Political Base

I so totally agree with the concern over at Fighting Liberals as to the media's weird insistence -- specifically the Washington Post -- to highlight all of this. I'm sure Secret Service wasn't so thrilled:

I don't know, maybe it is just me, but I felt super uneasy and uncomfortable with the level of detail, especially of entrances, locations and times-- that were posted in a so called fluff piece about the Obama kid's first day at school on Monday. It was downright creepy that the WAPO went into such detail about which entrances, and the addresses etc. that the motorcade used as the girls went to their new schools for the first day...It seemed very strange and unnecessary. Too many crazies and racists out there for my taste. No need to be providing them time schedules and school entrance info.

It's funny that the media can't get the big things right -- like their reporting on the Iraq War and WMDs -- but manage to allocate resources for five reporters to give us this story.

An especially awful day for former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN).

First, the Minnesota Supreme Court denied another desperate bid by Coleman to cherry-pick the rejected absentee ballots. Apparently, Coleman believes those in GOP-leaning areas (shock) should be counted:

The MN Supreme Court rejected an appeal today by Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign to count rejected absentee ballots from GOP-leaning areas, the latest blow to the incumbent's bid for re-election. The decision effectively allows the State Canvassing Board to certify the recount results, and at this point, Democrat Al Franken holds an unofficial 225-vote lead.

Secondly, the state Canvassing Board certified the result of the election, giving Al Franken (D) a 225-vote victory:

A Minnesota board on Monday certified results showing Democrat Al Franken winning the state's U.S. Senate recount over Republican Norm Coleman, whose lawyer promised a legal challenge that will keep the race in limbo for weeks.

Finally, his Senate office has been shut down since his term officially expired on Saturday at noon:

With the recount battle still underway, the doors to Norm Coleman's Senate offices were locked this morning at the direction of Senate rules committee officials who declared his term expired.

"They can't carry on Senate business," said Howard Gantman, staff director for the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.

Oh yeah, one last thing. Jed over at Daily Kos pulls out an awesome quote from Coleman himself when the early results showed him leading Franken on the day after the election:

"Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed," Coleman said Wednesday at a news conference. He noted Franken could opt to waive the recount.

"It's up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," Coleman said, telling reporters he would "step back" if he were in Franken's position.

Funny how quickly this hypocrite's stripes change. Unlike Franken -- who did not file any legal action -- Coleman's lawyers have promised more lawsuits to try to reverse the voters' will.

This is an interesting pick given Leon Panetta's lack of experience when it comes to intelligence. The guy was a congressman, White House budget director and then chief of staff, and served on the Iraq Study Group (as did Robert Gates).

I'm not at all saying it's a bad pick, but clearly suggests that President-elect Obama believes that the dysfunctional agency needs a high-level administrator who understands government more than a former spy or career official, as well as someone who will be loyal to the president. I'm looking forward to the back story here:

Two Democratic officials say President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to run the CIA.

Panetta was a surprise pick for the post, with no experience in the intelligence world. An Obama transition official and another Democrat disclosed his nomination on a condition of anonymity since it was not yet public.

Side note: where will Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) resurface? Many thought he would be the next CIA director. I continue to believe he'll be the one who will succeed Gates as defense secretary and may end up as some presidential envoy in the meantime.

Any hopes by the far left that the Obama Administration would take its mandate and immediately veer the country into liberal utopia are quickly going up in smoke as President-elect Obama clearly intends to work with Republicans on his agenda, rather than try to steamroll them, as President Bush did, and as President Clinton tried to do in his first two years, leading to the Republican coup of 1994.

Here's what the Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning:

President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are crafting a plan to offer about $300 billion of tax cuts to individuals and businesses, a move aimed at attracting Republican support for an economic-stimulus package and prodding companies to create jobs.

The size of the proposed tax cuts -- which would account for about 40% of a stimulus package that could reach $775 billion over two years -- is greater than many on both sides of the aisle in Congress had anticipated. It may make it easier to win over Republicans who have stressed that any initiative should rely more heavily on tax cuts rather than spending.

The Obama tax-cut proposals, if enacted, could pack more punch in two years than either of President George W. Bush's tax cuts did in their first two years. Mr. Bush's 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut of 2001, considered the largest in history, contained $174 billion of cuts during its first two full years, according to Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation.

I have a few thoughts on Obama's early moves.

First, I don't begrudge my friends who are farther on the left than I am who are quite miffed by some of Obama's appointments, gestures (e.g., Rick Warren invocation), and the suggestion of a very large tax cut. They believe that what the nation needs is a return to progressive ideals without any attempt to water them down by trying, most often futilely, to work with Republicans. I too want to see Obama definitively move with his promises on universal health care, tackling climate change, a sensible foreign policy, especially with respect to the Middle East, and a major infrastructure overhaul that this country desperately needs.

But I also recall that Obama's campaign theme was very much about working together, shedding party labels, bringing Republicans into his fold, and being an American president, not just a Democratic one. If you missed that, then you allowed yourself to believe Obama was something he was not. He was never the progressives' choice during the early primary. John Edwards and Chris Dodd were much more their favorite.

Nevertheless, I do think that Obama does intend to move this nation strongly to the left, but he's not going to repeat Clinton's mistakes. In my opinion, Clinton started too far left during his first two years and then spent the last six years moving to the center in order to govern.

Instead, I believe Obama intends to start from the center, with a broad coalition, and pass some major legislation that is desperately needed but will include Republicans, and their concerns, as he does so. This will earn him some good will among the GOP but, much more importantly, it will likely please a public tired of partisanship. By doing so, Obama will then gain political currency during the first few years, earning him the public's trust and giving him a freer hand to be much more bold and daring in his second term, or as early as the last two years of his first term (but more likely much will wait until after he is re-elected).

So, unlike Clinton who started from the left and spent six years moving to the center, I think Obama is positioning himself to start from the center for a few years and then move left. Politically, I think it is a very smart move. But I do understand why progressives, who see an opportunity to undo so much of the damage caused by the disastrous Bush-Cheney Administration, are frustrated by Obama's early signals that he intends to work with the same Republicans who refused to offer Democrats the same opportunity during their reign of terror. Many progressives aren't interest in being patient after eight years of being under assault and I don't blame them. Undoubtedly, some will fight Obama and some will recognize that some amount of patience is going to be required to create long-term change for our country.

However, while I too get annoyed by some of Obama's early moves, I'm prepared to be a little patient and allow this man to build coalition that Americans can believe in (remember that line) so that we can get to the big items that we (progressives) know must be dealt with if we're ever going to fix the structural social and financial problems plaguing our great nation.

Finally, don't overlook the fact that a certain amount of fist-fighting between the far left and Obama is a big time political winner for him. I'm not hoping for them, but do clearly see the benefit to him (Rick Warren was Exhibit A). Having those internecine battles will cement in the minds of many Americans that Obama is not the liberal that the Republicans tried to paint him as during the general election and is not a left-leaning ideologue. That perception will be valuable as he does move left in the second half of his tenure.

But for those who hoped for a quick change of gears to the left, I suspect you'll be as frustrated as you are happy for the next two years.

My two cents.

Quick follow-up to Chris' post from last night concerning the withdrawal of Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) from consideration as Secretary of Commerce, per Politico:

Barack Obama’s transition team pressed Bill Richardson about a federal probe into “pay-to-play” allegations against his office – the same investigation Richardson cited Sunday in withdrawing his name as commerce secretary.

But a Democratic source said Obama’s questioners came away empty handed. “Those guys were pressed for information and they gave nothing,” the source said.

The silver lining here is that Democrats can thank the good Lord that neither Richardson nor former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) became the Democratic nominee for president or vice president. Recall Edwards' scandal.

Assuming that Democrats continue to hold President-elect Obama's (D) former Senate seat, the Senate Democratic Caucus is set to increase to a pretty astounding 59 seats as the Minnesota state Canvassing Board is set to declare Al Franken (D) as the winner of its Senate seat, defeating incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R) by just 225 votes. Remarkable, really.

Sadly, it seems that Coleman intends to prolong his defeat by desperately dragging this through the courts and Senate Republicans have indicated they intend to filibuster any effort to seat Franken in the interim.

Ultimately, Coleman has no real shot at hanging on to this seat and I suspect the maneuvers are simply a GOP ploy to keep whatever leverage they can find to be able to push back on Obama's early legislative efforts.

Nevertheless, regardless of when Coleman finally throws in the towel, and Franken is seated, it will be the punctuation mark on a wild four years with Democrats picking-up 14 Senate seats in those two cycles (six in 2006 and eight in 2008). But not for the narrow re-election victories by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), it would have been a lot worse for the GOP.

And keep in mind that 2010 is shaping-up as yet another tough cycle for Senate Republicans. Barring a significant political shift, Democrats seem poised to crack 60 seats after the 2010 midterm elections.

NBC News reports:

December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.

"Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," he said Sunday in a report by NBC News. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process."

He said he plans to continue in his role as governor. "I appreciate the confidence President-elect Obama has shown in me, and value our friendship and working partnership. I told him that I am eager to serve in the future in any way he deems useful. And like all Americans, I pray for his success and the success of our beloved country."

From the AP:

A federal grand jury is investigating how a California company that contributed to Richardson's political activities won a New Mexico state contract worth more than $1 billion. Richardson said in a statement issued by the Obama transition office that the investigation could take weeks or months but expressed confidence it will show he and his administration acted properly.

[...]  A person familiar with the proceedings has told The Associated Press that the grand jury is looking into possible "pay-to-play" dealings between CDR Financial Products and someone in a position to push the contract through with the state of New Mexico.

The year 2000 seems so long ago. But as President George W. Bush prepared to take office in 2001, the approximate size of the U.S. federal budget surplus was $230 Billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000.

In part to disastrous foreign and domestic policies by Bush, the U.S. no longer has a national budget surplus. Instead there's a rapidly growing deficit. The approximate size of the U.S. federal deficit was $454.8 Billion for the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2008. Recall a previous post in November discussing that a $1 Trillion budget deficit is likely expected when Bush departs.

Via Bloomberg:

With the U.S. amid its worst economic slump since World War II, Obama said he is looking forward to meeting with leaders of both political parties in Washington in the new week. Job losses are likely to continue this year, as economists surveyed by Bloomberg News in December forecast the jobless rate to rise to 8.2 percent by the end of 2009 from 6.7 percent in November.

Sadly, we're reminded of the American men and women who have served in the U.S. military and lost their lives in Iraq:

As of Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009, at least 4,221 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,400 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

McAuliffe made his announcement on yesterday:

Terry McAuliffe on Saturday announced his candidacy for the Virginia governorship, attempting to position himself as the natural successor to Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

In an e-mail video distributed to supporters, the former Democratic National Committee chairman said he has lived in the commonwealth for almost 20 years and that his campaign would focus on the economy, energy and the records of Warner and Kaine. McAuliffe is a resident of McLean and said he would make a formal announcement on Wednesday.