President-elect Barack Obama yesterday announced additional Cabinet-level nominations, but the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, as the CBS Evening News reported, "continues to overshadow" his "transition to the White House." The President-elect "said he's anxious to release details about the issue hanging over his transition team. The report, outlining potential contacts between his aides and Governor Blagojevich, including a reported 21 taped conversations with his incoming Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, is being held until next week at the request of federal prosecutors." ABC World News noted the President-elect "said investigators have asked him to withhold details about contacts between his team and Blagojevich's office for now."
NBC Nightly News showed Obama saying, "You know, there's been a lot of speculation in the press that I would love to correct immediately." The Politico notes "Obama didn't elaborate on what reports he considered inaccurate. ... Reports have surfaced that...Emanuel provided a list of Senate candidates to Blagojevich, and that Emanuel was tape-recorded speaking to Blagojevich 21 different times about filling the seat, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday." Emanuel "has refused to comment. But he got a vote of confidence Wednesday morning from Obama's chief campaign strategist David Axelrod, who called Emanuel, a fellow Chicagoan, an 'enormous asset' to Obama."
The Illinois Supreme Court yesterday declined a request to find embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich unfit for office. CNN's The Situation Room reported that "without any comment, the state Supreme Court simply refuses to hear it, and the state attorney general says she's disappointed." WFLD-TV Chicago noted Attorney General Lisa Madigan's "motion sought to have Blagojevich declared unfit to serve as governor because of his legal troubles."
The AP reports "the court's decision renewed calls from Republicans for a special election to choose Obama's successor in the Senate." The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Politico, The Hill and New York Times run similar stories.
Blagojevich Attorney Criticizes Impeachment Effort The Washington Post reports Blagojevich Attorney Ed Genson "attacked impeachment proceedings as 'unfair and quite frankly illegal,' in a clear signal that the Illinois governor, charged by federal prosecutors with public corruption, will not leave office without a fight."
The Chicago Sun-Times reports Genson "asked that three members be removed from the committee because of the tone of their statements about the governor," but "the chairwoman of the panel, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), denied Genson's request, saying she was 'pleased with opening statements' by committee members and that they were committed to 'due process and fair play.'"
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports Blagojevich "will not use his constitutional powers to appoint anyone to replace the president-elect, his lawyer said on Wednesday." Genson said "the governor had concluded there was little point in attempting to nominate Mr Obama's replacement." The Chicago Tribune notes "the governor's spokesman could not confirm Genson's assertion but said Blagojevich wants a special election."
The New York Times reports Genson is "described as a master strategist who will fight to the end for his clients, rarely cutting plea deals." Blagojevich's choice of Genson "sent a clear sign that the governor did not intend to immediately resign."
Blagojevich Says He Will Be Vindicated Blagojevich briefly spoke to reporters yesterday. The CBS Evening News showed him saying, "I can't wait to begin to tell my side of the story and to address you guys and, most importantly, the people of Illinois. That's who I'm dying to talk to. There's a time and place for everything, that day will soon be here." NBC Nightly News also noted the Governor "said he was looking forward to doing even more talking, perhaps as soon as later this week."
Feds Want Blagojevich War Chest Frozen The Chicago Sun-Times reports Federal authorities "plan to freeze Gov. Blagojevich's campaign fund, crippling the governor's ability to use the money for his legal bills." The fund "had about $3.6 million" as of June 30.
Scandal Said To Hurt Labor Movement The Washington Times reports that American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President Gerald W. McEntee said in an interview that "the labor movement was damaged when the FBI linked" the Service Employees International Union "to Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich's effort to sell Illinois' US Senate seat and it hurts labor's push to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, unions' big legislative priority."
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NBC Nightly News reported President-elect Obama "plans to name Illinois Congressman Roy LaHood, a Republican, as his Secretary of Transportation." The CBS Evening News noted LaHood "will join Defense Secretary Gates as the second Republican in the cabinet."
The Wall Street Journal reports LaHood "is retiring from Congress" and "is very close to" incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. USA Today notes LaHood was "a trusted protégé of two top Republican leaders," Bob Michel and Denny Hastert," yet he "managed to develop close ties with partisan Democrats."
The Chicago Tribune describes LaHood as "an ideological moderate who has a well-established reputation for bipartisanship and efforts to encourage civil discourse in Congress." The AP reports, "It was not clear when the president-elect intended to formally announce his selection of LaHood." Roll Call, The Hill and New York Times also report on the appointment.
The New York Times reports the top American commanders responsible for Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Gen. Ray Odierno, have proposed "a new military plan for troop withdrawals from Iraq that was described in broad terms this week to President-elect Barack Obama," but it "falls short of the 16-month timetable Mr. Obama outlined during his election campaign, United States military officials said Wednesday." The plan calls for withdrawing "two more brigades, or some 7,000 to 8,000 troops, from Iraq in the first six months of 2009, the military officials said. But that would leave 12 combat brigades in Iraq by June 2009, and while declining to be more specific, the officials made clear that the withdrawal of all combat forces under the generals' recommendations would not come until some time after May 2010, Mr. Obama's target."
The AP reports, "Petraeus has assembled a team of experts to conduct an in-depth and comprehensive review of his command area; it is expected to be completed by early February. His aides said that is separate from the 'initial assessment' he offered in the letter to troops."
Brown Says UK To Withdraw Troops By June The Washington Post reports that during a visit to Baghdad yesterday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed "that British troops would withdraw from Iraq before June, virtually ending the role of the United States's most important coalition ally in Iraq." The AP and AFP, among other media outlets, also report on Brown's announcement.
Thirty-Five Iraqi Officials Detained For Coup Plot The New York Times reports on its front page that "up to 35 officials in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior ranking as high as general have been arrested over the past three days with some of them accused of quietly working to reconstitute Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, according to senior security officials in Baghdad." The "involvement of the counterterrorism unit speaks to the seriousness of the accusations, and several officials from the Ministries of the Interior and National Security said that some of those arrested were in the early stages of planning a coup."
To scant national media attention, President Bush defended his security policies yesterday in a speech at the US Army War College in Carlisle, PA. The AP reports that Bush, "ever focused on his legacy, said Wednesday 'there can be no debate' about his record of preventing another terrorist attack." UPI notes that "when outlining the strategy his administration pursued to keep the United States safe, Bush noted the results achieved and the institutions in place for future presidents 'to carry on this struggle.'" AFP quotes Bush saying, "We'll leave behind a vastly upgraded network of homeland defenses." The Hill runs a similar report.
Most local TV and print accounts emphasize the audience's enthusiasm and support for Bush. The Harrisburg Patriot News reports "the crowd at the US Army War College ate up" Bush's "applause lines, talked glowingly of his leadership style and thought little of his low approval ratings" WGAL-TV Harrisburg reported the President Bush received "enthusiastic applause" as he offered a "post-9/11 resume, from ramping up terrorist intelligence, to keeping America safe since the attacks."
Much more skeptical is the account in the Washington Post, which reports "Bush listed a series of terrorist plots allegedly foiled by US officials since 2001, including some, such as a fanciful plan to topple the Sears Tower in Chicago, that counterterrorism officials have called aspirational at best."
Bush Says He Didn't "Compromise" For Polls Fox News' Special Report interviewed Bush last night. The President said that "if you make decisions based upon polls, you'll be a failure as president. And I've been a wartime president. I've dealt with two economic recessions now. I've had a lot of serious challenges. What matters to me is that I didn't compromise my soul to be a popular guy."
Chertoff Touts Lack Of Attack Since 9/11 USA Today runs an edited transcript of an interview with DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, in which he credited the Administration "for having successfully defended this country from another terrorist attack" while noting "the dangers that lie ahead, including the possibility of a nuclear, chemical or biological attack on US soil." Asked about the legacy that will be left by the Administration, Chertoff said, "It has really been the president's leadership that has allowed us to avoid attack."
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Caroline Kennedy, seeking to be appointed to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's seat, drew the attention of all three major network TV news outlets on Wednesday by publicly announcing her interest in the seat and actively campaigning for it. ABC World News reported, "For the first time Caroline Kennedy publicly declared her interest in the Senate seat Hillary Clinton is about to vacate. Kennedy traveled to upstate New York, meeting political leaders there, talking to mayors of Rochester and Syracuse about her desire for the job." In a similar report, The CBS Evening News related that "Kennedy went public today about her desire to be the next US Senator from New York." NBC Nightly News reported Kennedy "showed today she meant it about wanting Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat." However, NBC added, "Right away, she ran into questions about her qualifications" but "aides whisked her away."
The New York Times added that though "Kennedy's aides issued no press releases and declined to provide advance details of her schedule, so quickly did word of her plans spread that she was met at every stop by crowds of reporters, photographers and curious onlookers. And as the day wore on, the carefully maintained silence surrounding her campaign-that-isn't cracked, then shattered under the weight of the intense public interest her bid has drawn." The AP adds, "In Rochester, Kennedy stuck closely to a tightly controlled script but started to sound themes apparently designed to assuage those who question her readiness for a high-profile elected office," saying, "I just hope everybody understands that it is not a campaign but that I have had a lifelong devotion to public service...I think I really could help bring change to Washington."
A Republican who is expected to run for the seat in 2010 fired what may be the opening shots of that campaign. During an appearance on CNN's The Situation Room, NY3 Rep. Peter King (R) "said there is "no evidence" that Kennedy is "qualified. And I'm not saying you have to be a politician, or to have held office to be a United States senator. But, you have to be somewhere in the public arena, whether it's business or labor, or civil rights or fighting for a particular cause, or, the military. The fact is, she has a well-known name. Her face has been in a lot of magazines. But, very limited involvement in the public sphere." The Politico adds, "If Kennedy is appointed...to take Clinton's seat, King expressed confidence that he will be able to take the seat in the 2010 election. 'I believe if I can get together enough money and commitments over the next several months, I will certainly run and I wouldn't run if I didn't think I could win,'" King said.
Kennedy Said Not To Be "Shoo-In" For Seat On its front page, the Los Angeles Times reports, "Despite the collective swooning over Kennedy this week, it's far from certain that she is a shoo-in to become the next senator from New York. ... A source close to Paterson said the governor won't be bulldozed into a decision."
U.S. News & World Report reported on its website that Gov. Sarah Palin "has some important political decisions to make. Republican insiders say that if she wants to maintain her viability as a presidential contender in 2012...she needs to bring aboard some savvy political operatives who can help her decide what kind of events she should do and which she should avoid." One "longtime party strategist" said, "She's still a hot property, but she needs to put a system together. She doesn't have much in the way of political infrastructure up there [in Alaska]. It will be interesting to see how she allocates her time." Another "senior Republican" said, "If she is going to be a national figure, she needs to be known for her reform work in Alaska."
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Jay Leno: "That Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush the other day said he planned his attack for months. Planned it for months? ... I mean, take off one shoe, you throw it. 'Oh!' you throw the other shoe," but he had to plan this "for months. And he still missed both times!"
Jay Leno: "Anyway, the guy is being called a hero in the Arab world. So, he has this plan and it's a failure and he's a hero. You know, if that's the standard, Bush should be the biggest hero in the Arab world."
David Letterman: "Everybody looks forward to 'Time' magazine naming their 'person of the year.' And today, they named Barack Obama person of the year. ... That's right. Finally, things are starting to go his way."
Conan O'Brien: "Speaking of the President, in a recent interview, President Bush said that he has a collection of over 250 autographed baseballs. Yeah. Unfortunately, the question the interviewer asked was: Do you have an exit strategy for Iraq?"
Conan O'Brien: "The Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear a motion to throw" Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich "out of office. Yeah. Afterwards, Blagojevich thanked the Supreme Court and said, 'Your check is in the mail.'"
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