President-elect Barack Obama's appointees to top national security posts are receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews from media commentators and politicians of both parties. The New York Times notes Obama "introduced his team one by one, starting with Senator Clinton, his former bitter rival for the Democratic presidential nomination; then Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who will stay on, at least for a time, in the new administration; Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander, to be national security adviser; Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona to be secretary of homeland security: Susan E. Rice to be ambassador to the United Nations, and Eric H. Holder Jr. to be attorney general.
The Financial Times calls Obama's pick "strong on experience" and tilting "towards the hawkish wing of the Democratic party." The Hill says the announcements continue "a trend in which the president-elect has shifted toward the center. " The AP refers to "experienced centrists," whose selection signals "a more pragmatic, less ideological approach to asserting American leadership in the world." The New York Times says "the occasion was solemn, but like a wedding where the parents are divorced, the ceremony was carefully choreographed to avert awkward moments and camouflage past unpleasantness." CNN's The Situation Room called Obama's team "a powerhouse collection of high intellect, diverse opinion and big ego."
The Politico, under the headline "5 Things The War Cabinet Says About Obama," says this morning that the selections reveal Obama "is an intellectual, who is more impressed by academic and governing credentials than familiarity and loyalty. ... He is willing to take big risks. ... He is very focused on governing -- and prefers persuasion to force. ... He isn't so disdainful of the 'Washington insiders' after all. ... He is willing to jettison campaign promises to suit the political landscape" The Wall Street Journal says Obama's selections mark "a clean break from Bush administration policies on Iraq, Afghanistan and overseas diplomacy." NBC Nightly News reported Obama "went for pragmatism over ideology. And it's clear that he has decided to have a team that will emphasize not just American military might but also a return to diplomacy as a way to solve America's and the world's problems." The CBS Evening News noted that during the announcement, "Obama made clear that he, not they, will be setting national security policy."
The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Roll Call and the Washington Times also report on Obama's team. The Washington Post editorializes that "all of the national security officials Mr. Obama named yesterday are proven pragmatists and team players. Yes, that includes Ms. Clinton."
On Fox News' Special Report roundtable, columnist Charles Krauthammer said, "If he has Clinton in the cabinet at that high a post and James Jones, who are the quintessential centrist establishment figures, and he keeps Bob Gates on at Defense, that's the kind of change I can believe in. It is, I'm sure, a disappointment to his left."
On CNN's The Situation Room, Bill Bennett said the Obama cabinet was "pretty good," adding, "Given that the other team won, this is a pretty impressive team, as things go. It could be a lot worse."
At his news conference yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama discussed his goal of removing US troops from Iraq. The AP reports the President-elect "says the US-Iraq security agreement approved by Iraq's parliament puts the US on a 'glide path' toward reducing forces there." Obama said he "still thinks 16 months is the 'right time frame' for removing US combat troops from Iraq." The Washington Times runs a similar report. On MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asked Christopher Hitchens of Vanity Fair about President-elect Obama's renewed commitment "to removing our combat troops from Iraq in 16 months." Hitchens said, "Well, he's been rescued by the Iraqi parliament. I mean, he's probably the luckiest politician one's ever seen since Kennedy in any case. But the real luck is that Iraqis are demanding roughly what he's been asking for, for a long time, which is a deadline and a date certain."
Reporting from Baghdad on the recently-passed security agreement between the US and Iraq, the Christian Science Monitor says "a surprising development has emerged in this city's streets and its corridors of power the United States and its 140,000 troops have become increasingly irrelevant."
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The Washington Post reports the "odds that terrorists will soon strike a major city with weapons of mass destruction are now better than even, a bipartisan congressionally mandated task force concludes in a draft study that warns of growing threats from rogue states, nuclear smuggling networks and the spread of atomic know-how in the developing world." The threat assessment "singled out Pakistan as a grave concern because of its terrorist networks, history of instability and arsenal of several dozen nuclear warheads."
Most media analyses are attributing yesterday's historic stock market plunge to new reports asserting that the US economy is in the midst of a recession. The Financial Times reports that "so clear were the signs of downturn in the US that the National Bureau of Economic Research, the most prestigious US independent economic authority, said the country had been in recession since December 2007. The gloom prompted a near 9 per cent fall in the S&P 500 index."
The NBER announcement led all three network newscasts last night. ABC World News reported "the bleak news sent stocks reeling again." The CBS Evening News said "the signs were everywhere, but now it's official. We are in a recession." NBC Nightly News reported, "While a lot of Americans could have told you we've been in a recession for a while, it's another thing to hear it officially."
The AP notes "the White House commented on the news that a second downturn has officially begun on President George W. Bush's watch without ever actually using the word 'recession,' a term the president and his aides have repeatedly avoided." The Washington Post reports "the NBER committee could eventually conclude that the recession has already ended. However, economists outside the group think that is unlikely, given that most economic data released in recent weeks have been getting worse, not better."
The AP notes stocks "suffered one of its worst days since the financial meltdown Monday, slicing 680 points off the Dow Jones industrial average." The Wall Street Journal reports, "The selloff, on many investors' first day back from the Thanksgiving holiday, spurred concerns that the rally of the five previous trading days might have been a temporary bounce rather than the start of a lasting recovery." The Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Financial Times run similar reports.
The New York Times reports that since the US "officially sank into a recession last December...the downturn is already longer than the average for all recessions since World War II, according to the committee of economists responsible for dating the nation's business cycles." The Los Angeles Times runs a similar story under the headline "Recession Could Last Into 2010."
Meanwhile, USA Today reports that "as bad news on the economy continues to pour in...forecasts become more dire." Yesterday, "the Institute for Supply Management said its gauge of manufacturing activity fell in November to the lowest level in 26 years as measures of orders, production and jobs all fell." The Financial Times also reports the ISM number.
Fed Signals New Steps To Revive Economy The Wall Street Journal reports Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke "laid out new steps the Fed might take to lift the economy." Bernanke said "more reductions in short-term interest rates are 'certainly feasible.'" Other "steps could include an unusual attempt to bring down long-term interest rates by purchasing Treasury notes and bonds, something the Fed hasn't done since the early 1950s."
Media analysts are citing President Bush's interview on ABC last night, and his remarks on Marking World AIDS Day, as evidence that he has shifted his focus toward burnishing his legacy. The AP reports Bush "said Monday that his presidential initiative on the deadly disease has already met its goal of treating 2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa." The AP reports in another story that President-elect Obama said, "I salute President Bush for his leadership in crafting a plan for AIDS relief in Africa and backing it up with funding dedicated to saving lives and preventing the spread of the disease." ABC World News noted Bush said "his initiative to treat two million people with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa has met its goal."
With analysts detecting a "new candor" in the President's words, two statements from yesterday's appearances are getting particular attention: His assertion that he "was unprepared for war" when he was elected in 2000, and his expression of regret over the severity of the recent financial crisis. Under the headline "Reflecting On His Tenure, Bush Shows New Candor," the Washington Post reports the president "was unusually blunt in identifying shortcomings during his tenure -- saying that his 'biggest regret' was getting the intelligence wrong in Iraq, and conceding that he was not ready to be a wartime president when he first took office."
Fox's Wallace Defends Bush The Washington Times reports Fox News journalist Chris Wallace defended President Bush against criticism by Hollywood filmmaker Ron Howard that the president has abused his office in a way similar to President Richard Nixon." Wallace said, "I think to compare what Nixon did, and the abuses of power for pure political self preservation, to George W. Bush trying to protect this country -- even if you disagree with rendition or waterboarding -- it seems to me is both a gross misreading of history both then and now."
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin "roared back onto the campaign trail Monday, calling on Georgians to re-elect incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss in his hotly contested runoff with Democrat Jim Martin." CNN's The Situation Room said Palin is "back on the stump as if she never left." With "adoring signs and 'Palin for President' T-shirts, it may be easy to forget Palin came to Georgia campaigning for someone else, Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, facing a runoff election Tuesday." McClatchy reports Palin "lent her rock-star status" to Chambliss "in a state fly-around that GOP strategists hope will help put Chambliss over the top" today. The Washington Post adds Chambliss aides "said her four events combined to draw more than 20,000 people."
The New York Times reports Republicans "across the country are keeping their fingers crossed and their wallets open for Mr. Chambliss" who is "favored by most political experts in a runoff election Tuesday." Although both parties "have flooded Georgia with national strategists, speakers and volunteers, Republicans have outgunned Democrats in fund-raising and advertising." The AP reports, "So far, early voting statistics are encouraging for the Chambliss camp. Of the nearly 500,000 early voters who returned to the polls, turnout among black voters is down and turnout among white males is up compared with advance voting before the general election. White males normally are a solid Republican constituency in Georgia, while exit polls showed that Martin won the votes of nine of ten Georgia blacks who registered a preference."
Two Polls Show Chambliss Leading A Poll Position/Insider Advantage survey of 744 likely Georgia voters taken November 30 shows Chambliss leading Martin 50%-46%. A Public Policy Polling (D) survey of 1,276 likely voters taken November 29-30 shows Chambliss leading Martin 53%-46%.
GOP, Allied Groups Outspending Martin Supporters 4-1 The Wall Street Journal reports "dozens of out-of-state interest groups on both sides of the aisle have flooded the state with political advertisements and manpower in an effort to influence the race." Overall, "interest groups, candidates and political parties have spent more than $17 million during the four-week runoff campaign," about as much as was spent in the nine month general election. Since Republicans "took a beating at the polls nationwide Nov. 4, business groups and conservative organizations have spent $4.2 million here on Sen. Chambliss, nearly four times as much as labor unions and liberal advocacy groups have spent on Mr. Martin since Election Day."
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that with 92 percent of ballots recounted in the Minnesota Senate race, Sen. Norm Coleman (R) now leads challenger Al Franken (D) by 340 votes. The AP adds, "By Friday, all of the state's 87 counties should be done with their collective review of 2.9 million ballots. A five-member board will gather beginning Dec. 16 to rule" on each candidates' ballot challenges.
However, the Franken campaign is signaling that the end of the recount may not be the end of their battle for the seat. The St. Paul Pioneer-Press says Franken's campaign "pushed Monday to find votes it hopes will close the gap," and "Franken recount attorney Marc Elias said nine counties have not provided a court-ordered list of rejected absentee ballots and threatened to take legal action if they did not immediately comply. He also renewed a call to look into discrepancies between the number of recounted ballots and those cast on Election Day - what Elias termed 'missing' ballots." The Hill adds Franken's campaign may also "ask the Democratic-led Senate to intervene on his behalf to allow some disqualified absentee ballots to be counted in his quest to unseat" Coleman. Elias "made the case to reporters Monday that as many as 1,000 absentee ballots were improperly disqualified and that the Senate or the courts may need to step in to resolve the issue."
Bloomberg News reports President-elect Barack Obama "bet on an unprecedented surge of new voters to carry him to victory last month. He won without the record turnout. About 130 million Americans voted, up from 122 million four years ago. Still, turnout fell short of the 140 million voters many experts had forecast."
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Jay Leno: "Stock market lost 679 points today. It's not even a stock that's a flea market. That's what it is now."
Jay Leno: "Right wing pundit Ann Coulter has broken her jaw, and the doctor has wired it shut. ... He didn't wire it shut for medical reasons. He said it was the holidays, he wanted to do something nice for people."
Jay Leno: "Oh, speaking of religion, Barack Obama still has not chosen a church to attend in Washington, DC. How hard could it be for him to find a reverend? How hard is that?"
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