Democratic Chatter 12-17-2008

George Wenschhof Bio

President-elect Barack Obama will hold press conference today at 11:45 AM ET - as we reported yesterday, Senator Ken Salazar (D-Col.) will be named as the pick for Secretary of the Interior. Another Cabinet position is now expected and that is former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsak for Secretary of Agriculture. Swamppolitics.com has more here.

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Federal Reserve drops lending rate to a range between 0 and 0.25% - this is the lowest rate on record and the Dow Jones jumped 350 points after the announcement. McClatchydc.com has more here. However, as we pointed out yesterday, the Fed had already dropped the rate 4.25% since September 2007 with little success.

ABC/Washington Post Poll shows 63% of Americans have been hurt by the recession - The Washington Post has more here.

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President-elect Barack Obama named Time's "Person of the Year" - it would have been surprising if someone else had been selected. The Magazine is available beginning tomorrow and includes photos from his youth and an interview. ThePage.time.com has more here.

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David Plouffe sends out an email reminding supporters to sign up for updates from the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) - "Sign up now to receive more information about inaugural events -- including service projects, parades, whistle-stop rallies, ticketed events, and ways to get involved in your local community." Click Here. Hey, check it out - sometimes there are opportunities to volunteer at an event.

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Auto Bailout still in limbo - President Bush has indicated they are working on a solution involving the (TARP) 700 Billion Trouble Assets Relief Program, but no announcement yet.

Meanwhile, banks show no signs of easing credit in spite of hundreds of Billions given to them and now the Fed has lowered the interest rate to almost zero per cent. Bloomberg.com has more here.

Here's a question - How come the Banks are not lending the automakers 15 Billion from the hundreds of Billions they have already received?

While I am at it, a follow up question: What has the approximately 350 Billion given to banks under TARP been used for to date?

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Xavier Becerra to stay as vice-chair of the House Democratic caucus - The Representative from California had discussions with the Obama transition team to be lead trade negotiator. The U.S. still has unsettled trade negotiations ongoing with Colombia and Panama. These trade agreements became an issue during the presidential campaign. TheHill.com has more here.

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