Political Bulletin

WASHINGTON NEWS

Husband An Obstacle As Obama Ponders Hillary For State

President-elect Obama is reportedly considering Democratic primary rival Sen. Hillary Clinton for the post of Secretary of State. The New York Times reports on its front page that Obama's advisers "have begun reviewing former President Bill Clinton's finances and activities to see whether they would preclude the appointment" Mrs. Clinton as secretary of state. The Washington Post says Sen. Clinton and the former President "could be positioned to lead a public-private partnership on the global stage unlike any before it, one that experts say would bring with it a host of potential benefits and pitfalls for the new president."

NBC Nightly News reported last night, "Speculation continues about...Clinton...after her meeting with Obama in Chicago last week. Asked about it in Kuwait today, Bill Clinton said if Obama asks her, Hillary Clinton would be great at the job."

Bloomberg News reports Defense Secretary Robert Gates "may be closer to being tapped for extended duty by Barack Obama because of the near certainty a Democrat possibly...Clinton -- will be named secretary of state and Gates's willingness to accept a new team around him, according to Democratic and Republican experts."

The AP reports Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said yesterday on "Fox News Sunday" that "it wouldn't be a bad idea if President-elect Barack Obama named Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. 'It seems to me she's got the experience." Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said that "he did not think Clinton, if nominated, would have trouble winning confirmation."

The Washington Post reports in its "In the Loop" column that "should anyone need fodder for an old-fashioned grilling before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, they can get all they need in a blistering memo that Obama campaign aide Greg Craig put out on March 11." The Post adds that "after a passing shot at Clinton's 'failed effort' on health insurance, Craig, a senior State Department staffer during her husband's presidency, argued that her 'claims of foreign policy experience are exaggerated.' He then delivers a claim-by-claim rebuttal."

Kissinger Endorses Clinton The Financial Times reports former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger "yesterday gave his firm backing to Hillary Clinton as the next US Secretary of State" saying "at the World Economic Forum's India meeting...'I believe it would be an outstanding appointment.'"

Obama Selects Key White House Personnel

President-elect Barack Obama's latest White House appointments are receiving generally positive media coverage this morning. The AP says Obama's "White House leadership team...combines experienced Washington insiders who can help build a bridge with Congress and trusted associates who share his Chicago roots." The "appointments that Obama has announced in recent days stand in contrast to those of George W. Bush, who relied heavily on fellow Texans for top posts. They had virtually no experience dealing with Congress, nor did the former Texas governor who was their boss."

The Washington Post says Washington lawyer Gregory B. Craig "will be White House counsel," and Obama's Senate chief of staff, Peter M. Rouse, 62, "was officially announced as a senior White House adviser. Two deputy chiefs of staff were also announced: Jim Messina and Mona K. Sutphen."

The Wall Street Journal, under the headline "Obama Hires More Clinton White House Veterans," and notes "Craig, a former State Department official who also served as former President Bill Clinton's impeachment lawyer," also "advised Mr. Obama on foreign policy during the presidential campaign." In addition, the transition announced that "Phil Schiliro, a veteran House aide, will be the president's liaison to Congress."

McClatchy reports, "Come January, an African-American from the South Side is heading to the White House, not as a guest but as president. And he's taking a slew of Chicago Democrats with him," including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Bill Daley, and John Podesta.

Time reports that by "all indications, this is shaping up to be one of the most amicable transfers of power between the parties in recent years. ... Since September, Podesta has been quietly working with current White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and Bolten's deputy, Blake Gottesman, to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible." Time reports by "historical standards, George W. Bush and Barack Obama were remarkably civil in their Oval Office summit. ... Despite the loathing for Bush that animates many in his party, Obama ran less against the man than his record."

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports the Center for a New American Security "a small think tank here with generally middle-of-the-road policy views, is rapidly emerging as a top farm team for the incoming Obama administration."

U.S. News and World Report also focuses on the transition behind-the-scenes at the Energy Department.

And in an interview with U.S. News and World Report, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs is quoted as saying that the "100-day framework often used to assess a new president's achievements -- which started with Franklin Roosevelt's hyperactive first three months in 1933 -- may be outmoded because today's problems are so numerous and complex."

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Partisan Battle Stalls Detroit Bailout

The New York Times reports a "proposed bailout of imperiled American automakers is coming under even more criticism as the departing Congress returns on Monday for a final partisan fight over the issue," which "makes it quite likely that any separate bailout...will have to wait until after President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in on Jan. 20." In a "60 Minutes" interview, "Mr. Obama said he thought it was necessary to help the auto industry," but "he added, 'I think that it can't be a blank check.'"

Obama also said on CBS's 60 Minutes that the US should be "creating a bridge loan to somewhere, as opposed to a bridge loan to nowhere. And that's I think what you haven't yet seen. That's something that I think we're going to have to come up with." Bloomberg News also notes Obama's "60 Minutes" comments about the Detroit bailout.

Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News noted that the Senate is expected to begin debate the bailout today, and the AP reports Senate Democrats plan to attach the "auto bailout to a House-passed bill extending unemployment benefits; a vote was expected as early as Wednesday."

The Washington Post reports that the Detroit bailout "will include provisions designed to protect taxpayers, congressional Democrats said yesterday, including a ban on bonuses for employees who make more than $200,000 a year and a government oversight board with power to veto corporate decisions."

USA Today reports, "Top Republicans heaped scorn Sunday" on the Democratic proposal, "raising doubts about whether the auto bailout can pass the lame-duck Congress that begins today." The AP notes that "at least two Republican senators support an automaker bailout - George Voinovich of Ohio and Kit Bond of Missouri."

On NBC's Meet The Press, Sen. Carl Levin contended, "This is a national problem, first of all, without any question. ... This is a Main Street problem. ... The auto industry touches millions and millions of lives. One out of 10 jobs in this country are auto related."

UAW President Rules Out Labor Concessions The Financial Times reports that the United Auto Workers union "has ruled out concessions at least for the time being to help rescue the ailing Detroit-based car industry." However, the Wall Street Journal reports that he UAW "may not be able to escape further concessions if it hopes to get the government to bail out Detroit. Even labor's closest allies are coming out publicly to say the UAW must pitch in to sway a wary public and convince skeptical members of Congress that federal assistance" for Detroit "is a good investment for taxpayers."

G20 Seen As "Passing The Buck" To Obama

The Politico reports that "little was accomplished" at the G20 meeting in Washington over the weekend "besides passing the buck to incoming president Barack Obama." The group is scheduled to meet again on April 30, and Obama "should arrive...in a position of strength, Simon Johnson, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, told Politico."

The AP reports that the G20 leaders "kicked many hard details down the road for their next summit after...Obama takes office. Perhaps as important as the modest concrete steps they took, the leaders of the planet's richest nations - and some of the fastest-developing - made clear their recognition of the world's increasingly interconnected financial architecture and the responsibilities that go along with it."

The Financial Times reports in its story on the summit, "Both US and non-US officials said the outcome would depend on what the incoming Obama administration which takes office on January 20 decided to do." The Christian Science Monitor says that the meeting "was no Bretton Woods II," but notes that by the April meeting, "the US will be led by a new Obama administration, which may be more inclined than its Bush predecessor to accept international financial regulatory reforms."

USA Today reports in an analysis that the "summit reshaped global politics and may eventually reshape the global economy. But the gathering left numerous critical details unresolved." And the Wall Street Journal reports after a "weekend of emergency financial diplomacy, the question now is whether the world's biggest economic powers, in their haste to prevent a future crisis, may inadvertently worsen the current one."

Iraqi Legislators Likely To Approve Pact

Following the Iraqi cabinet's approval of a security pact with the US, some media reports now predict the agreement will also be endorsed by Parliament. The AP reports the cabinet passed the pact "overwhelmingly," and "there is a good chance parliament will pass the agreement with a large majority, since the parties that make up Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition government dominate the legislature." AFP notes that "speaking to reporters after the two-and-a-half hour meeting, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said all the most important political blocs had taken a 'positive position' on the deal."

NBC Nightly News, the only network newscast to air last night, also reported "the measure is expected to be approved by the full Iraqi parliament." The New York Times says "the proposed agreement, which took nearly a year to negotiate with the United States, not only sets a date for American troop withdrawal, but puts new restrictions on American combat operations in Iraq starting Jan. 1 and requires an American military pullback from urban areas by June 30." The Financial Times notes the "bilateral agreement" allows "US troops to remain in the country for three more years."

The Los Angeles Times reports "the country's most influential Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, indicated over the weekend that he would not oppose the latest draft."

A possible stumbling ground in Parliament could be a disagreement of the level of support needed to approve the pact. The Wall Street Journal reports "approval by 51% of the 275-member parliament is needed before the security pact can be signed by the US and Iraq, although opponents are arguing that a two-thirds vote is necessary."

Al Qaeda Exodus From Iraq Concerns US U.S. News and World Report reports that last week CIA Director Michael Hayden "portrayed the tribal areas [of Pakistan] as the focus of the counterterrorism efforts. In doing so, he appeared to break with President Bush, who as recently as last month was still calling Iraq the central front in the war against terrorism."

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

Republicans Debate Party's Direction

The New York Times reports on the ferment in Republican circles, noting that some conservatives "want a return to basics, arguing that President Bush abandoned conservative principles by expanding government and driving up spending. Others draw just the opposite conclusion, warning that Republicans have tried to appeal to too narrow a base and that the party must update the focus of conservatism, especially at a time when voters are thinking more about issues like jobs and health care than about abortion and gay rights."

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, on Fox News Sunday, contended that Republicans "have to be a conservative party and we should be. But we have to apply those principles in the context of a changing country. The demographics of the country is changing. The technology is changing. The economy is changing. The culture is changing. We have to learn to do a better job of applying our conservative principles.

GOPAC Chairman Michael Steele, also appearing on Fox News Sunday, added, "We don't know how to talk to people. We have absolutely forgotten how to communicate a message firmly...to espouse those very principles in the context of people's everyday lives. When you're talking about an economy that's slowing down, a war that they're concerned about, not to mention health care and other issues, our party has to have a voice. It has to have a relevant voice."

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, appearing on CBS's Face The Nation, said, "As Republicans we need to do three things to get back on track. We have to stop defending the kind of spending and out-of- control spending that we never tolerated in the other side. ... Number two, we've got to stop defending the kinds of corruption we'd rightfully criticize from the other party. ... Number three. We have to be the party that offers real solutions to the problems that American voters, American families, are worried about."

Roll Call reports Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander "argued that Republicans have failed to offer practical solutions to the problems facing Americans - and that it will take significant time and effort to put Republicans back on the winning track." Similarly, the Washington Times says Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, "poised to ascend to House Republicans' No. 2 leader this week, said the Republican Party in Washington is no longer 'relevant' to voters and must stop simply espousing principles. Instead, it must craft real solutions to health care and the economy."

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Jay Leno: "President Bush briefed President-elect Obama on the state of the nation this week. You know, look, I don't want to say things look bad, but Barack Obama's new slogan, 'Maybe we can.'"

Jay Leno: "This coming Monday, Barack Obama is going to have a meeting with John McCain. They're going to get together. McCain's still being a little stubborn. He insisted it be a town hall meeting."

David Letterman: "The Bushes are packing up. This is eight years they've lived in the White House, and this is interesting. They're going to be gone in January, and the $4 billion moving contract went to Halliburton."

Conan O'Brien: "John McCain was once again campaigning yesterday -- this is true -- this time for a Republican congressman who's facing a runoff election. So, McCain is out there stumping for him. And you can tell McCain's a little bitter about his defeat, because, instead of saying, 'My friends,' he now says, 'My ungrateful bastards.'"

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