Democratic Chatter 1-18-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

The Inaugural Whistle Stop Tour was a huge success - yesterday, thousands of Americans showed up at stops along the route as the President-elect and Vice President-elect made their way from Philadelphia to Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Baltimore, Maryland had a great turnout and police had to turn away many who exceeded the 35,000 they had space to accommodate. This was an exciting day for Marylanders who provided Barack Obama with a huge margin of victory during the election with the vote being split 62% - 37%.

As Maryland is such a solid Blue state, visits by the President-elect were few during the campaign. So yesterday, it was a time for many of the electeds to shine. Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings and Governor Martin O'Malley spoke to the crowd which included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Present, but not acknowledged by any of the speakers was embattled Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon. Tonight, Maryland holds it's Inaugural Ball.

It is now two days until Inauguration Day!

--------------------

Inauguration events begin today - starting with all the stars at the Lincoln memorial at 2:30 PM ET. Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow and John Mellencamp are among the many musicians performing today. ThePage.Time.com has a full schedule of the Inauguration Events here.

--------------------

On Wednesday, his first day as President, Obama will meet with Joint Chiefs of Staff - hitting the ground running, he will be discussing his plan to withdraw from Iraq, the refocusing of the effort in Afghanistan, the situation in Gaza, and much, much more. The NY Times has more here.

--------------------

Obama says he intends to keep his BlackBerry - this, in spite of legal advise to quit using it after he becomes President. He feels it is a great way for him to keep in touch and he feels confident he is able send communications that can pass the scrutiny of the press, as he realizes any electronic communication can readily be sent around the world through the Internet. Politico.com has more here.

--------------------

Speaking of the Internet, the Stimulus Bill contains Net Neutrality rules - this would continue to provide consumers to access the Internet without controls placed on their content. The Hill.com has more here.

--------------------

Israel - Hamas finally agree to cease-fire - after Israel offered a truce, Hamas agreed to a cease fire. provided Israel withdraws from Gaza within one week. Reuters.com has more here. The cease-fire was agreed to just days prior to the Inauguration of Barack Obama, leaving many to speculate if this action was taken deliberately during the last few weeks of the lame-duck presidency of George W. Bush.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.