Daily Political Wire 12-24-2010

George Wenschhof

Russia Holds First Vote to Ratify START - their lower House voted 35-58 to ratify the treaty which just received U.S. Congressional approval. Two additional approvals are needed for full Russian approval and they are expected in the early new year. Time.com has more here.

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Obama To Make Changes in White House Staff - not an unusual move when looking at past presidential administrations. The proposed reorganization will be reviewed by President Obama over the Holidays and he is expected to make announcements in early January.

One known change is the arrival of David Plouffe as his senior White house adviser who will take the place of David Axelrod. The two architects of the successful 2008 Obama campaign are essentially trading places as Axelrod will take over the campaign effort to reelect Obama in 2012. The NY Times has a good read here.

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Obama "State of the Union" Scheduled for late January - White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said it will take place after the visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao on January 19, 2011.

The focus will include the federal budget and reducing the national debt. TheHill.com has more here.

The president has also given hints he will propose an overhaul of the current tax system.

A major issue unaddressed so far during the Obama administration is immigration reform. The DREAM Act which provided a pathway to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants failed in the lame duck congress.

The Obama administration would be well served to make major immigration reform a major goal of the 112th congress, instead of it becoming a campaign debate in the 2012 presidential campaign.

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Chicago Elections Commission Give Rahm OK to Run for Mayor - several dozen lawsuits challenging Rahm Emanuel's residency resulted lead to the just recently concluded hearing on the matter. The vote was 3-0 and followed a 35 page recommendation by the hearing officer that residency had been proved. The Chicago tribune has move here.

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