why not DNI?"

 

The Panetta choice also makes sense to him, said Philip Zelikow, a former counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (and Foreign Policy writer). "The issues of presidential trust and clean hands are, at this moment in history, most important," Zelikow said by e-mail. "And even an 'intelligence professional' would have to rely on others in many ways. ... So Obama and his team have made a certain kind of tradeoff."

 

"I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA director," incoming chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was cited by the Los Angeles Times. "My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time."

 

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/node/14914

 

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I'm sorry that I noticed a wholly unqualified guy being nominated to a fairly important post. But, hey, intelligence has been a smooth ship for a good while now so this can't possibly be a bad thing. Plus, he knows Washington.

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Unqualified in what sense? He's going to be managing a bureaucracy, not hopping around Afghanistan recruiting intelligence assets or even producing and analyzing intel.

 

Which one of the "qualified" recent DCIs did you like the most?

 

George "Slam Dunk" Tenet?

 

Porter "Purge All the Libruls and Put Dusty Foggo, Douchebag Extraordinaire, In a Major Position" Goss?

 

Mike "Warrantless Wiretap" Hayden?

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Look at John McCone, DCI during the Cuban Missile Crisis--no extensive intel background and is widely considered one of the best DCIs ever. Even called that our Vietnam adventure wouldn't turn out so great.