Democratic Chatter 11-9-2009

George Wenschhof

Obama transition team works to prioritize objectives - what to tackle first with so many problems, is the major discussion taking place at the moment. The discussion is over whether to address several major issues at the same time or to stagger the initiatives. Impacting that decision is the state of the economy. President-elect Obama has said his economic recovery plan will be the first thing he introduces. There remains health care, education reform, climate change, and energy independence initiatives. Some members of the team argue all of the initiatives impact the economy so they should all be moved forward together. The NY Times has a good read here.

John Podesta, a co-chair of the transition team said Obama will move quickly in filling cabinet positions that will have a diverse make-up. Read more here.

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Speculation begins on who will be the next Attorney General - Three Governors have had their names come up; Janet Napolitano (Az.), Tim Kaine (Va.) and Deval Patrick(Mass.). Out of these three, I would rate Napolitano the best choice. other early names being bandied about are two former deputy attorney generals under the Clinton administration; Jamie Gorelick and Eric Holder. Politico.com has more here.

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Inauguration tickets being sold online - don't trust these offers. The Obama-Biden Transition team says tickets will be provided closer to January 20th to congressmen and senators who will in turn provide to constituents for free. If you want to attend, contact your congressman or senator to be put on the list. As you can imagine, there will be many more requests than available tickets so not everyone who requests a ticket will receive one. CNN.com has more here.

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Foreign policy shifts ahead with the Obama administration? - time will tell, but certainly an approach of being open to talk to foreign leaders has to be of help. Early speculation surrounds a discussion on ending the senseless embargo of Cuba. After 50 years, the embargo has resulted in the opposite of it's intended results with resentment and bitterness directed at the U.S.not only from Cuba, but from other countries as well. MSNBC.com has more here.

Also, the U.S. plan to deploy a missile shield in Europe has caused much angst among foreign countries including Russia. The Bush administration recently announced plans to deploy missiles in Poland which Russia strongly opposes. Reportedly, Obama has not committed to a position here but has agreed to a meeting with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev. CNN.com has more here.

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