Democratic Chatter 12-21-2008

George Wenschhof Bio

The President-elect and his family are in Hawaii to begin holiday vacation - They are staying in a rented oceanfront home valued at 9 million. During his time in Hawaii, Obama will attend a private service for his late grandmother Madelyn Dunham who passed away just two days before the election. He will also have time to visit with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng. The Hawaii Star-Bulletin has more here.

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Obama increases Stimulus Plan to create 3 million new jobs - Christina Romer, his selection to be head of his council of economic advisers recommended the increase from the previously announced 2.5 million new jobs. She says it appears the country could suffer between 3-4 million job losses next year and unemployment could exceed 9%. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Caroline Kennedy's roll out to fill the soon to be vacant Hillary Clinton Senate seat continues to hit bumps - I reported yesterday her cousin Kerry Kennedy was unable to answer on MSNBC "Hardball" if Caroline favored a woman's right to choose. Now, she answers questions (most of them) through a surrogate. These questions were submitted to her by Politico.com and you can read them and the answers here. She refused to answer the difficult question of would she support the Democratic nominee against Mayor Bloomberg in the upcoming NY City election. She also should have answered the questions herself.

Another bump came when former Democratic VP nominee Geraldine Ferraro said she did not support the selection of Caroline Kennedy for the position. Instead, she urged Governor Patterson to select one of six current women congressmen from NY. The NY Post has more here. Keep in mind, Ferraro is still not over Hillary Clinton losing the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama. When referring to Caroline Kennedy she even used the same tired old refrain Hillary used on Obama by saying Caroline was not ready to be Senator on day one.

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Will the Illinois Senate seat for sale controversy adversely impact incoming Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel? - It appears Governor Rod Blagojevich and Congressman Rahm Emanuel have had an ongoing relationship for some time. MSNBC.com has more here.

There also appears to be no question Rahm Emanuel did communicate with the Governor in regard to the selection of the person to fill the vacant Senate seat. To date, prosecutors have not indicated Emanuel did anything wrong. However, when the information is allowed to come forward by the Prosecutors, expect Emanuel to have had numerous conversations with the Governor and many of them on tape. All of which will likely lead to a media frenzy. A distraction the incoming Obama administration does not need.

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Vice-President elect Joe Biden to chair Middle Class Task force - the committee will be asked to examine the status of the middle class by determining if it is larger or smaller and better or worse. This will be interesting to follow to see what is reported and then what, if anything, is recommended. Politico.com has more here.

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