United Liberty

TPM reports that Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel may have been in contact with Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich in regards to President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate replacement:

Fox Chicago News reports that Emanuel, the Chicago congressman who was appointed shortly after the election to be Obama’s White House chief of staff, had “multiple conversations” about the issue with the governor himself and with Blagojevich’s chief of staff, John Harris — who this week was charged along with his boss.

The source said it was likely that these conversations were recorded, since they took place after the federal wiretaps had begun.

Karl Rove would not have written this article , outlining how the GOP could make a come back if John Mccain had won.

He only makes two good points:

Second, while it’s the responsibility of all, someone must take the lead on training candidates and party leaders and nurturing their focus on ideas. Under its founder, Newt Gingrich, GOPAC once did this. It needs to be revitalized or its original mission taken up by a fresh group.

President-elect Barack Obama is set to make a major speech in an Islamic capital after his inauguration:

WASHINGTON, (AFP) – President-elect Barack Obama plans to give “a major address” in an Islamic capital soon after taking office as he seeks to mend America’s image in the Muslim world, a Chicago Tribune interview said.

From Talking Points Memo comes a striking statistic:

The 2008 Republican and Democratic conventions were underwritten by hefty contributions from the institutions and individuals at the center of the country’s financial crisis, according to a report released Wednesday by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Finance Institute.

According to The Raw Story, the cost of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s campaign wardrobe continues to escalate:

The clothing, the official says, is in the committee’s possession and 
will be dispersed to national and local charities at the appropriate time.”

They are said to include “other” accessories purchased for the “hockey mom” before the election.Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign spent more than $150,000 on Palin’s wardrobe between late August and Nov. 4.

Max Boot, a contributing editor of the fervently neoconservative publication The Weekly Standard and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations has stated what progressives and libertarians dread most, that Obama is warming up nicely to neoconservatives in Washington. Some might contend that his appointments thus far have gained more approval from the statist right than from his own party. Maxx Boot in his own words regarding the matter-

The world was greeted on Saturday with Barack Obama’s announcement of a massive public works program to “save or create at least 2-1/2 million jobs so that the nearly 2 million Americans who’ve lost them know that they have a future,” as Obama put it in his weekly radio address (yes, he’s already doing this, even before the inauguration). A detailed article at Politico.com opens with the following:

President-elect Barack Obama added sweep and meat to his economic agenda on Saturday, pledging the largest new investment in roads and bridges since President Dwight D. Eisenhower built the Interstate system in the late 1950s, and tying his key initiatives – education, energy, health care –back to jobs in a package that has the makings of a smaller and modern version of FDR’s New Deal marriage of job creation with infrastructure upgrades.

 

Dan Carlin, the host of the poular podcasts Common Sense and Hardcore History, gave me his thoughts on various subjects, varying from the attacks in India to Obama’s cabinet appointments.

What do you make of rumors that President-elect Obama will be keeping Robert Gates as Defense Secretary?

Well, as far as I can tell I am the only person in the world who doesn’t like the pick (and it sure looks like, at least for the early part of the Administration that Gates IS the likely pick).

I just about spit my coffee up when I read this yesterday, but apparently some people are calling on David Paterson to replace Hillary Clinton - with Bill.

While I seriously doubt that is going to happen - even the CNN article agrees that Bill would likely not be interested in becoming a Jr. Senator - I was a bit tickled by the prospect of seeing “Teflon Bill” heading to the Senate.

That whole “change” thing really was just good branding huh?

This morning Clinton said that he had no real interest in the seat.

From the history books:

Thanks to former President Bill Clinton, one of the obstacles facing Hillary’s appointment to Secretary of State has been removed.  Despite promises of anonymity to some of the contributors to the William J Clinton Foundation he started, Bill has agreed to disclose his list of donors.

wsj.com- He’ll also refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference, and will cease holding CGI meetings overseas.