44 - Politics and Policy in Obama's Washington - January 4, 2009

Obama Gets a Half-Smoke at Ben's Chili Bowl

Don't look now but you've got a present-elect over your shoulder. Cheron Wicker and Courtney...

By Web Politics Editor | January 10, 2009; 3:36 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Washington Life
Save & Share:

The New Presidential Limo: 'A Rolling Tank with Windows'

Agence France-Presse confirms details of a new presidential limo built by Cadillac, which will debut in the Inaugural parade on Jan. 20.

By Web Politics Editor | January 10, 2009; 2:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Washington Life
Save & Share:

Obama Says Stimulus Will Redound to Private Sector

President-elect Barack Obama sought in his weekly radio address today to quiet concerns that his economic stimulus package would lead to an unsustainable expansion of the public workforce.

By Post Editor | January 10, 2009; 10:48 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (150)

Save & Share:

Biden to Step Down from Senate Thursday

Vice President-elect and senior Delaware Sen. Joe Biden will step down from the Senate on Thursday Jan. 15th at 5 p.m.

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 6:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Joe Biden
Save & Share:

Former Secretary of State Powell Unveils Obama Call to Service

Former secretary of state Colin Powell held a press conference today to announce the Obama administration's "Renew America Together" service initiative, which will take place next Monday to celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. (Video by Hamil Harris / The Washington Post.)

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 5:55 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Education, Video Report
Save & Share:

Obama's Lawyer Connected to Controversial Program

Susan Sher and Michelle Obama worked on medical center initiatives that have become the focus of a Senate Republican's inquiry into whether the nonprofit hospital has been "culling the least profitable patients from its emergency room."

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 5:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Michelle Obama
Save & Share:

Blagojevich: Impeachment Was Not Unexpected

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday that the Illinois House's decision to impeach him wasn't a surprise because he's been engaged in a struggle with lawmakers since his re-election in 2006. (Video by the Associated Press.)

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 4:33 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: DEPT. OF JURISPRUDENCE, Video Report
Save & Share:

A Mother-in-Law in the White House

Marian Robinson, Barack Obama's mother-in-law, will be living with the first couple at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 3:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (47)
Categories: B_Blog, Washington Life
Save & Share:

Biden Reaffirms Alliance with Pakistan in Visit to Islamabad

Biden told Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that the United States regards Pakistan as an "important ally and partner" in the war on terrorism.

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 2:32 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: B_Blog, Joe Biden
Save & Share:

Gallup: Majority of Americans Back Stimulus Package

A narrow majority of Americans favor the Democratic leadership's efforts to put a $775 billion economic stimulus package on President-elect Barack Obama's desk quickly after he takes office.

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 1:47 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (40)
Categories: The Pollster
Save & Share:

Obama Formally Rolls Out Intelligence Team

President-elect Barack Obama announced Leon Panetta as his next Central Intelligence Agency director today.

By Web Politics Editor | January 9, 2009; 11:16 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: B_Blog, Cast of Characters, National Security
Save & Share:

Lanny Breuer to Lead Justice Criminal Division

Defense lawyer Lanny A. Breuer has emerged as the top candidate to lead the Justice Department's criminal division, two sources told The Washington Post.

By Lexie Verdon | January 9, 2009; 10:40 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: 44 The Obama Presidency
Save & Share:

Predictable Fault Lines Appear on Stimulus

By Ben Pershing Is the dream dead? Just as many Washingtonians' hopes to clear a...

By Ben Pershing | January 9, 2009; 8:15 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: The Rundown
Save & Share:

Pelosi Urges Obama to Raise Taxes on Wealthy This Year

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is urging the incoming Obama administration to stick to its campaign pledge and immediately increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, a position that President-elect Barack Obama has wavered on since winning election.

By Web Politics Editor | January 8, 2009; 5:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (49)
Categories: Economy
Save & Share:

Kaine Formally Appointed to Head DNC

President-elect Barack Obama formalized his appoint of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the head of the Democratic National Committee today, installing a loyalist in the key political job.

By Web Politics Editor | January 8, 2009; 4:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Democratic Party
Save & Share:

Obama Names Deputy Defense Secretary, Top Pentagon Officials

President-elect Barack Obama officially named William J. Lynn III as deputy secretary of defense today and also announced several other top Pentagon officials who will work under Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

By Web Politics Editor | January 8, 2009; 3:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Cast of Characters, National Security
Save & Share:

Obama Bets Big on Big Government

By Chris Cillizza President-elect Barack Obama enunciated his vision for an activist -- and expansive...

By Web Politics Editor | January 8, 2009; 2:36 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: 44 The Obama Presidency
Save & Share:

A Warning From Obama, and Hope for Burris

By Ben Pershing Another day, another sobering take on the future from Barack Obama. Mr....

By Ben Pershing | January 8, 2009; 8:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: The Rundown
Save & Share:

Speech Excerpts Released

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team this morning released the following excerpts from the speech on...

By Washington Post Editor | January 8, 2009; 7:22 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: 44 The Obama Presidency
Save & Share:

Obama Picks Sunstein to Oversee Regulations

Cass Sunstein will become the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

By Web Politics Editor | January 7, 2009; 11:59 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: 44 The Obama Presidency, B_Blog
Save & Share:

Bush Plans Jan. 20 Return to Midland and Crawford, Tex.

President Bush will end his presidency the same way he started it, by flying into his boyhood hometown of Midland, Tex., for a rally, the White House said today.

By Web Politics Editor | January 7, 2009; 6:51 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: 43
Save & Share:

The GOP's Weakness: Reagan Democrats -- or Obama Ones?

By Alec MacGillis As the Republicans engage in a heated contest to determine the next...

By Web Politics Editor | January 7, 2009; 4:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: analysis
Save & Share:

President-Elect Thanks the Ex-Presidents for Their Counsel

President-elect Barack Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement on the lunch meeting between Obama and four presidents.

By Web Politics Editor | January 7, 2009; 2:26 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: 44 The Obama Presidency
Save & Share:

Obama Softens Stance on Burris

By Anne E. Kornblut President-elect Barack Obama said on Wednesday he would accept Roland Burris...

By Web Politics Editor | January 7, 2009; 11:22 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Hill Transition
Save & Share:

Obama Appoints Performance Officer

President-elect Barack Obama has selected a top management consultant to serve as the country's chief performance officer, a post he said would help oversee reform of the federal government and its budget.

By Web Politics Editor | January 7, 2009; 9:32 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Barack Obama
Save & Share:

Washington Sketch: Rain on Burris's Parade

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank sketches Roland Burris's trip to the Senate on Tuesday. (Video by Akira Hakuta / washingtonpost.com.)

By Web Politics Editor | January 7, 2009; 9:01 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Rough Sketch
Save & Share:

Obama's Message of Gloom

By Ben Pershing For a man who got elected on a message of hope, Barack...

By Ben Pershing | January 7, 2009; 8:20 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: The Rundown
Save & Share:

Battle for Rahm's Seat Heats Up as Geoghegan Tosses Hat in the Ring

Geoghegan joins a crowded, colorful and well-connected field of up to 20 potential candidates with only eight weeks to go until the March 3 special election primary.

By Web Politics Editor | January 6, 2009; 7:39 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Hill Transition
Save & Share:

Sharpton: No Race Card from Burris

By Web Politics Editor | January 6, 2009; 6:23 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

Save & Share:

Poll: Most Support Barring Burris from Senate

Overall, 51 percent in the USA Today-Gallup poll said the Senate should block Burris from filling the now open seat.

By Web Politics Editor | January 6, 2009; 5:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (31)
Categories: The Pollster
Save & Share:

Blair House Mystery Solved: It's John Howard

We now know who is booked at Blair House, kicking President-elect Barack Obama and his family to the waiting list and across Lafayette Park to the Hay-Adams Hotel.

By Web Politics Editor | January 6, 2009; 5:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (74)
Categories: Washington Life
Save & Share:

Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General

President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS.

By Web Politics Editor | January 6, 2009; 2:36 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (308)
Categories: Media Notes
Save & Share:

Biden: Not Notifying Top Sens. on Panetta Choice a 'Mistake'

Vice-president-elect Joseph Biden admitted today the Obama transition team made a "mistake" in not notifying top Senate officials of the selection of Leon Panetta as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, defending the former Clinton White House chief of staff as a nominee would take the CIA on "new path."

By Web Politics Editor | January 6, 2009; 2:11 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (76)
Categories: B_Blog, Hill Transition, National Security
Save & Share:

Senate Rejects Burris in Spectacle at Capitol

Senate officials this morning rejected Roland Burris's effort to be seated as the successor to President-elect Barack Obama, telling the former Illinois attorney general that he lacked the requisite approval of state officials to be sworn in with the rest of the class of 2008 in today's launch of the 111th Congress.

By Web Politics Editor | January 6, 2009; 11:34 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (96)
Categories: Hill Transition
Save & Share:

Obama's Cabinet: Careful or Careless?

By Ben Pershing President Bush has often bragged of his disregard for polls and his...

By Ben Pershing | January 6, 2009; 9:15 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: The Rundown
Save & Share:

William Lynn to Deputy Secretary of Defense?

Credible buzz has it that William J. Lynn, a former top Pentagon official in the Clinton administration and more recently senior vice president of government operations and strategy at Raytheon Company, is the pick to be deputy secretary of defense.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 7:48 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: In the Loop, National Security
Save & Share:

White House Photography, Official and Not So Much

Obama tries to control his image by opening himself up -- intentionally.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 6:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Topic A
Save & Share:

Don Gips Selected as White House Director of Personnel as Obama Rounds Out Staff

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden continued to round out their White House staff this afternoon, naming seven new appointments.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 4:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: 44 The Obama Presidency, Cast of Characters
Save & Share:

Richardson on N.M. Lt. Governor: Her Day Will Come

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw his name as President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary-designee disappointed not only people in Washington but also in Albuquerque.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 3:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Cabinet
Save & Share:

Obama Transition Raised $3.8 Million After Election

President-elect Barack Obama raised more than $3.8 million from private donors in the six weeks following the November election to help pay for his transition activities, according to figures released today.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 2:57 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: The Green Zone
Save & Share:

Panetta Picked to Head CIA

Leon Panetta has been chosen as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 2:54 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (219)
Categories: 44 The Obama Presidency, B_Blog
Save & Share:

Obama Heads to Capitol Hill

Late Monday morning, President-elect Barack Obama left the Hay Adams Hotel and headed to Capitol Hill. Tess Skinner, a veteran federal worker, was excited while Brenda Williams praised Jesus as the motorcade passed by. (Video by Hamil Harris.)

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 1:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Barack Obama, Hill Transition, Video Report
Save & Share:

Obama Launches Stimulus Campaign on Hill

President-elect Barack Obama today kicked off his campaign to win approval of his economic stimulus plan, launching a series of face-to-face meetings on Capitol Hill to sell a plan that will now likely include $300 billion in tax cuts and another $500 billion, or more, in spending.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 11:28 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (62)
Categories: Economy, Hill Transition
Save & Share:

Solicitor General and Deputy Attorney General Named

The new Justice Department began to take shape this morning as President-elect Barack Obama announced he would nominate a quartet of well known lawyers to key posts including the department's chief operating officer, its top representative to the U.S. Supreme Court and the chief of the Office of Legal Counsel.

By Web Politics Editor | January 5, 2009; 11:21 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: B_Blog, Cast of Characters
Save & Share:

Network News

44: January 4, 2009 - January 10, 2009