George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama reaches out to Muslims in interview - I watched on CNN part of the interview conducted by Hisham Melhem broadcast on Al-Arabiya. This was a significant interview where the president was reaching out in friendship to the many moderate Muslims. he pointed out the actions of radical Muslim factions resulting in the tearing down of communities as opposed to the building of communities. George Mitchell, the recently appointed Middle East envoy is on his way to the region to begin negotiations. McClatchydc.com has more and some video of the Obama interview here.
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President Barack Obama will meet with Republican Congressmen today - he is expected to continue to push his Economic Stimulus bill. Republicans and some democrats are questioning the size of his bill and how effective it will be. Meanwhile, Caterpiller, Sprint and others announced large numbers of layoffs. Reuters.com has more here
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Vice President Joe Biden to swear in Kristen Gillibrand as NY Senator today.- the ceremonies are expected to take place at 12:30 PM ET in the U.S. Capitol. Earlier today, the Vice president had breakfast with the new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Time.com has more here.
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Timothy Geithner confirmed as Treasury Secretary - this was expected in spite of the revelations Mr. Geithner had not paid social security taxes for several years. Geithner is expected to spell out new restrictions on the 700 Billion bailout program today after criticism of no accountability for the first 350 Billion that has been spent. Read more here. William Dudley is reported to be the person to replace Geithner as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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McAuliffe's race for Governor of Virginia not a given - for many Democrats, he was referred to as "McAwful" when he served as chair of the Democratic National Committee. Now, he is bringing his experience of raising millions to the Virginia Governor race. RealClearPolitics has a good read here. Expect Brian Moran, a former Democrat state delegate to battle for the Democratic nomination. He is already calling on candidates to refuse to accept out of state contributions, clearly a shot at McAuliffe. In addition, Moran has just added Joe Trippi as his media director. Read more here. Joe Trippi gained notoriety when he managed the Howard Dean campaign for President in 2004.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Democratic Chatter 1-27-2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Democratic Chatter 1-4-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President-elect Barack Obama heads to Washington D.C. today - he will join his wife and daughters who arrived in D.c. yesterday. It is now 16 days until Inauguration Day.
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Israel begins military ground campaign in Gaza - after eight days of air strikes, Israel has invaded Gaza. CNN.com has more here. This was a highly expected move by Israel as they want to disrupt the military presence of Hamas. This is one more serious international issue to confront the incoming Obama administration and his national security team. Over 400 have died and another 2500 have been injured since Israel began their air strikes.
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Will Roland Burris, Illinois Governor Blagojevich's appointment to fill the vacant Obama Senate seat show up Tuesday when Congress convenes on Tuesday? - we will find out shortly. Mr Burris, former Illinois State Attorney did schedule a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for Wednesday. Also at that meeting will be Illinois senator and Assistant Majority Leader dick Durbin (D-Ill.) The Chicago Tribune Swamppolitics.com has more here.
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Terry McAuliffe announces run for Governor of Virginia - He was referred to by many as "McAwful" when he served as chair of the Democratic National Committee. He recently served as a national chair of Senator Clinton's Presidential campaign. His national contacts are sure to help him in fund raising but how he comes across to the voters is yet to be determined. TheHill.com has more on his announcement here.
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Al Franken's lead increases in Minnesota - the contested race for the Minnesota Senate seat continued with Democrat Al Franken increasing his lead to 225 over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman. This after 900 absentee ballots were counted. The Coleman campaign has asked the state Supreme court to add additional absentee ballots and that ruling is expected soon. However, it is not possible for the candidate to be certified prior to when Congress convenes on Tuesday. In addition, the losing candidate has seven days after the state canvassing board has indicated the winner to file suit in court. Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has indicated he will not have the state certify the winner until all legal challenges are over. Politico.com has more here.
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