Daily Democratic Wire 9-1-2009

George Wenschhof

Today, President Barack Obama will have meetings on efforts to combat Flu Season - the kids are back in school and the flu season is upon us as a country. The efforts to combat the H1N1 Flu virus will be discussed.

Tonight, the president will host a dinner at the White House to celebrate Ramadan, the start of Islam's holy month. You can read more here.

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Massachusetts legislature set to vote for interim appointment to fill vacant Kennedy Senate seat - expect Governor Deval Patrick to be given the authority to fill the vacant seat when the state legislature meets on September 9. The special election date has been set for January 19, 2010. With health care reform on the horizon for a vote in the senate, every seat needs to be filled. The Boston Globe has more here.

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Speculation grows as to who will replace Kennedy - now it appears certain the state legislature will act positively on the request from the late Ted Kennedy to allow the Governor to appoint a interim Senator to his vacant Senate seat. Now the talk is heating up as to who the contenders will be for the January 19 special election.

First, is Joe Kennedy, the nephew of Ted Kennedy who was a former Congressman. If he chooses to run, it is a given he will win the seat. The widow of Ted Kennedy; Victoria Reggie Kennedy was already asked if she would consider running for the seat by President Obama and said no. The other contenders at this point are former representative Edward Markey, State Attorney General Martha Coakley, and Reps. Martin Meeham, Stephen Lynch and Michael Capuano. MSNBC.com has more here.

Look to see the person named as interim Senator be either Michael Dukakis or Vicky Kennedy.

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Climate bill to take second seat to health care legislation - Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calf.) announced yesterday they are postponing the release of the bill they have been working on to cap carbon dioxide emissions. While not expressly stated, the focus on passing health care reform is the overriding Democratic issue in Congress. TheHill.com has more here.

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Afghanistan election results sluggish in being reported - adding to a questionable situation, columnist George Will calls for the withdraw of U.S. troops from the country in an op-ed in the Washington Post today. You can read it here.

In addition, the NATO and U.S. Commander in Afghanistan; General Stanley McChrystal is calling for a new strategy and will be asking for more troops. Time.com has more here.

The Obama administration also realizes they will receive pressure from the more liberal and anti-war wing of the Democratic Party to end the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Politico.com has more here.

The extremely shaky Zardari regime in Pakistan which has armed nuclear weapons will also need to be watched closely.

Meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai maintains a slim lead over his major opponent Abdullah Abdullah, but without the majority needed to avoid a run-off election. Reuters.com has more here. Stay tuned.

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