Democratic Chatter 12-29-2008

George Wenschhof Bio

President-elect Barack Obama and family continue Hawaii vacation - yesterday, he visited a friend from high school. The Honolulu Star Bulletin has more here. He also continues to receive daily briefs and spoke to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice about the violence in the Gaza Strip.

For now, the standard reply from Obama is there is only one President at a time and currently it is George W. Bush. He now has only 22 days he will be able to use that line until he is sworn in as the 44th President.

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Israel may send troops into the Gaza Strip - this ongoing Israel-Palestine problem that erupts periodically is in danger of further escalation. There is no question of Israel military superiority, but the longer term political and domestic solution remains elusive. McClatchydc.com has more here.

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"Blago-watch" Update - The attorney for embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is now requesting the internal report prepared by the Obama Transition Team be admitted in testimony before the Illinois state legislative committee considering impeachment of the Governor.

Another strong move by Ed Gensen, who earlier requested subpoenas of key incoming Obama administration officials and was denied. His position is the report shows the Governor did nothing wrong. Time.com has more here.

The longer U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald waits to formally introduce evidence against the Governor, the weaker his case appears to the public.

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Bill to end minimum tax on Municipal Bonds to be introduced - Representative Richard Neal (D-Mass.) who is chair of the House Ways and Means Committee plans to introduce this bill for inclusion in the Obama stimulus program. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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GOP Party chairs call special meeting to conduct forum for those vying for the RNC Chair - seems party chairs, led by North Dakota chair Gary Emineth used by-laws language to call a special meeting for the sole purpose of conducting a forum. This would be held in Washington D.C. on January 7 for the candidates interested in the chair of the Republican National Committee. TheHill.com has more here.

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