Democratic Chatter 2-4-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama will announce $500,000 pay limit for executives of companies receiving bailout funds - He will hold a press conference this morning at 11:00 AM ET. Joining him will be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who will spell out additional rules for the remaining $350 Billion of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Reuters.com has more here. This comes after revelations surfaced of no accountability on how the first 350 Billion was spent, executives receiving million dollar bonuses, and expensive Jets and office renovations taking place by companies who had received bailout funds.

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Speaking of the Bailout bill, how about helping homeowners in distress? - this is what everyone was led to believe the 700 Billion TARP bill was intended to do. Instead, the first 350 Billion went with no strings attached to financial institutions. Now, both Republicans and Democrats are looking at ways to provide funds to help distressed homeowners and the housing market. The NY Times has more here.

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"I screwed up" - was one of many statements made by the President last night as he made the rounds appearing on the major television networks. The scheduled interviews had been set up for President Obama to explain the importance of passing the Stimulus Bill. Instead, he was apologizing for the withdrawals of two of his nominees; Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle due to tax issues. ThePage.time.com has some videos of the interviews here.

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How about Howard Dean for HHS Secretary? - the former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee chair also happens to be a doctor. Now that Daschle has removed himself, how about considering Dean for the position? The question was posed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC "Hardball" last night. Dean, who as chair of the DNC, successfully implemented a 50 state strategy that helped Obama win the Presidency. Since the election, he has been replaced by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and mostly snubbed by the Obama administration. He deserves consideration for the position.

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Remember the Minnesota senate race? - a Minnesota court ruled yesterday to consider an additional 4800 of the 12,000 previously rejected absentee ballots. Republican Norm Coleman's campaign was pleased with the ruling and democrat Al Franken said it was good to have clarity. The Franken campaign also intends to ask the court to instruct Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to issue a temporary election certificate. They have refused to do so until all legal challenges have been decided. Franken won by 225 votes in the state mandated recount. CNN.com has more here.

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Bonnie Newman named to replace Judd Gregg as Senator in New Hampshire - as we reported previously, Democratic Governor John Lynch announced the appointment today. This keeps the seat as a Republican after Gregg was nominated to be Commerce Secretary by the President. In what appears to be a little bit of wheeling and dealing, Newman will not run in 2010 and she will not endorse a candidate in that race. Politico.com has more here.

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