NBC Nightly News, in its lead story last night, reported that advisers are "suggesting" President-elect Barack Obama "could reverse some of" President Bush's "executive orders immediately upon taking office." John Podesta, Obama Transition Team Co-Chair, was shown saying, "There is a lot that the President can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we will see the President do that." According to the New York Times Obama's advisers are "compiling a list of policies that could be reversed. ... The assessment is under way, aides said, but a full list of policies to be overturned will not be announced by Mr. Obama until he confers with new members of his cabinet."
The Chicago Tribune also says Obama's "review...will range from a ban that Bush placed on federal funding for research using new lines of embryonic stem cells to an expected easing of oil and gas drilling limits in sensitive Western lands that the Bush administration could seek in its final months." The Wall Street Journal reports Podesta "said Mr. Obama is 'a transformational figure' and that the support he received among voters in some Republican states and conservative counties gives him a mandate to pursue his agenda aggressively." AFP says that, nevertheless, "top aides stressed Obama's bipartisan aims."
The AP notes "Presidents long have used executive orders to impose policy and set priorities. One of Bush's first acts was to reinstate full abortion restrictions on US overseas aid." The Washington Times also notes that in 2001, "Over the objections of Democratic leaders, Mr. Bush issued an executive order earlier this year lifting an order put in place by his father that had prohibited offshore drilling." USA Today reports that White House spokeswoman Dana Perino "said every new administration makes policy changes," but that Bush's orders "are in the best interest of the nation."
The Washington Post reports President-elect Obama "plans to push ahead with a middle-class tax cut soon after taking office," according to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's incoming White House chief of staff. Emanuel also "hinted that Obama would not postpone a tax increase for families earning more than $250,000 a year despite the deepening economic gloom." The Politico says "Emanuel's chief message for the day" was, "We have a huge economic crisis here at home that is looming large. ... Priority one is the economy."
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NBC Nightly News reported President-elect Obama "is moving quickly to put his team in place. Aides say additional staff announcements could come as early as this week, though cabinet-level appointments are not expected that soon." NBC added, "One thing we hear across-the-board from advisers is they want to move quickly but carefully. You will see them reach across party lines for some of these appointments and may have some holdovers from the Bush Administration, one that they refuse to rule out is the possibility that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would stay on."
Candidates For Top DOD Positions Cited The Washington Post reports in its "In the Loop" column, "Some of the names floating in the private sector for deputy secretary of defense include the oft-mentioned former Navy secretary Richard Danzig" and former undersecretaries of defense Jack Gansler, Paul Kaminski and Bill Lynn.
Obama Inheriting Bernanke, Mullen And Mueller Under the headline "Sometimes Continuity Trumps Change," the Washington Post reports, "Some of the key individuals [Obama] will rely upon...are holdovers from the current administration." Adds the Post, "In confronting the financial crisis and weakening economy, Obama must turn to Ben S. Bernanke, a Republican and former chair of Bush's council of economic advisers, who will lead the Federal Reserve for at least the first year of the new administration." Meanwhile, "in assuming control of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama must work with" Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Moreover, "in guarding against terrorist attacks -- while correcting what he considers Bush administration excesses -- Obama will rely upon" FBI Director Robert Mueller, "whose term expires in 2011."
Vilsack "Near Shoo-In" For USDA The Washington Post reports in its "In the Loop" column, "The Obama transition team considers former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack a near shoo-in for secretary of agriculture, according to a source close to the transition." But "should things not work out with Vilsack, Obama might turn to Rep. Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee."
Transition Team Includes Top Fundraisers USA Today reports President-elect Obama "says moneyed interests won't have an inside track in his White House, but six of the 15 people he named to his transition team are top fundraisers." The fundraisers "include Julius Genachowski, a former technology and news media executive and an Obama classmate at Harvard Law who raised more than $500,000 for the campaign, and Federico Peña, a two-time Cabinet secretary in the Clinton administration who is a managing partner in a global investment firm. He collected more than $50,000."
NBC Nightly News reported, "With Barack Obama facing a learning curve as steep of that of any modern day president, he has found a willing partner in his desire for a smooth transfer of power. President Bush, mindful of the unprecedented challenges facing the new president, welcomes Obama to the White House tomorrow, a symbolic meeting that typically takes place much later in the transition process." USA Today reports Bush and Obama "are slated for a midafternoon 'private' meeting at the White House,'" White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday.
The Financial Times reports Obama "is likely to seek the outgoing president's reassurance that he would not veto any stimulus package that could be passed as soon as next week when Congress meets for a 'lame duck' session." The Los Angeles Times notes the meeting comes "amid continued signs of economic trouble," and adds Obama "aides have said" the meeting with include "substantive discussions with...Bush about the economy and other issues." The New York Times also says Obama "expects a 'substantive conversation between myself and the president.'" However, adds the Times, "there will also be a subtext to the session: the personal chemistry between two leaders whose worldviews are miles apart."
Valerie Jarrett, Co-chair of the Obama transition team, said on NBC's Meet the Press, "There is one president at a time. President Bush is still the president. ... However, given...the daunting challenges that we face, it's important that President-elect Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one." The Washington Post also reports that White House officials said first lady Laura Bush "is expected to show Michelle Obama around the White House residence."
USA Today reports that over the weekend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, said that the Bush administration "should consider expanding the $700 billion financial rescue to include car companies." The letter, adds USA Today, "came a day after GM painted a grim picture of its finances -- one that suggests a federal bailout is its only option to stay solvent." President-elect Barack Obama, "standing on stage with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm" on Friday, said "he favors helping the automakers, naming it his second economic priority." The Financial Times reports, "If Mr Paulson does not consent to direct aid to carmakers through the $700bn bail-out plan, Democrats hope the administration will agree to approve new loans to General Motors, Chrysler and Ford during negotiations over a fresh fiscal stimulus later this month." The Detroit News adds that Bush and Paulson "have resisted the idea, which the carmakers and Michigan lawmakers say would help protect them from what many analysts believe is looming bankruptcy." The issue "has become a critical one for the domestic carmakers and the Michigan economy."
Emanuel, Podesta Seek Accelerated Aid The Wall Street Journal notes "senior economic advisers to...Obama said he broadly backs the appeal by Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Reid on behalf of the auto industry." Rahm Emanuel, incoming White House chief of staff, "said Sunday...that Mr. Obama wants the government to move faster to release $25 billion of low-cost federal loans already approved for the auto industry." Asked on ABC's This Week if Obama supports tapping the $700 billion TARP fund "in order to help the auto industry," Emanuel said Obama "has asked his economic team to look at different options to help bridge the auto industry so they are a part of not only a revived economy but part of an energy policy going forward where America is less dependent on foreign oil." The New York Times reports the story under the headline "Emanuel Urges Aid For Auto Industry." John Podesta, co-chair of the Obama transition team, appearing on CNN's Late Edition, said the auto industry is "the backbone of our manufacturing economy" and "we also have to build for a stable long-term path so that they're producing the kinds of efficient vehicles that we need in this country."
The Wall Street Journal reports, "The US government was near a deal last night to scrap its original $123 billion bailout of American International Group Inc. and replace it with a new $150 billion package, according to people familiar with the matter said." The Journal adds "the proposed arrangement would considerably ease terms on the faltering insurer" and "would give the government an unprecedented role as an actor in financial markets." The AP says that as part of the new deal, the government "reportedly would inject $40 billion into AIG in exchange for preferred stock."
On its front page, the New York Times says word of a new deal "is a stark reversal of the government's assurance that its previous moves had stemmed the bleeding at A.I.G." The Washington Post reports "government officials said the Treasury Department intended to announce the new initiative early this morning, before AIG was scheduled to report its earnings for the third quarter."
The Washington Post, in a front-page article, reports that the "$700 billion bailout of the banking industry" included "a five-sentence notice that attracted almost no public attention," but "corporate tax lawyers quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration officials had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion." The Post adds, "The change to Section 382 of the tax code -- a provision that limited a kind of tax shelter arising in corporate mergers -- came after a two-decade effort by conservative economists and Republican administration officials to eliminate or overhaul the law, which is so little-known that even influential tax experts sometimes draw a blank at its mention."
Paulson-Bernanke Debates Recounted The Wall Street Journal reports that since the outset of the financial crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Paulson appeared to march "in lock step," but "behind the scenes, the two men and their lieutenants sometimes tussled -- over the fate of Lehman Brothers, how to handle Congress and the limits of the Fed's authority." While "the two men rarely allowed daylight to seep between them in public," the Fed and the Treasury "had operational styles that mirrored their bosses. Inside the Fed, there were running debates resembling academic seminars, with Mr. Bernanke running discussions but often offering few opinions. The Treasury was run in command-and-control fashion, with Mr. Paulson the general, listening to his troops, making decisions quickly, and often calling to check on the status of a request just hours after issuing it."
The Financial Times reports, "Plans for the US government to buy troubled assets as part of its $700bn financial sector rescue should not be either abandoned or delayed in the transition to the Obama presidency," Tim Ryan, president of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, "warned." The Times adds that "some experts think asset purchases should be abandoned and the entire $700bn used for recapitalisation. However, Mr Ryan said that would be a mistake."
Regulators Seize Two More Banks The Wall Street Journal reports, "Regulators seized a $5.1 billion Houston bank led by mortgage-bond-pioneer Lewis Ranieri and a small bank in Los Angeles Friday, raising the number of bank failures this year to 19 and showing how even the most experienced financial executives are struggling to survive the financial crisis."
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The Washington Times reports this morning that "top advisers and aides" to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign "are going on the record" to defend Gov. Sarah Palin "from the barrage of anonymous accusations" she's faced "particularly since the election." The Times reports that top aide Mark Salter told the newspaper, "I can say on the record that all this is way overblown and some of the stuff I've read in recent days, whether it's about Governor Palin or our Mr. McCain campaign staff, is fictional." Others refuting stories about Palin's clashes with the McCain campaign include senior advisor Charles L. Black and chief strategist Steve Schmidt.
"Joe The Plumber," Dismissive Of McCain, Obama, Lauds Palin The New York Post reports, "Joe the Plumber - poster boy for John McCain's campaign - is now dissing his candidate," saying, "it doesn't matter if McCain or Obama won this election; either way, politicians in general don't give a rip about us." However, he "said he loved one person in the GOP camp - Sarah Palin."
The Politico reports, "Talk of the potential Republican field in the 2012 presidential election is already underway." A couple of "potential candidates will be in Iowa before month's end, multiple prospects -- almost certainly including Sarah Palin -- will make high-profile appearances this week at the Republican Governors Association meeting, and Newt Gingrich's name has already been floated in a Bob Novak column." Mike Huckabee is slated to visit Iowa "Nov. 20 for stops in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines to hawk his new book." Meanwhile, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) is scheduled to make "his first trip to Iowa on Nov. 22," where he'll keynote a banquet being held by a conservative group. The Politico also mentions as potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates: South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and Mitt Romney, among others. The AP runs a brief, similar report under the headline "Republicans Gear Up For 2012."
In an article in the Washington Post, Deborah Howell, the Post's ombudsman, wrote, "The Post provided a lot of good campaign coverage, but readers have been consistently critical of the lack of probing issues coverage and what they saw as a tilt toward Democrat Barack Obama. My surveys, which ended on Election Day, show that they are right on both counts." Howell adds, "Some readers thought The Post went over [Gov. Sarah] Palin with a fine-tooth comb and neglected [Sen. Joe] Biden. They are right; it was a serious omission." The Washington Times notes the Post ombudsman's findings and adds, "Revelations of a pro-Obama press are not new. A Pew Research Center survey released in late October found, for example, that 70 percent of voters agreed that the press wanted Mr. Obama to win the White House; the figure was 62 percent even among Democratic respondents."
Media May Take More Adversarial Stance Once Obama Assumes Office Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post writes, "Journalists, who were widely seen as giving Obama an easy ride during the campaign, generally hailed his election as a breakthrough moment for racial progress. Once a president takes office, though, an adversarial relationship usually flourishes, at least with beat reporters."
New MSNBC Slogan Raises Eyebrows The New York Times reports, "Watch MSNBC, a new commercial for the cable channel intones, and 'experience the power of change.'" The Times asks, "Is the channel, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, introducing a new slogan that calls to mind President-elect Barack Obama's campaign message? MSNBC says it is not. But the commercial, which began last week, stirred fresh complaints from the network's critics."
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Jay Leno: "Been a lot of stories from Germany about how America has come to terms with its past and is beginning to make up for it. Now look. I know our country is not perfect, but we do a pretty good job working on our problems. Do we need a lecture from Germany? I mean, hey, when they elect a Jewish chancellor, give me a call. Okay?"
Jay Leno: "Everybody is speculating now what the future of the GOP will be. GOP now stands for, of course, 'Gang up On Palin.'"
Jay Leno: "Hey, did you see this story in 'Newsweek' this week? One of the things they complained about is that when some campaign staffers went up to Sarah Palin's hotel room to talk to her, she answered the door wearing nothing but a towel. Have you heard this? Apparently, some of the guys on the campaign staff complained. Yeah, yeah, the ones it didn't happen to."
David Letterman: "I feel bad for John McCain. I guess that endorsement from Dick Cheney came a little too late."
David Letterman: "And this is sad. You hate hearing about this, but staffers are saying that John McCain is depressed. And I think there is something true to the story, because I heard today that he had made an appointment with Joe the therapist."
Conan O'Brien: "Today, at his first press conference as president-elect, Barack Obama said America will succeed if we can put aside partisanship and politics. Nice. Yeah. In other words, we're totally screwed."
Jimmy Kimmel: "Obama held the first news conference today as president-elect. Some veteran White House reporters were a little bit confused because he didn't make up any words and almost everything he said made sense."
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