Democratic Chatter 1-20-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Inauguration Day is finally here! - The official festivities will begin at 10:00 AM on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Aretha "RESPECT" Franklin will perform before Joe Biden is sworn in as Vice-President. It is anticipated Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President around 12:00 PM ET. He will then give his Inauguration Speech. ThePage.Time.com has the schedule for today here.

Optimism among Americans runs high today with record numbers expected to be present for the Inauguration, joined by what promises to be a record breaking number of viewers watching the proceedings on their television sets.

Obama's Inauguration Speech is expected to last 15-17 minutes. When it is available, we will post it.

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As President, Barack Obama will continue his online presence - the Obama campaign showed how to use the Internet in even more effective ways to engage millions of supporters in the effort. After Obama won the election, the Transition Team continued the use on the Internet, providing Americans with the opportunity to weigh in on the issues and providing the transparency pledged during the campaign.

Now, after Barack Obama is sworn in as President, you are invited to be a part of a soon to be activated new website; WhiteHouse.gov. John Podesta, the co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition Team sent an email to supporters inviting them to join the new online community by going to http://change.gov/joinus to sign up and stay involved.

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Confirmation Votes will be held in the Senate today on many Obama Cabinet Nominees - Moving quickly, up to a dozen appointees are expected to receive a confirmation vote today when the Senate convenes at 3:00 PM ET. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State will be one of them. CNN.com has a list here.

Politico.com is reporting Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx.) may block the the required unanimous voice vote on Hillary Clinton over his concerns in regard to the Bill Clinton foundation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would then need to schedule a roll call vote for Wednesday where Clinton would receive her confirmation easily. You can read more here.

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Yesterday afternoon, Jill Biden makes the news on the Oprah Winfrey Show - she stated her husband had been offered his choice of either the Vice-President or Secretary of State. She indicated she preferred her husband take the Vice-President position as he would be home more often. Vice-President elect Joe Biden's office released a statement later saying he had only been offered the Vice-President position. Politico.com has more here.

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Last Night, President-elect Barack Obama promoted bipartisanship while attending three dinners - He hosted and attended dinners for Senator John McCain, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Vice President-elect Joe Biden as he continued the theme that together we can make a difference. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Tomorrow, President Barack Obama will meet with his Joint Chiefs - Even General Petraus is returning from Iraq to be present for the meeting. Expected to be discussed is a plan for withdrawal from Iraq in 16 months as Obama promised during the campaign. Also troop levels and strategy will be examined for Afghanistan. CNN.com has more here.

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