Transcript: President Barack Obama, First Press Conference, February 9, 2009

(Source: CNN)

President Obama: Good evening, everybody. Please be seated.

Before I take your questions tonight, I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible.

Read more

Biden’s Choice

The only “news” so far today about the new Obama Administration is that Vice President-elect Joe Biden had a choice: Veep or Secretary of State.

When Biden was announced as President-elect Barack Obama’s running mate, I remember thinking that it was a good choice in many respects, but America was losing its best candidate for Secretary of State on the Democratic bench.  I also remember thinking that I hoped Biden wouldn’t become relegated to the old-style vice presidency, state funerals and show-the-flag campaigns.  They guy is too smart, too centered and works too hard at understanding the world and America’s unique place in it to not have a seat at the big table of American foreign policy.  In other words, would be better served by keeping Biden right where we was, as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee?

When Dr. Jill Biden let the cat out of the bag today that her husband had a choice, two more things struck me.  First, her explanation that part of the decision centered around their family.  I think this says as much about the genuinely good guy Biden is as anything.  Second, if he had a choice, he had some say.  Biden also understands what he has to offer and its more than ceremony.  If he had the choice and took veep, I’m betting he also go himself a seat at the big table.  We’re not going to see four years of a co-presidency, as with DICK Cheney, but I’m hopeful that Biden will be there, at the big table, for the biggest decisions regarding an Obama foreign policy.

Transcript: Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden – Interview – ABC’s ‘This Week’ with George Stephanopolous | December 21, 2008

(Source: CQ Transriptswire)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hello again. We begin today with our exclusive headliner, Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

He’s been keeping an unusually low profile since the election. In fact, this is his first interview, so we had a lot to talk about when I traveled to Wilmington on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BIDEN: Thanks for coming up.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Sure.

(voice over): For the first time, Biden discussed what he’s been doing during the transition, and his role in the Obama White House. He opened up on Dick Cheney , Hillary Clinton, and his new puppy, too.

But we began with the new administration’s first order of business, enacting the most ambitious economic recovery plan since FDR’s 100 days.

(on camera): I’ve talked to several people on Capitol Hill who say that your team is talking about a package in the $700 billion range — it could rise, but in the $700 billion range.

BIDEN: What we’re doing is putting together what we think will be the economic package that will do two things. One, stem the hemorrhaging of the loss of jobs, and begin to create new jobs. Read more

What Happened to the Automakers Bailout?

Remember when the U.S. financial services sector was in its darkest hour?  My Lord, Congress, the President, Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and candidates for county commissioner all called for a bailout – nearly a trillion dollars worth.  Inside of a week Barney Frank and Chris Dodd marshalled the troops on Capitol Hill and we had ourselves a big bill.  Even being defeated in the House on its first go-round couldn’t stop the $700 billion love offering to the likes of Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.

Our government – Democrats, Republicans – executive and legislative branch – fell over themselves to deliver for Wall Street.  John McCain even suspended his presidential campaign for about 12 hours.

The Wall Street/Main Street construct has been used so much as to become trite.  Well, here goes another one.  Washington, Main Street needs some help now.  It’s called keeping the Big Three U.S. automakers solvent in the worst economy since the 1930s. 

Forget about the entitled UAW-represented autoworker for a moment and think about that machine shop you drive by on your way to work every day.  Think for a moment about the truck driver living next door.  Ask yourself what’s going to happen to your cousin Bob who works at the Chevy dealership and his 75 co-workers. Read more

Transcript: Obama News Conference Announcing Hillary Clinton and National Security Team | December 1

(Source: CQ Transcripts Wire)

SPEAKERS: PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA; SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, D-N.Y.; SUSAN E. RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY WORKING GROUP LEADER, OBAMA-BIDEN PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM; GENERAL JIM JONES (USMC, RET.) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT M. GATES;
GOVERNOR JANET NAPOLITANO, D-ARIZ., ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER, OBAMA-BIDEN PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION TEAM; FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER; VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

[*] OBAMA: Good morning, everybody. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Last week, we announced our economic team which is working as we speak to craft an economic recovery program to create jobs and grow our struggling economy.

Today, Vice President-elect Biden and I are pleased to announce our national security team. The national security challenges we face are just as great and just as urgent as our economic crisis. We are fighting two wars. Our old conflicts remain unresolved. And newly- asserted powers have put strains on the international system. Read more

Map of How Franklin County Voted in Prez Election

From the looks of things, there is a distinct core of reasonable, thoughtful folk dedicated to the change we need surrounded by a throng of Sarah Palin fans several miles wide but only an inch deep.  Thanks to the Columbus Dispatch.  To see the original, larger version of the map go here.

No Doubt About It – Lieberman is Still A Punk

… And the Senate Democrats Got Punk’d

In April of this year, when asked by a Fox Radio host whether or not Barack Obama might be a Marxist, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-CT, replied, “I must say that’s a good question …”

He did stutter out a “I’d hesitate to say he’s a Marxist,” toward the end of an incoherent answer to the question, but come on – hesitate?  That’s a good question? 

Democrats, face it.  When Joe Lieberman went in with John McCain for president, he went all in.  That comment from April was just the beginning of a Spring, Summer and Fall’s worth of inanity from poor old Joe.  Oh, and Senate Democrats – face this.  You didn’t do the right thing and put Lieberman out on his pathetic ass and he made you all look like idiots today on Meet the Press.

Here’s one of my favorites from this mealy-mouthed, sanctimonious douche bag:

MR. BROKAW: You’ve always, as a public servant, held other people accountable. You were the only one to speak out on the floor, for example, against Bill Clinton during the time of the impeachment. Holding yourself accountable, looking back over the last six weeks, two months or so, what are the statements that you most regret?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I don’t want to go into the details. Let me just say this, I don’t regret having supported John McCain because I sincerely believed in his experience and his extraordinary record of working across party lines to get things done. …

What an ass!  Brokaw didn’t ask him if he regretted supporting John McCain.  He asked him if he had regrets over anything he said on the campaign trail.  The first thing Lieberman says in answer is essentially, “I support John McCain.”  Can someone ask this guy to shut up?  I can’t believe we had the chance to relegate him to the back benches and he’s still out there running his mouth – to no good. If you saw the interview or read the rest of the above quote or the whole transcript, you come away thinking that this guy will say anything – or nothing.

Here’s another good one:

MR. BROKAW: But you’re being judged not just by your fellow senators, but by Democrats across this country as well, because actions do have consequences. Here’s what you had to say at the Republican National Convention about the choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate, right after you disqualified, in effect, Barack Obama because he wasn’t yet ready. Here’s what you had to say about Sarah Palin.

(Videotape, September 2, 2008)

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Now, I’m honored to say just a word about the great lady that John McCain has selected as his running mate.

The truth is, she is a leader we can count on to help John shake up Washington.

That’s why I sincerely believe that the real ticket for change this year is the McCain-Palin ticket.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: Did you honestly believe that she was more qualified than you–you were on the short list for John McCain at one point–or than your friend Joe Biden to be the vice president of the United States.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: It’s so sweet of you to run that clip and ask me that question this morning, Tom. Look, I, I got into this in December of 2007 to support my friend John McCain, who I’ve worked with on a host of different issues–climate change, lobbying and ethics reform, national security–because I thought he was better prepared than any of the candidates at that time–because everybody was in the race–to be the president we needed. I’m going to leave the political commentary and analysis looking backward to others. I’m focused on going ahead, now empowered to be chairman of homeland security by my colleagues in the, in the caucus and empowered to work in the caucus with the president-elect and his team to try to get our economy going again and protect our safety.

Lieberman didn’t answer the question, did he?  To answer that question honestly, he would have had to have said, “I was wrong.”  Apparently Lieberman gave up straight talk at the same time his good friend John McCain did.

Lieberman says he hasn’t felt close to the Senate Democrats since the Democratic Party supported Ned Lamont – the primary-elected Democrat in Connecticut’s 2006 U.S. Senate race.  Lieberman lost to Lamont in the primary and ran in the fall and won as an Independent.  Since then, Lieberman has more often than not cast aside Democratic ideals and policies in a two-year fit of pique. 

I wonder if this has ever occurred to Joe: If he wouldn’t have lost a Democratic primary, perhaps he would have had the support in 2006 of the Democratic Party.  It would have seemed somewhat un-democratic to not support Lamont.  Elections do mean something, Joe. 

It’s too bad this 2008 election didn’t end up meaning more for Lieberman.  Thanks, Senator Reid.

Full Report: Ohio Inspector General Finds Fault With ‘Joe the Plumber’ Records Search by State Agency

Click here for full report from State of Ohio Inspector General, Re: Joe the Plumber Record Search.

Sunday Papers – November 9, 2008

New York Times Magazine

• After the Imperial Presidency– Jonathan Mahler
• Payday Lenders, Check Cashers – Redeemed?– Douglas McGray
• Deprogramming Jihadists– Katherine Zoepf

New York Times

• Obama team weighs what to take on first
• Harsh words about Obama? Never mind
• Citing workload public lawyers refuse new cases
• How Merrill fell
• Pelosi, Reid want aid for U.S. automakers
• Op-Ed, Frank Rich: It still felt good morning after
• Op-Ed, Al Gore: The climate for change
• Op-Ed, Thomas Friedman: Show me the money
• Op-Ed, Nicholas Kristof: Obama and the War on Brains
• Rice visits West Bank
• U.S. electricity project in Afghanistan
• Back home, Palin finds landscape changed
• After push for Obama, Unions seek new rules

Washington Post

• Preparing for the Obama era
• Reid, Pelosi urge Treasury to extend aid to automakers
• Self-sufficiency evades Iraqi security forces
• Obama positioned to reverse Bush actions
• Medvedev calls Obama; Kremlin describes call
• Congressional Democrats say economy first priority
• Op-Ed, Rich Lowry: The right needs to get centered
• Op-Ed, Joseph Stiglitz: More pain to come even if he’s perfect
• Op-Ed, Ron Suskind: U.S. has power – it could use authority
• Op-Ed, David Broder: Governors know best
• Op-Ed, George Will: Democratic ironies and Republican Afflictions

Los Angeles Times

• Democrats set sights on Texas
• Public works on the table once again
• Obama relies on a close-knit inner circle
• Op-Ed, Norman Ornstein: The GOP’s deep hole
• Op-Ed, James Rainey: Right-wing media feeds its post-election anger
• Political blogger be nimble, be quick
• Election leaves gay couple feeling isolated

Ohio Agency Director Put on Leave & Other News from the Buckeye State

Helen Jones-Kelley Coverage

• Emails get state leader in trouble – Columbus Dispatch
• Jones-Kelley on paid leave pending investigation - The Plain Dealer
• Stivers event among topics of emails under investigation - Dayton Daily News
• Governor places family services director on leave – Dayton Daily News
• Agency chief put on leave -Toledo Blade
  

Politics & Elections News

• GOP’s grip on County’s suburbs slipping – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: GOP must make honest appraisal of its defeat – The Plain Dealer
• Obama’s victory in Cuyahoga was overwhelming – The Plain Dealer
• Obama won – so did shirt sellers – Columbus Dispatch
• Maureen O’Connor’s huge totals may lead to something else – The Plain Dealer
• Brunner calls summit on vote –Columbus Dispatch
• Ohio GOP to work on ‘identity crisis’ – Columbus Dispatch
• Dolan out of Minority Leader race – The Plain Dealer
• The new Ohio Senate and House – Columbus Dispatch
• Timing of Cordray’s start as AG uncertain – Columbus Dispatch
• Total state approach aided Obama – Columbus Dispatch
• No Treasurer replacement yet – The Plain Dealer
• Editorial: House Democrats in charge – Akron Beacon Journal

Other News

• Jobless rate highest in 14 years – Columbus Dispatch
• Hard recovery seen for Ohio – Associated Press
• Wilmington worried about pending DHL announcement – Dayton Daily News
• Glowing review earns Gee possibly $2 million – Columbus Dispatch

Will Kevin DeWine be first ORP Chairman to Switch Parties?

Kevin DeWine sounded for one day like he might be a Democrat.

In a surprisingly frank, candid interview with Joe Hallett of the Columbus Dispatch, DeWine, soon to take the helm as Ohio Republican Party chairman, nailed the reasons for Republican decline right on the head. In fact, if you were to turn around the issues he blames on GOP demise, you might end up with the current-day Democratic Party.

DeWine’s comments are the first intellectual honesty I’ve heard from any prominent Republican, locally or nationally, for months. Here’s a list to sum up what he said are the reasons the Ohio and national GOP are ailing:

• The party has become distracted and fixated on social issues.
• The GOP has drifted away from its core conservative message of fiscal responsibility and limited government.
• Republicans aren’t talking about issues that matter in people’s everyday lives.
• A tired message has turned off younger voters, ages 18-29.
• The party is not leveraging new media and fundraising opportunities on the Internet.
• Then there’s Iraq, ethics concerns and an unpopular Republican president.

Then DeWine gets to the heart of the matter:

“We have to exchange a fiscal message and economic message in for a social message that has dominated the messaging of this party for the last decade. We have to re-engage the middle class, step up with an agenda that solves problems and puts people first.”

An “agenda that solves problems and puts people first” — Hmmm, sounds like Bill Clinton, Ted Strickland or Barack Obama.

I’d like to introduce Mr. DeWine to some friends of mine I’ll just call the Democratic Party. We’re not fixated on social issues; we prefer to stay out of folks’ bedrooms and uteri. Recent history shows that the last president in a generation to achieve a budget surplus was a Democrat. Here in Ohio, Governor Ted Strickland has brought accountability and efficiency to state government through regulatory reform, procurement reform and the strongest ethics policies of any governor. As for party organization and leveraging the World Wide Web for communication and fundraising, Barack Obama just finished what Howard Dean started – a new standard has been set.

If Kevin DeWine and the Ohio Republican Party are about good stewardship of public resources and putting people first in an agenda to solve problems, I’d suggest they just join the Democrats – we’re already there.

Video: Carl Cameron dishes on Sarah Palin’s Shortcomings – Fox News

In this clip, Fox News eats their young.  Unbelievable.  I’m not surprised to find out Sarah Palin had some basic misunderstandings about how government works – but not knowing Africa is a continent and not a country?  Whoa.  How about what three countries make up NAFTA?  Couldn’t name a one.  Sheesh.  Man, oh man.  We dodged a bullet on Tuesday.

Ohio Electoral Maps: Comparing Obama, Strickland and Bush by County

Editor’s Note: Data for these county maps came from the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

 

 

Text: President Bush Statement on Election

(Source: White House Press Office)

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Last night, I had a warm conversation with President-elect Barack Obama. I congratulated him and Senator Biden on their impressive victory. I told the President-elect he can count on complete cooperation from my administration as he makes the transition to the White House.

I also spoke to Senator John McCain. I congratulated him on a determined campaign that he and Governor Palin ran. The American people will always be grateful for the lifetime of service John McCain has devoted to this nation. And I know he’ll continue to make tremendous contributions to our country. Read more

Ohio Election Wrap: Day After Clips from Ohio’s Newspapers

Presidential Coverage

• Obama Sweeps to victory as first black president
  – Columbus Dispatch
  
• Obama, American voters make history
  – The Plain Dealer
  
• Win restores blacks’ faith
  – Columbus Dispatch
  
• Analysis: How Obama Won Ohio
  – Columbus Dispatch
  
• Impressive showing but no Ohio turnout record
  – The Plain Dealer
  
• Editorial: Obama presidency is break from the past
  – Canton Repository
  
• Editorial: President Obama is change to cheer
  – Dayton Daily News
  
• Editorial: Making History
  – Akron Beacon Journal
  
• Voters rejoice at Obama’s election – Cincinnati Enquirer
  

• Obama wins Ohio, Michigan – Presidency in Landslide
  – Toledo Blade
  
• ‘Joe the Plumber’ will take his politics online
  – Toledo Blade
  
• Editorial: The View Forward
  – Toledo Blade
  
• Editorial: Now time to unite behind message of hope
  – The Plain Dealer
  
• Editorial: Not the day to be cynical
  – Dayton Daily News
  
• Editorial: Election brings change to America
  – Cincinnati Enquirer
  
• Election Problems? Not in Ohio
  – Columbus Dispatch
  
• Day smoother than expected despite some glitches
  – Columbus Dispatch
  

Ohio Candidates and Issues

• Dems wrest back control of Ohio House
  – Columbus Dispatch
• Stivers, Kilroy winner likely not know for 10 days
  - Columbus Dispatch
• Boccieri to replace Regula
  – Canton Repository
• Driehaus ousts Chabot
  – Cincinnati Enquirer
• Democrats reclaim Ohio House
  – Associated Press
• Cordray rolls to big win
  – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial:
  Payday Lenders Lose Big in Ohio – The Plain Dealer
• Montgomery County results still being counted – Dayton Daily News
• Boehner will seek return to House leadership
  – The Plain Dealer
• Dems expand majorities in Congress but Ohio races up for grabs
  – The Plain Dealer
• Husted winning State Senate seat
  – Dayton Daily News
• Dems close to regaining control of Ohio House
  – The Plain Dealer
• Fudge, LaTourette, Kucinich win – The Plain Dealer
• Casino, Payday Lenders denied
  – Columbus Dispatch
• Voters choose no on casino – The Plain Dealer
• Payday lenders defeated at polls
  – The Plain Dealer
• Ohio defeats gambling, keeps lending limits – Associated Press
• Paper ballots hold up counts in Ohio counties
  – Associated Press
• Editorial: Ohioans wisely say no to casino
  – Canton Repository

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