President-elect Barack Obama plans to reveal on Tuesday his staff's conversations with the Illinois governor accused of trying to sell Obama's Senate seat, transition officials said Monday.

"We have a report," said Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. "It's been ready for release for a week. We've held off at the request of the U.S. Attorney's office and that continues to be the case, though we expect to be able to release the report shortly."

Obama had promised to release this week the review he ordered of contacts between his aides and Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office about appointing Obama's Senate successor. The president-elect is on vacation in Hawaii, but his office will go ahead with the release on Tuesday, transition officials said.

Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell Obama's Senate seat. Obama has said his internal review will show that his staff had no "inappropriate" discussions with the governor or his staff about the seat.

Incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel contacted Blagojevich's office about the appointment, according to a source close to the governor who requested anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak on the matter. Blagojevich believed Emanuel was advocating Obama friend Valerie Jarrett for the Senate seat so he would not have to compete with her for Obama's attention in the White House, the source said.

It was not known whether Emanuel, a Chicago-area congressman, spoke to Blagojevich, his chief of staff, or both, or why the governor believed Emanuel was pushing Jarrett for the job, the source said.

It's also not known if any of those discussions are included in tapes investigators began making of Blagojevich's conversations in October. A federal complaint charging the governor with seeking cash and favors for Obama's vacant Senate seat doesn't cite conversations with Emanuel or others on the transition staff. read more

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has named four key members of his science and technology team, saying science holds the key to the planet's survival and U.S. prosperity.

"It's time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology," Obama said as part of his weekly radio address on Dec. 20.

"I am confident that if we recommit ourselves to discovery; if we support science education to create the next generation of scientists and engineers right here in America; if we have the vision to believe and invest in things unseen, then we can lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity," Obama said.

Obama named John Holdren assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

Holdren, a physicist, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering as well as the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Holdren is the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, as well as president and director of the Woods Hole Research Center. From 1994 to 2001 he was a member of U.S. President Bill Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology.

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Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's chief of staff, reportedly had one conversation with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.


A new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether aides to President-elect Barack Obama did something inappropriate in their contacts with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Twelve percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday say Obama aides did something illegal, with another 36 percent feeling Obama aides didn't act illegally but did do something unethical. Forty-three percent say no Obama aides did anything seriously wrong.

Blagojevich was arrested December 9 on federal corruption charges. Among the allegations is that the Illinois governor tried to sell or trade Obama's former Senate seat.

Obama stepped down as the junior senator from Illinois last month after winning the presidential election. It is the sole authority of the Illinois governor to name a successor to serve the remaining two years of Obama's term.

Two transition aides said that the Obama team will release a report Tuesday detailing contact between the president-elect's staff and Blagojevich and his advisers.

The results of the internal investigation reportedly will list one conversation between Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, and Blagojevich. read more

President-elect Barack Obama acknowledges the traveling press corps as he arrives to play golf in Kailua, Hawaii on Dec. 21, 2008. Behind him is Eugene Kang, a member of Obama's staff.

President-elect Barack Obama spent his first full day in Hawaii working out with his wife, Michelle, ordering local delicacies and playing 18 holes of golf on a rolling green set against the backdrop of a volcanic mountain range.

As he began a 13-day vacation in his home state, Obama and his family settled into the oceanfront estate in quiet Kailua, where they will join close friends from Chicago for the holidays. But while he spent most of Sunday outdoors, enjoying tropical temperatures in the 80s, aides described this as a working vacation for the man who will assume the presidency in less than one month.

On Sunday, Obama awoke early for a 7:15 a.m. workout at a gymnasium at a sleepy Marine Corps base on the island of Oahu. Michelle Obama, carrying an iPod and headphones, joined her husband for the 45-minute exercise session, according to a media pool report. As they emerged from the gym, Obama, in a gray shirt soaked with sweat, lifted his right hand to give a quick salute to a couple uniformed Marines standing nearby.

Then it was off to the green for the president-elect, who was joined at the picturesque Olomana Golf Links in Waimanalo by two friends and a political aide, Eugene Kang. The foursome played for five hours at the challenging public course, a par 72, set near the Ko'olau Mountain Range. read more

Vice President-elect Joe Biden said he is worried about the “exceedingly high expectations” that world leaders have placed on President-elect Barack Obama.

“Their expectation for Barack’s presidency is overwhelming,” Biden said in an interview with CNN’s Larry King Live. “They are so hungry to have an American leader who they think has a policy that reflects our stated values, as well as one they can talk to.”

Biden, a Democrat, said he feels “somewhat badly” for President George W. Bush and called “unfortunate” the incident earlier this month when an Iraqi journalist threw both his shoes at the president, a Republican, during a news conference in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

“The incident in Iraq was -- was unfortunate,” Biden said. “I think that President Bush and, unlike Vice President Cheney, is upon reflection beginning to acknowledge some of the serious, if not mistakes, misjudgments that he made.”

Biden said yesterday on ABC’s “This Week” program that he plans to restore the balance to the vice president’s office after what he saw as overstepping by Vice President Dick Cheney.

‘Campaign Rhetoric’

Cheney, speaking separately on Fox News Sunday, dismissed Biden’s comments as “campaign rhetoric” and said he doesn’t expect Biden to have “as consequential a role as I’ve had during my time.”

“Joe’s been chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a member of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate, for 36 years, teaches constitutional law back in Delaware, and can’t keep straight which article of the Constitution provides for the legislature and which provides for the executive,” Cheney said. read more

Barack Obama's election win in Connecticut became official Monday as the state's Electoral College unanimously cast its seven votes for the nation's 44th president.

The event at the state Capitol was largely ceremonial. State voters overwhelming chose Obama over Republican Sen. John McCain on Nov. 4, and Connecticut electors gave Obama the state victory.

Other electors nationwide held similar ceremonies, as required by the Constitution, and formally elected Obama.

Yet knowing the outcome did not make Monday's event in Hartford any less emotional for many who came to watch.

"I never thought this day would happen. The election is one thing, but it's really official when they seal those ballots with wax and send them off," said 81-year-old retired dentist Sedrick Rawlins.

Rawlins, of Manchester, said he had traveled to Selma, Ala., in 1965 to help Martin Luther King Jr. in a voting-rights movement for black Americans. He wept when Obama won the election in November and, on Monday, couldn't stop smiling as Connecticut's Democratic electors unanimously picked the Illinois Democrat for president.

Connecticut has a winner-take-all system in presidential elections. Since Obama won the state, Republican electors could not participate in Monday's event.

The ceremony attracted hundreds of students, public officials and other observers. The results now go to the nation's Capitol for a joint session of Congress on Jan. 8 to officially count ballots from all 50 states.

Connecticut's seven electors range from local Democratic party leaders to Wolcott's tax collector and a New Haven alderman.

Ken Delacruz, an elector who is president of the Metal Trades Council union at the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, said the excitement among his fellow Democrats is palpable. read more

Barack Obama and his family will make their way into Washington for his inaugural next month by train, with a whistle-stop procession that will begin with an event in Philadelphia.

The train tour, on Saturday, Jan. 17, will stop in Wilmington to pick up Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his family and proceed to Baltimore for another event before arriving in Washington.

The presidential party will be traveling on a special charter train.

Inaugural planners say the railway ride will allow people who aren’t going to Washington for the inaugural to participate in it just the same.

“As part of the most open and accessible inauguration in history, we hope to include as many Americans as possible who wish to participate, but can’t be in Washington,” Emmett S. Beliveau, executive director of the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee, said in a statement. “These events will allow us to do that while honoring the rich history and tradition of previous inaugural journeys.”

Bill Clinton similarly arrived in Washington for his first inauguration, in 1993, in a procession from Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.

The tradition is as old as the country itself. George Washington traveled to his inaugural in New York City, then the capital, from his home in Mount Vernon, and celebrations erupted along the route. A ceremonial barge took him across the Hudson into Manhattan. read more

The chief federal prosecutor on the case took pains to say that there's no evidence of any wrongdoing by President-elect Barack Obama in the corruption scandal enveloping Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Obama, himself, says categorically that he never talked to Blagojevich over filling the US Senate seat that he vacated and that his staff was not involved in any deal-making with the governor or his staff.

Today, Obama's office said it had completed a review that it says "reaffirmed" that he had no direct contact with Blagojevich or his staff and that Obama's staff did not have any "inappropriate discussions."

But it said it would not release the review's findings until Dec. 22, at the request of the US attorney's office.

Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer released a statement:

"At the direction of the President-elect, a review of Transition staff contacts with Governor Blagojevich and his office has been conducted and completed and is ready for release. That review affirmed the public statements of the President-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the President-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as US Senator.

"Also at the President-elect's direction, Gregory Craig, counsel to the Transition, has kept the US Attorney's office informed of this fact-gathering process in order to ensure our full cooperation with the investigation.

"In the course of those discussions, the US Attorney's office requested the public release of the Transition review be deferred until the week of December 22, in order not to impede their investigation of the governor. The Transition has agreed to this revised timetable for release."

But the Republican National Committee has not been close to satisfied, saying that Obama needs to be far more forthcoming. read more

Rod R. Blagojevich

The president-elect says an internal review shows there were no inappropriate conversations with the Illinois governor about who would fill the vacant Senate seat.

Barack Obama said Monday that an internal investigation had found his staff had no inappropriate conversations with Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich over who would succeed the president-elect in the Senate.

But Obama said the review of his staff's contacts would not be made public until next week at the request of federal prosecutors, who are investigating whether Blagojevich put Obama's Senate seat up for sale.

Despite concerns about donor fatigue following the presidential election, contributions to Barack Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee are rolling in. Especially from Hollywood.

Among the big names who have given the maximum allowable donation of $50,000 so far are: Hollywood actors Sharon Stone, Samuel Jackson, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, and producer James Lassiter.

Giving top dollar guarantees donors entry to private lunches and dinners and, of course, inaugural balls - and even a candlelit dinner with the Obamas. The Presidential Inaugural Committee promises to provide premium seating to the following events in exchange for a 50K contribution:

• 2 tickets to a private concert on Saturday night
• 2 tickets to a private Sunday brunch
• 2 tickets to Sunday Official Inaugural Kick Off Ceremony (Obamas to attend)
• 2 tickets to a private Monday morning political briefing
• 2 tickets to a private candle light dinner on Monday night (Obamas to attend)
• 4 tickets to the swearing in ceremony on Tuesday
• 4 reserved seating Inaugural Parade tickets
• 4 tickets to a 2009 Official Inaugural Ball (Obamas to attend)

Electors gather to formally elect Barack Obama as the country's 44th president, in a largely ceremonial procedure.

Electors gathering in state capitols across the country have pushed Obama above the 270 electoral votes needed to win, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Obama takes office Jan. 20, becoming the nation's first black president.

Monday's voting was a largely ceremonial procedure, but one mandated by the Constitution. Obama defeated Republican Sen. John McCain in the Nov. 4 election.

More than 131 million voters cast ballots -- the most ever in a presidential election. But Obama's election will not be complete until Congress tallies the outcome of Monday's Electoral College vote at a joint session scheduled for Jan. 6.

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Caribbean countries urged President-elect Barack Obama on Monday to end the American trade embargo on Cuba. Mr. Obama has pledged to ease restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to Cuba and sending money there, but has said he wants to maintain the embargo to press for changes in the Communist-run country. “The Caribbean community hopes that the transformational change that is under way in the United Status finally relegates that measure to history,” said Prime Minister W. Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda, chairman of the Caricom group of Caribbean nations, which was meeting in Santiago de Cuba.

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When President-elect Barack Obama announced his foreign policy team on Dec. 1, he listed four "American values" that his government will pursue: "Democracy and justice; opportunity and unyielding hope -- because American values are America's greatest export to the world."

All that was part of Obama's campaign promise to restore American moral standing abroad. Right now, it's still just words. It's time to ask what kind of nuts and bolts policies actually would put those values into action.

Clearly, as Obama reiterated after the election, the first step must be to undo the long list of abuses that have tarnished our national honor -- aggressive war, Guantanamo, officially sanctioned torture and so on. But that's just playing defense, trying to remedy our past wrongs and lessen our sense of shame.

Obama is promising to go further -- to export opportunity and hope as well. And that is why, as president, Obama will have good reason to look at U.S. refugee policy and to make it a centerpiece of his international agenda.

In European elections, rising xenophobia leads politicians to compete to show their hostility to asylum seekers. But Americans are supposed to be different. As Obama told Europeans in Berlin in July, "Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom -- indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours." read more

Caribbean countries urged President-elect Barack Obama on Monday to end the American trade embargo on Cuba. Mr. Obama has pledged to ease restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to Cuba and sending money there, but has said he wants to maintain the embargo to press for changes in the Communist-run country. “The Caribbean community hopes that the transformational change that is under way in the United Status finally relegates that measure to history,” said Prime Minister W. Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda, chairman of the Caricom group of Caribbean nations, which was meeting in Santiago de Cuba.

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Oil, copper and corn rose for the first time in seven days after President-elect Barack Obama pledged the biggest U.S. public works program in half a century to revive the economy.

Commodities climbed on speculation spending on roads, bridges and repairing school buildings will boost raw material demand. Congress and President George W. Bush also are close to agreeing on a $15 billion rescue of U.S. automakers that may be signed this week.

“The markets are cheered by the move to bail out the automobile industry and the emphatic statements from the Obama team that are pointing to a massive stimulus package,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York.

Crude oil for January delivery rose $2.90, or 7.1 percent, to settle at $43.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $40.50 on Dec. 5, the lowest since Dec. 13, 2004.

Obama, in a television interview yesterday on NBC, reiterated his commitment to the biggest investments in the nation’s infrastructure since President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the interstate highway system in the 1950s. The U.S. president-elect takes office on Jan. 20.

A proposal unveiled today by congressional Democrats would require the president to appoint a person or board to oversee long-term restructuring of the auto industry as a condition for receiving federal aid. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC would be eligible for loans. read more

President-elect Barack Obama announced support Sunday for a short-term government bailout of the nation's carmakers that is tied to industry restructuring, and he accused auto executives of a persistent "head-in-the sand approach" to long-festering problems.

President-elect demands restructuring as key senator says GM's Wagoner should resign.

In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" and later at a news conference, Obama at one point suggested some executives should lose their jobs.

A leading Congressional Democrat, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, was more blunt. Rick Wagoner, the chief executive of General Motors Corp., "has to move on," said Dodd on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Congressional Democrats and the Bush White House had reached an agreement in principle to provide stopgap support for the U.S. auto industry, congressional and industry sources said late Friday.

The deal would keep the most troubled companies out of bankruptcy court at least through the end of March. read more

We've had all kinds of fun all year writing about Al Gore's nonexistent drive for the Democratic presidential nomination and his extinct desire to inhabit the White House and hang new chad on the windows.

He's been a real good sport and hasn't complained once.

But with today's stunning news out of Chicago, we wonder about that extinct part. Barack Obama's transition people have confirmed that after his workout tomorrow, the president-elect will meet with Gore in Chicago. And someone named Joe Biden will attend too.

Is this one last attempt by Gore to convince Obama to step aside and simply cede the White House to the former vice president, who still thinks he really should have won back in 2000?

Gore's said he's done with elective office. But if he could simply talk Obama out of the job, technically there'd be no election. Just a granting. And Gore could become the first....

...white Tennessean to occupy the White House since the last one?

Recently, Gore's been down in Georgia with his ex-boss ex-President Clinton helping to reunite the Republican Party and reelect GOP incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Gore's already got the Nobel and Oscar prizes and virtually every other possible prize except a couple from Cracker Jack boxes. He's been making a ton of money with his enviro speeches and slideshows, for which he has an unusual set of contractual requirements. Plus, he already knows the White House layout. So is this one last Gore bid to be commander in chief on the cheap?

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When President-elect Barack Obama talked on Sunday about realigning the American automobile industry he was quick to offer a caution, lest he sound more like the incoming leader of France, or perhaps Japan.

“We don’t want government to run companies,” Mr. Obama told Tom Brokaw on “Meet the Press.” “Generally, government historically hasn’t done that very well.”

But what Mr. Obama went on to describe was a long-term bailout that would be conditioned on federal oversight. It could mean that the government would mandate, or at least heavily influence, what kind of cars companies make, what mileage and environmental standards they must meet and what large investments they are permitted to make — to recreate an industry that Mr. Obama said “actually works, that actually functions.”

It all sounds perilously close to a word that no one in Mr. Obama’s camp wants to be caught uttering: nationalization. read more

In naming retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki as veterans affairs secretary, President-elect Barack Obama made what may be the most politically and morally significant choice of his transition.

Politically, Obama has been moving aggressively to close a wide gap between Democrats and the military — and particularly between the party and the officer corps — that began growing in the Vietnam era.

Shinseki's appointment can be seen as one of several steps the incoming president has taken to win respect and trust within the armed forces. Obama's decision to keep Robert Gates as defense secretary and his choice of retired Marine Gen. James Jones as White House national-security adviser are of a piece in sending a strong, sympathetic signal to the uniformed services.

Morally, Shinseki's appointment marks the vindication of a man who was punished for telling the truth in the run-up to the Iraq War.

As the Army's chief of staff, Shinseki famously told Congress in February 2003 that "several hundred thousand soldiers" would be needed to stabilize Iraq.

Shinseki was quickly rebuked by then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz for being "way off the mark." Vice President Cheney told Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" a few weeks later that "to suggest that we need several hundred thousand troops there after military operations cease, after the conflict ends, I don't think is accurate. I think that's an overstatement." It was no overstatement. read more

Debate may focus on whether U.S. tech investments can drive long-term productivity

Obama is mixing proposals that could offer a combination of gains, such as short-term spending on equipment and longer-term investments aimed at lasting productivity gains for the economy. The spending plan, outlined in barebones detail in Obama's weekly video address on Saturday, would mean new computers for schools, expanded broadband access -- particularly in rural areas -- and funding on technologies to reduce medical costs. That could mean increased spending on networking technologies to support services such as telemedicine.

Obama hasn't yet put a price tag on his plan, but since his overall stimulus package is expected to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars, money for any Internet-related initiatives could be large. But in spending big sums on technology, the Obama administration will have to show that these tech investments will deliver. Linking the bottom line to IT investments is not an easy case to make. read more

Oprah Winfrey, the billionaire TV talk-show diva who's almost solely responsible for the election of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president and first African American chief executive, says she's not taking a job in the new Democratic administration.

The secretary of State job is filled. And Treasury and Defense and Attorney General. So too is first lady. But Education and Labor are still open. And Energy.

What about Obama's now empty U.S. Senate seat? Illinois' governor has yet to name a replacement. Winfrey could certainly fill it.

And Oprah, who used to attend the same Chicago church of Rev. Jeremiah Wright with the Obamas, was perhaps the most prominent celebrity to endorse the Illinois ex-senator. She held a large fundraiser at her luxurious California house. And she led massive rallies for Obama in three states, including Iowa and North Carolina, where he won.

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The US Supreme Court turned down an emergency appeal yesterday from a New Jersey man who says that President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president because he was a British subject at birth.

The court did not comment on its order rejecting the case from Leo Donofrio of East Brunswick, N.J., who says that since Obama had dual nationality at birth - his mother was American, and his Kenyan father at the time was a British subject - he cannot possibly be a "natural born citizen," one of the constitutional requirements for eligibility to be president.

At least one other appeal over Obama's citizenship remains at the court. Philip J. Berg of Lafayette Hill, Pa., argues that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii as Obama says and Hawaii officials have confirmed. Berg says Obama also may be a citizen of Indonesia, where he lived as a boy. Federal courts in Pennsylvania have dismissed Berg's lawsuit, and federal courts in Ohio and Washington state have rejected similar lawsuits.

Allegations raised on the Internet say the birth certificate, showing that Obama was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961, is a fake. But state officials in Hawaii say they checked health department records and have determined there is no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.

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President-elect Barack Obama praised the Bush administration's effort to combat AIDS and pledged Monday to continue to fight the deadly disease when he takes office in January.

Obama discussed AIDS in videotaped remarks to the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health held in Washington. The remarks were released Monday while Obama was in Chicago to announce members of his national security team.

In the video, Obama noted advancements since the first World AIDS Day 20 years ago. Among the accomplishments was Bush's initiative of giving lifesaving antiretroviral treatment to people in sub-Saharan Africa.

"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," Obama said. "And my administration will continue this critical work to address the crisis around the world."

He also urged people to recommit themselves to addressing AIDS in the United States with a strategy involving prevention, treatment and a focus on at-risk communities. Obama said everyone must help address the disease because "in the end this epidemic can't be stopped by government alone, and money alone is not the answer either." read more

Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks as Vice President-elect Joe Biden, President-elect Barack Obama and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton listen.

President-elect Barack Obama on Monday officially introduced the members of his national security team, including former Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state and Robert Gates, who will be remain as defense secretary.

Obama also announced that retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones -- a former top commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Europe -- would be his national security adviser.

"I am confident that this is the team that we need to make a new beginning for American national security," Obama told reporters during a morning news conference in Chicago.

Obama's team will advise him on foreign and national security issues in an era marked by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and terrorism around the globe. Obama takes office Jan. 20.

Obama said his team "must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy, our intelligence and law enforcement, our economy and the power of our moral example.

"The team that we have assembled here today is uniquely suited to do just that," he added as his Cabinet picks stood behind him on a flag-draped stage. "They share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America's role as a leader in the world."

Obama named Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Naploitano as homeland security chief. He also named two senior foreign policy positions outside the Cabinet, including campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador.

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State governors preparing to meet President-elect Barack Obama will ask for $136 billion in infrastructure funds to stimulate the economy immediately, Pennsylvania's governor said on Monday.

States are also looking to the federal government to help pay for food stamps, jobless benefits and health care for the poor -- projects they cannot afford due to recession, said Ed Rendell, chairman of the National Governors Association.

Forty-five governors are expected to meet Obama in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Unlike the federal government, states must balance their operating budgets but 43 states face deficits because of slumping tax receipts and higher welfare payments, Rendell told reporters.

He urged the incoming Obama administration and Congress to fund $136 billion in projects that are "ready to go" in the next six months. They include shoring up an estimated 73,000 structurally deficient bridges and repairing sewers.

Rendell argued such a program would strengthen a national economy whose jobless rate of 6.5 percent is the highest in 14 years. Every $1 billion spent on infrastructure generates 40,000 jobs, he said.

States face estimated budget shortfalls of $143 billion this year and next, said Joe Hackney, speaker of the North Carolina state House.

States also want federal help to temporarily increase Medicaid payments to the uninsured poor, extend unemployment benefits and temporarily increase funding for food stamps, a program that helps the poor buy food. read more

President-elect Barack Obama continued to fill out his cabinet today, naming Sen. Hillary Clinton his Secretary of State and retaining Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Send your questions about the appointments to military affairs analyst William Arkin, who was online Monday, Dec. 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

A transcript follows.

William Arkin, a former Army intelligence analyst and consultant, has written extensively about military affairs, including several books on the topic. He's been a long-time contributor to the washingtonpost.com, and he is one of the moderator's of the Planet War discussion group.

____________________

William Arkin: Hello all. So it's Jones, Clinton, and Gates, a pick probably comforting to Washington insiders but puzzling to the people who voted for Obama. I suppose the big question will be whether or not this fancy dance will pay off. One, by allowing Obama to focus on the economy and "neutralize" national security; and two, by allowing a new national security policy to develop under capable hands. Gates and Jones certainly fit the latter description; I think Clinton's appointment is a bit of a gimmick. We'll see whether the President will be happy sharing the stage with the second couple, and whether the former First Lady has a clue about foreign policy.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Have they announced the deputies for the big national security appointments announced today? I'd heard that Donilon was going to be Jones' deputy; Steinberg Clinton's; and maybe Danzig Gates'. But I haven't heard anything today. Do we know yet?

William Arkin: No deputies were formally announced but it appears that Richard Danzig is headed for the Pentagon and Steinberg is indeed head for State. I imagine that the Obama "camp" must be demoralized -- first for siding with Obama from the beginning and second for being dissed as not be good enough or enough of a celebrity to be on the A Team. Susan Rice, Obama's loyal advisor, looked tired and over-shadowed in today's announcement. I would have preferred to see her at the NSC. read more

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons will join at least 40 other governors meeting Tuesday in Philadelphia with the president-elect to discuss ways of dealing with the tanking economy.

Gibbons plans to attend a closed-door meeting Tuesday with Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden at Independence Hall. The meeting is being hosted by the National Governors Association.

Nevada, like many other states, is in serious economic trouble. Gibbons spokesman Dan Burns said the Republican governor "has a variety of topics that he wants to discuss, and the most important is the economy. Most of the other governors have the same concerns."

"It's not just how bad the economy is, but how we're going to get out of this," Burns added.

Barack Obama in May, 2008.

Besides their impressive resumes and political star-power, a few of President-elect Barack Obama’s top cabinet choices have something else in common — hoop dreams.

Though these days Eric H. Holder Jr., Susan E. Rice and Gen. James L. Jones, may be more comfortable handling policy memos than shooting free throws, at one point they were very much at home on the court.

And as the basketball-loving president-elect assembles his so-called team of rivals, it appears he may have – coincidentally — put together a pretty competitive group of players.

As a teenager, Mr. Holder, the president-elect’s nominee for Attorney General, was co-captain of the basketball team, the Peglegs, at Stuyvesant High School in New York. And he stayed on top of his game as an undergraduate and a law student at Columbia University. In an interview with The New York Times that was published Monday, he trash-talked his new boss a bit, saying of Mr. Obama and basketball skills, “I don’t know if he’s ready for my New York game.”

Ms. Rice, who long-ago traded the thrill of hitting a three-pointer for scoring big on the world stage, was a star player at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., where she also excelled in her studies. Her athleticism reportedly earned her the nickname, Spo, short for Sportin’. She’ll be the Obama administration’s ambassador to the United Nations.

And along with the announcement of Mr. Holder’s and Ms. Rice’s cabinet positions on Monday, Mr. Obama also called General Jones up from the bench to be his national security adviser. At 6-foot-4, Mr. Jones was a forward for the Georgetown Hoyas during his college years.

Though they may scrupulously avoid mixing metaphors in their new jobs — a Bush-era reference to a “slam dunk” comes to mind — their talents on the court, might earn them the distinction as the White House’s first “team of dribblers.”

Philadelphia » Most of the nation's governors -- including Utah's Jon Huntsman Jr. -- will meet with President-elect Barack Obama today at an Independence Hall summit to discuss ways the federal government can help cash-strapped states.

The recession has forced at least 41 states to deal with budget shortfalls. Utah has already plugged a $354 million hole with spending cuts and funding shifts during a September special legislative session.

Utah's political leaders are already discussing slashing government programs more. And on Thursday, Huntsman plans to unveil his budget for the next fiscal year, which is expected to include cuts in every department.

Obama said a stimulus plan, projected to cost between $500 billion and $700 billion, will be his first priority when he gets sworn in on Jan. 20. While releasing few details, Obama said his plan would boost state-run Medicaid funding and offer billions of dollars for road and bridge construction.

That's exactly what the governors are asking for.

"Without federal help, we will need to continue to cut budgets and raise taxes," said Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, chairman of the National Governors Association. He said the stimulus plan would help the most needy receive medical coverage, while also creating jobs in the lagging construction sector. read more

President-elect Barack Obama today introduced a war cabinet that is more diverse than any other president's in recent history, appointing three women and two African Americans to his top national security and foreign policy posts. But the six individuals officially nominated by Obama mirror the national security slates of the last three presidents in one key demographic: age.

Obama appointed a record number of women to his top national security posts -- Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security and Susan Rice as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. When he took office in 2001, President Bush named just one woman, Condoleezza Rice, as national security adviser. His father, former president George H. W. Bush, filled all of his posts with white men. Former President Bill Clinton had two women on his first national security team: Janet Reno as attorney general and Madeleine Albright as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

It comes as no surprise, then, that EMILY's List president Ellen R. Malcolm issued a statement to "strongly commend" Obama for nominating "exceptional women to top posts on his national security team."

Obama appointed two African Americans -- Rice and Eric H. Holder Jr., who would be the first black to be attorney general. While Clinton and the elder Bush had no minorities on their first national security slate, the current President Bush began his presidency with two blacks: Rice and Gen. Colin Powell as secretary of state. read more

Obama's Advisers

Mr. Obama gave a prominent place during the presentation to his nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Clinton. She stood next to Mr. Obama, was the first of the nominees to speak and received the lengthiest introduction from the president-elect.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Obama said he would devote new energy to diplomacy and other nonmilitary aspects of U.S. global power.

"The national-security challenges we face are just as grave and just as urgent as our economic crisis," he said. "To succeed, we must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy; our intelligence and law enforcement; our economy and the power of our moral example."

Sen. Clinton echoed the theme, saying U.S. interests "cannot be protected and advanced by force alone." Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, who was named national-security adviser, stressed that the U.S. would need to use "all elements of our national power and influence." read more

President-elect Barack Obama met with President George W. Bush at the White House as his aides consider ways to undo many of the policies put in place by the U.S. leader during the past eight years.

During a private meeting in the Oval Office, Obama and Bush spoke about the ``broad health of the auto industry'' and the prospects for a second economic stimulus package, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters traveling with the president-elect back to Chicago. He declined to provide any details about the discussion.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, also got a tour of their future home hosted by the president and first lady Laura Bush.

White House press secretary Dana Perino described the meeting as ``constructive, relaxed and friendly.'' Obama's transition spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter, said the two men had ``a broad discussion about the importance of working together throughout the transition of government in light of the nation's many critical economic and security challenges.''

The Oval Office meeting -- Obama's first visit to the president's office -- lasted a little less than an hour. Neither man made a public statement. The visit took place 71 days before the formal transfer of power. Bush has promised to make this the fastest and most cordial transfer of power in modern history. read more

The Times says its promise to a source prevents the paper from posting the video, which shows Barack Obama praising Palestinian activist Rashid Khalidi at a 2003 banquet. The story first appeared in April.

ohn McCain's presidential campaign Tuesday accused the Los Angeles Times of "intentionally suppressing" a videotape it obtained of a 2003 banquet where then-state Sen. Barack Obama spoke of his friendship with Rashid Khalidi, a leading Palestinian scholar and activist.

The Times first reported on the videotape in an April 2008 story about Obama's ties with Palestinians and Jews as he navigated the politics of Chicago. The report included a detailed description of the tape, but the newspaper did not make the video public. read more

" If the so called tape is authentic, why not show it to the public. The people ought to know the truth. or this whole thing is just a media circus. well, cut the crap."

In a TV ad and in speeches, Obama is making bogus claims that McCain plans to cut $880 billion from Medicare spending and to reduce benefits.

A TV spot says McCain's plan requires "cuts in benefits, eligibility or both."
Obama said in a speech that McCain plans "cuts" that would force seniors to "pay more for your drugs, receive fewer services, and get lower quality care."

These claims are false, and based on a single newspaper report that says no such thing. McCain's policy director states unequivocally that no benefit cuts are envisioned. McCain does propose substantial "savings" through such means as cutting fraud, increased use of information technology in medicine and better handling of expensive chronic diseases. Obama himself proposes some of the same cost-saving measures. We're skeptical that either candidate can deliver the savings they promise, but that's no basis for Obama to accuse McCain of planning huge benefit cuts. read more
Source:http://www.newsweek.com/id/164796

Returning to the state that has been the scene of Democratic heartbreak, Barack Obama warned Florida voters today to not get too complacent about the election.

"I am hopeful about the outcome," he told supporters in Tampa. "We were thrilled yesterday when a great American statesman, General Colin Powell, joined our cause. But we cannot let up. And we won't.

"Because one thing we know is that change never comes without a fight. In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over. We've seen it before. And we're seeing it again today. The ugly phone calls. The misleading mail and TV ads. The careless, outrageous comments. All aimed at keeping us from working together, all aimed at stopping change," said Obama, who plans to campaign in Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. read more
Source:http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/10/obama_tells_flo.html

Obamatons should be beaming, no? He's way up in the polls. Gallup's daily presidential tracking poll on Sunday had Barack Obama double digits ahead of John McCain among registered voters and well beyond the margin of error ahead of McCain among likely voters:

Barack Obama again leads John McCain nationally by 10 percentage points among all registered voters, 52% to 42%. His advantage narrows to either 7 or 3 points among likely voters, depending on how that group is defined.

That said, one Democratic member of Congress on Friday and one major Obama fundraiser both told me they're worried. Why? The member of Congress referred to the so-called X factor, or code for racism.

The member also said Obama should be further ahead among likely voters at this point in the race (with some two weeks to go), and this person worries about GOTV, or getting out the vote, and efforts to get young voters and voters of color to the polls. There are further concerns: long lines at the polls, lost ballots, and broken voting machines. read more
Source:http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe/2008/10/20/the-obama-mccain-x-factorracism8212means-a-long-election-night-awaits.html

The past eight years have been like watching a TV makeover show in reverse. We entered the Bush era a ravishing beauty attracting envious stares. We leave it a gum-smacking sad sack with split ends and an empty social calendar. Over the course of George W. Bush's second term, in particular, the images of our country have not just been unattractive but virtually apocalyptic: a major city destroyed; cars raining into the Mississippi from a crumbling bridge; swaths of exurbia dotted with foreclosed homes; a financial system in ruins; angry emotionalism flooding politics.

There are many causes of this bleak age, and not all of them can be laid at the feet of the president. But there's no doubt that Bush has run down the one engine capable of making our vast economic and physical infrastructure function properly: the federal government. read more
Source:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/20/opinion/main4532217.shtml

Barack Obama's staggering fundraising prowess -- the Democratic presidential candidate raked in a record-breaking $150 million in September and more than $604 million since the start of his campaign -- has raised the game of political cash as well as questions over whether the public financing system is now obsolete.

Public financing, which restricts how much cash a candidate can raise, is meant to curb the influence of money in presidential campaigns. In an interview on "FOX News Sunday," John McCain took issue with Obama's war chest, saying the exorbitant amount of cash Obama has raised has created the potential for scandal and lays a "predicate for the future that can be very dangerous." read more
Source:http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/20/obama-raises-record-breaking-m/

Barack Obama is holding on to his lead in national and state polls as he and John McCain focus on a handful of states that will be crucial in deciding the Nov. 4 presidential election.

A CBS News/New York Times poll released today showed that Obama has picked up support since the candidates started a series of three televised debates. Pollsters who re-interviewed likely voters from a late September survey, conducted before the first debate, found that Obama jumped to a 13-percentage-point advantage among that group, from a 5-point lead last month.

The CBS/New York Times poll said that 98 percent of Obama's supporters from September still backed the Democratic nominee, while Republican McCain has held onto 88 percent of his backers. Obama led McCain 52 percent to 36 percent among voters who were undecided in September, with 12 percent still unsure about their preference. read more
Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.N31v.V5LbY&refer=home

Democrat Senator Barack Obama snared the coveted endorsement of former US secretary of state Colin Powell and announced a record fundraising haul, handing another setback to Republican Senator John McCain’s lagging presidential campaign.

The decision by Powell, a Republican who served as US President George W. Bush’s first secretary of state, undermines McCain’s claim that his rival is not ready to be commander-in-chief of the US military. It could help Obama seal the deal with independent and moderate voters concerned about his qualifications.

Obama’s staggering US$150 million in donations last month more than doubles his previous record. read more
Source:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/10/21/2003426517

Suffolk University Poll Shows McCain Votes driven by Factors External to the Candidate

With just over two weeks left before the presidential election, voters in the key state of Ohio are giving the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden a 9-point lead (51 percent - 42 percent) over the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin, according to a poll released today by Suffolk University.

In Missouri, McCain led by 1 percent (45 percent to 44 percent) statewide. He also led the bellwether test of Platte County, Mo.

"If Ohio goes for Obama, it could be the tipping point that will usher him into the White House," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston. "At least today, the probability of an Ohio win is supported by the high-single-digit lead in the statewide poll coupled with the Perry County bellwether, which showed Obama leading by 4 percent." read more
Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/obama-leads-9-ohio-mccain/story.aspx?guid={76F97875-B3C5-4693-B30E-AB7E440C2BC1}&dist=hppr

A former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice is apologizing after her signature was on an e-mail message to Jewish voters that likened a vote for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to ignoring warning signs that led to the Holocaust.

In an e-mail Monday, Sandra Schultz Newman said the e-mail was misguided and she regrets she did not carefully review the final draft before it was released.

The e-mail was sent Thursday to 75,000 Jewish voters in Pennsylvania. It touts Republican John McCain's qualifications over Obama's. read more
Source:http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5izxqWNoOsfeAprb-EpuT0Ahia1FwD942VL480