Barack Obama

Note: I began writing this before Matt posted his diary.  Below, I look at the short-term problem of how to START spending the money quickly and effectively.  Obviously, the long-term challenge is just as great.  We have to do both.

Conservative hacks may still be attacking the New Deal, but GOP economists, not so much.  Support for a massive stimulus is bipartisan now amongst economists, Bloomberg reports:

Calls for $1 Trillion Stimulus Package Grow as Economy Tumbles

By Rich Miller and Matt Benjamin

Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The one thing that isn't shrinking in the U.S.

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Having grown up outside of Philadelphia, I just want to say I really hope Chris Matthews runs for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, and is humiliatingly obliterated in a Democratic primary (preferably by a good progressive like, for instance, former Rep. Joe Hoeffel).* The sense of entitlement that this blowhard personifies is truly stunning. He's spent his entire life as a principle-free political gossip in Washington - a human embodiment of all that is sick and wrong with Beltway culture. And yet, he really thinks he can just parachute into one of the largest states in the country, buy a mansion in Philadelphia and be a senator on sheer celebrity alone. I mean, maybe he can - maybe politics is now so devoid of meaning that this is just the way it is. But I really hope not.  read more »

Here's a Christmas and/or holiday gift that will bedevil your Republicans friends and family members. Especially those in the former Confederate state of Georgia, who think that the re-election of Saxby Chambliss is some sign from The Almighty that the Repub resurgence (or possibly The Rapture) is upon us.

Four years of Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate and House! That amount to 48 months, 208 weeks and 1,460 days. Help them mark each one in excruciating detail with this calendar. You do have to contribute $35 to the Obama campaign, but how can you put a price upon the joy of holiday giving?

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday named a third former Democratic presidential rival to his administration with his formal announcement of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his nominee for commerce secretary.

Looking through recaps of last night's defeat in the Georgia Senate election, I agree with a lot of what Matt, Kos and Nate Silver have written.

Matt argues that it the country hasn't shifted so far to the left that a progressive has a decent shot in a statewide election in Georgia. Rather, we all knew it was always a longshot campaign, and people didn't want to invest in such a difficult election both after big wins in November and with so much other positive news for Democrats. Even Obama didn't invest himself too strongly, not wanting to risk political capital so recently after his election. So, Democratic turnout and activism were both down, making an already underdog campaign virtually impossible to win.  read more »

Off the Reuters wire:

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama is not planning to implement a windfall profit tax on oil companies because prices have dropped below $80 a barrel, an aide said on Tuesday...

Obama, who signaled early in his campaign for the White House that he would take an active approach to oil markets as president, had planned to use the revenue from a windfall profits tax to fund a tax rebate for low- and middle-income families struggling with high energy prices.

Between this move and the move to wait to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, it seems like the Obama team is buying into the right-wing frame that raising any taxes - even those on the richest citizens and wealthiest corporations - is bad for the economy.  read more »

One "change" we're seeing in the newly forming administration is the return of expertise and a respect for academic accomplishment. George Bush loved to brag about being a C student. Somehow I don't think that approach will continue in the Obama White House. And while good leadership doesn't require an advanced degree, it doesn't hurt to have some expertise. I put together this comparison of Bush's original team and Obama's so far (source: Wikipedia). I've bolded those with more education.  read more »

WASHINGTON — In his first news conference since President-elect Barack Obama asked him to stay on, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that he and Obama agree on the U.S. course in Iraq, but he couldn't commit to Obama's pledge of a 16-month withdrawal.

This is not a post about the relative merits of Eric Holder for the position of Attorney General. Nor is it about the ideological makeup of the administration officials Barack Obama introduced yesterday (parenthetically, while the group lacks in progressive leanings they are at least a diverse bunch, 3 of 6 female and 2 of 6 African American).

As I watched Obama unveil his national security team a jingle from childhood went through my mind:

"One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?"

The one that didn't belong was Eric Holder. I'll explain below.  read more »

WASHINGTON — The members of the national security team that President-elect Barack Obama named Monday are all strong-willed public servants who at times have vehemently disagreed with changes he proposes to U.S. national-security policy.

CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama named his national security team on Monday, vowing to bolster U.S. military strength with a renewed focus on diplomacy and alliances with other countries to combat terrorism and spread American values.

Obama's retention of Gates as Secretary of Defense signals, above all, a clear unwillingness on Obama's part to engage in politically difficult fights at the start of his administration. Consider what Rahm Emanuel stated would be Obama's first legislative priorities when he becomes President:

Asked what Barack Obama was elected to do, and what legislation he's likely to find on his Oval Office desk soonest, Mr. Emanuel didn't hesitate. "Bucket one would have children's health care, Schip," he said. "It has bipartisan agreement in the House and Senate. It's something President-elect Obama expects to see. Second would be [ending current restrictions on federally funded] stem-cell research.

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Kentucky is a red state with no shortage of conspiracy theorists and unusual politics, so it's no surprise that what might be the first post-election court challenge to Barack Obama's qualifications to be president comes from a Whitley County truck driver.

The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto, Calif., wants to make this clear: He never told his parishioners that if they voted for Barack Obama, they needed to go to confession.

I watched one of the two Best Worst Movies in film history this weekend - Big Trouble in Little China (the other Best Worst Movie is Army of Darkness). Whether brought on by the natural high of a leftover-filled stomach, or the artificial high of Thanksgiving night Maker's Mark, I had an epiphany that this movie is a highly accurate - if artistically absurd - portrayal of a deeply important aspect of how America sees itself in the world.

The main character, Jack Burton (Kurt Russell), is obviously cast as America. Indeed, director John Carpenter pretty overtly wants him to be something of a Western cowboy (for instance, though a truck driver, Burton carries his belongings in a saddle bag).  read more »