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Caroline Kennedy's Campaign
By John Nichols
Never having sought or held public office, Caroline Kennedy is something of a political blank slate.
But as she competes, aggressively, for the soon-to-be-vacant New York Senate seat of Hillary Clinton, who will leave to become President-elect Barack Obama's Secretary of State, Kennedy is doing the right thing.
She's talking about where she stands on the issues.
(18) CommentsDecember 21, 2008
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The Trouble With Appointing Caroline Kennedy
By John Nichols
Anyone who purports to be seriously concerned that an untested Caroline Kennedy might "inherit" the U.S. Senate seat from New York has not been paying attention.
Of course, there is something unseemly about the prospect that John F. Kennedy's daughter -- not to mention the niece of Robert and Ted -- might be appointed to the seat being vacated by Secretary of State-designee Hillary Clinton. Most New Yorkers didn't even know that this particular Kennedy lived in the state. And if she has been known for anything until this year it has been for studiously avoided not just the political stage but most serious public-policy debates.
But the notion that Senate appointments go to the most experienced, or qualified, or honorable, or even most politically-appealing contenders is comic in the extreme.
(44) CommentsDecember 17, 2008
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Succession Conversation: Emanuel & Blago's Office
By John Nichols
President-elect Barack Obama's first transition-team pick was Chicago Congressman Rahm Emanuel.
Even before Emanuel was selected, however, he was talking with the office of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich about who would replace Obama in the Senate.
On the weekend before Illinois senator was elected president, according to Chicago Tribune reports, Emanuel contacted Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris, to provide a list of potential appointees who, supposedly, were acceptable to Obama. (Harris was arrested along with the governor on charges that they schemed to trade Obama's seat for financial or political benefits to the governor.)
(23) CommentsDecember 14, 2008
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Norm Coleman's Florida Strategy
By John Nichols
Joe Stalin couldn't have done a better rewrite of history.
Saying that they want to avoid a "Florida situation" -- a reference to the 2000 recount battle between the presidential campaigns of Republican George Bush and Democrat Al Gore for the Sunshine State's electoral votes -- lawyers for Republican Senator Norm Coleman are suing to get the courts to force an end to the recounting of ballots in his too-close-to-call Minnesota U.S. Senate race with Democrat Al Franken.
Warning about the "chaos" that might result from a thorough recount of all ballots that Minnesota voters cast in the race, Coleman's lawyers filed suit in the state Supreme Court asking justices to halt the ongoing recount -- unless, of course, restrictions that favor the incumbent are implemented.
(20) CommentsDecember 12, 2008
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Obama Should Hire Joan Claybrook
By John Nichols
One of the ablest administrators in Washington -- make that America -- is stepping down from her current position. And if Barack Obama is as smart as many of us think he is, the president-elect will move to make this veteran public servant a member of his administration.
Joan Claybrook, the veteran public-interest advocate who served as head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before serving 27 years as president of Public Citizen, will step down in January as the nation's most ardent champion of consumer protection and the common good. That means that Obama will have an opportunity to do what former President Jimmy Carter did at the beginning of his tenure in the White House, when he plucked Claybrook from the activist community to serve as his point-person on transportation-safety issues.
Claybrook decision to leave Public Citizen, the watchdog and advocacy organization that expanded dramatically under her watch, is itself an embrace on her part of the transition moment.
(9) CommentsDecember 10, 2008
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Obama Calls for Blagojevich Resignation, Special Election
By John Nichols
Barack Obama has joined the growing chorus of Illinois political leaders who are calling on scandal-plagued Governor Rod Blagojevich to resign.
The governor, who was arrested Tuesday on federal charges that he sought to obtain financial and political favors by effectively trying to sell Obama's vacant US Senate seat to the highest bidder, has so far refused to abandon his post.
But, according to Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, the president-elect believes that "under the current circumstances, it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois."
(27) CommentsDecember 10, 2008
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Hold a Special Election for Obama's Seat
By John Nichols
Almost a century ago, the US Constitution was changed to require the election of US Senators.
The move took the power to populate the Senate away from corrupt governors and dealmaking legislators and rested it with the people -- most of the time.
An unfortunate loophole allowed governors to appoint senators when vacancies occur -- unlike the circumstance with vacancies in the House, which must be filled by special elections.
(9) CommentsDecember 9, 2008
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Good Riddance to William Jefferson
By John Nichols
Louisiana voters defeated scandal-plagued Congressman William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, in Saturday's run-off election.
Jefferson will be replaced by a Republican, Anh "Joseph" Cao, but on a host of issues it will be impossible to identify the shift.
That's because, in addition to displaying the ethical laxity of a Tom DeLay Republican, Jefferson often voted like one.
(62) CommentsDecember 8, 2008
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Obama Encourages Workers Protesting Shutdown
By John Nichols
President-elect Barack Obama gave encouragement Sunday to the members of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 1110 members who have occupied the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago to demand fair treatment from a company that shut down operations after the Bank of America denied the firm operating credit.
The 260 union members have received support from members of Congress, labor leaders and the religious community in Chicago. All have argued that Bank of America -- the beneficiary of a $25 billion federal bailout -- needs to do more to help factories remain open and to assure that workers are not victimized.
But the message from Obama, a Chicagoan with deep roots in the community's labor and activist communities, was the most remarkable signal that this protest is becoming a symbol of a broader struggle for economic fairness.
(81) CommentsDecember 8, 2008
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Obama Stimulus Plan: Good Start, But Much More Is Needed
By John Nichols
Barack Obama outlined his stimulus plan Saturday, touching on themes that he first outlined in a major economic address delivered almost a year ago at a General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin. The fact that the plant where he spoke will close this month provides a glaring illustration of how vital it will be to rapidly implement both the president-elect's broader plan and the auto-industry bailout -- which Obama strongly, and wisely, supports.
Much of the job creation that is likely to result from the plan Obama outlined Saturday will be in the construction sector, which has been especially hard hit by the slump in new home construction and the stalling out development initiatives in many parts of the U.S. The latest federal jobs report puts the number of unemployed construction workers above the 1.2 million mark, for a 12.7 percent unemployment rate in the industry.
The president-elect will still have to come up with plans for other sectors of the economy -- including an industrial plan and a new approach to trade policy -- if he is serious about stimulating the sort of job growth that is needed.
(39) CommentsDecember 6, 2008
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