The new occupant of the White House had long promised to be much different from the previous occupant, but one issue continued to nag at critics: its refusal to release the names of those visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

After eight years of George W. Bush, President Obama pledged what he called a new era of transparency. But when watchdog groups such as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sought to obtain the logs of those visiting the White House -- say, by executives of coal companies -- the administration balked.

No longer.

Today, President Obama -- in what his press office described as "another indication of his commitment to an open and transparent government" -- announced that records of White House visitors will be released, and that each month, records of visitors from the previous 90-120 days will be made available online.

Continue reading "Obama Reverses Course, Will Release White House Visitor Logs" >

Throughout the day, every day, we in the media are sent remarks made by the president and vice president. They are sent courtesy the Office of the Press Secretary.

This is the header of one release that arrived in our in-box moments ago:

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSH

AND PRIME MINISTER TSVANGIRAI OF ZIMBABWE
AFTER MEETING

Oval Office

P.S. When contacted by NPR, someone in the White House press office said, "Slight typo. We'll fix it."

I'm long since past the point of outrage -- or even surprise -- when a big money-giver to a presidential candidate gets a plum ambassadorship somewhere.

It's the way of Washington. But somehow, in listening to his "change" campaign for president, I wondered if Barack Obama would be somewhat different from some of his predecessors.

Well, according to a great piece this morning by The Washington Post's Al Kamen, Obama has in many ways gone much further than Bill Clinton, who appointed some Dem moneybags to ambassadorships. It's not even close.

Kamen outlines the differences between the two presidents' approach:

Clinton tended to pick people with experience in public policy -- if not international policy -- for the important embassies. His big donors were generally given jobs in smaller countries in eastern or northern Europe where they could do little lasting harm.

There are, of course, no hard rules on these matters. There is no consensus that just being rich is necessarily a bad thing, though most observers suggest that complete cluelessness is to be avoided, if possible.

A chart that accompanies his column -- which is somehow not available on the Web site -- illustrates the difference.

For ambassador to Great Britain, Clinton chose Adm. William Crowe, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who gave no money to the Clinton campaign. Obama picked businessman Louis Susman, an Obama fundraiser who either raised or contributed $735,000 for Democratic candidates during the previous three election cycles.

For France, Clinton chose legendary Democratic fundraiser Pamela Harriman, who raised/contributed $99,000 in the three-year period. Obama picked one of his fundraisers, Charles Rivkin, who raised/contributed $883,000.

For Japan, Clinton chose former Vice President Walter Mondale. Obama picked another fundraiser, John Roos, a Silicon Valley attorney, who raised/contributed $545,000.

For South Africa, Clinton chose James Joseph, a former undersecretary of interior whose total was $700. Obama picked communications executive Donald Gips (total: $553,000).

For Spain, Clinton chose Richard Gardner, a former ambassador to Italy ($6,300). Obama picked Boston financier Alan Solomont (total: $1.4 million).

Change you can believe in? That sure is a lot of change.

Here's the complete text of President Obama's speech at Cairo University in Egypt earlier today to the world's one-point-five billion Muslims.

Or at least that's how it appeared to Gus Sperrazza of Washington, D.C.:

Wow, how do you think Jimmy Carter took Obama's comments about Ronald Reagan -- that Reagan "restored a sense of optimism ... that the American people sorely needed....during a difficult period"?

Wow is right.

Yesterday at the White House, President Obama, with former first lady Nancy Reagan at his side, announced the creation of a commission that will honor Ronald Reagan on Feb. 6, 2011, which would have been the late president's 100th birthday. Signing the bill, Obama said, "President Reagan helped as much as any president to restore a sense of optimism in our country. ... It was this optimism that the American people sorely needed during a difficult period -- a period of economic and global challenges that tested us in unprecedented ways."

Hmm. If Reagan brought in a "sense of optimism" during a "difficult period," does that mean the bad times were the fault of his predecessor, the Hon. James Earl Carter? That's a delicious question that I'm sure will be discussed.

Reminds me of what George Bush said at the 1988 Republican convention, that he would offer a "kinder and gentler" path. Kinder and gentler than whom? His predecessor, Ronald Reagan?

Love to hear what you think.

The Associated Press is reporting that President Obama will nominate Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) as secretary of the Army. An announcement could come as soon as this morning.

McHugh, first elected to the House in 1992, is the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee. He was re-elected to a ninth term last year with 65 percent of the vote.

McHugh is one of just three Republicans in the 29-member New York House delegation -- the fewest number of Republicans in state history.

NPR hosts Michele Norris and Steve Inskeep interview President Obama this afternoon.

The focus will be on foreign policy, and the interview will appear in two parts: Today on All Things Considered and tomorrow on Morning Edition.

Full transcript and audio will be available at approximately 7 pm ET.

NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley forwards this White House radio pool report from Talk Radio News Service's Paul Brandus:

President went to Five Guys burgers - agent said NJ Ave SE, near the Nationals ballpark. The pres ordered several bags of food and from my vantage point it looked like he paid with four $20 bills - he told me he got a cheeseburger and fries.

I'm sure this is just a coincidence, but only three days ago, President Obama nominated someone to the Supreme Court whom some have compared to Justice Felix Frankfurter. Just sayin'.

If Jon Huntsman is confirmed by the Senate, Gary Herbert will become the new governor of Utah.

The real message of President Obama's nominating Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman as ambassador to China?

Well, it does add to Obama's reputation as someone who wants to reach across party lines. It does, for now, remove a potential candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. And it does, pending Senate confirmation of Huntsman, make Gary Herbert the next governor of Utah.

But it also removes Huntsman as a key figure in a shrinking pool of Republican moderates.

Continue reading "Huntsman Trades WH Hopes For Great Wall; Meet Gov. Herbert" >

Three years ago, in my first review of the entertainment at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, I had the temerity to say I didn't think that Stephen Colbert was particularly funny. You can mock and ridicule President Bush all you want, and that's what a satirist should do at these events. But I always thought that some humor was needed as well, and I was hard-pressed to find much of that from Colbert that night. And I said so.

That was a big mistake on my part.

My comments were immediately met with tons of e-mail accusing me of wanting to protect the president, being part of the corporate establishment, afraid of dealing with people who spoke "truth to power," not knowing what's truly funny, or (e) all of the above.

But then, a year later, we got what we deserved. Rich Little, who hasn't been funny since the Harding Administration, was the dinner's emcee. And some of his routine was so awful I found myself even feeling nostalgic for Colbert. Or, as I wrote back then, "even the Rudin-Elving podcast would have been funnier."

Continue reading "Obama Has 'Em Rolling At White House Correspondents Dinner" >

A Junkie blog post last night following President Obama's nationally televised news conference brought this comment from Joy Trenton:

I'd love to know how many households were tuned in to Lie to Me vs. Big O. Let us know if you get the numbers.

According to The Nielsen Co., which measures these things, Lie to Me -- one of my favorite shows, I should add -- was viewed by 7,754,000 people on Wednesday, which was the sixth-best showing on TV that evening, an evening that Fox won.

As for the president's news conference, Nielsen has these numbers:

Last night's primetime press conference to mark Barack Obama's 100th day in office was viewed by 28.8 million people in the U.S., according to The Nielsen Company. The event pulled an 18.8 household rating on 10 TV networks.

Viewership for the presser was 29% less than the President's last press conference on March 24, which was seen on 11 networks. President Obama's first primetime press conference was watched by 49.5 million U.S. viewers on eight networks. ...

Networks airing last night's press conference from 8pm to 9pm ET included ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and MUN2. Telemundo aired the press conference on a tape delay at 11:35pm ET.

Joe Biden did it again.

Biden, notoriously known for saying things he probably wishes he hadn't, was on NBC's Today Show this morning. Hours after President Obama said in a nationally televised news conference that the administration was opposed to sealing the border with Mexico in the wake of the swine flu outbreak, Biden had this advice about travel:

I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- that I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. ... It's not just going to Mexico, if you're in a confined aircraft and one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway.

That didn't sit well with Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines:

To suggest that people not fly at this stage of things is a broad brush stroke bordering on fear mongering.

Biden's office later released a clarification.

No advice from the VP about taking Amtrak to Guadalajara.

On his 100th day in office, President Obama held a prime-time news conference to tout his accomplishments and remind the American people that there is still much work still to be done. There wasn't much news, but here are some quick observations.

First of all, it should be reported that all the networks carried the news conference except for Fox, which instead showed an episode of its Lie to Me drama series. Just sayin', but for as long as there have been presidential press conferences, people have complained that the choice between said news conferences and Lie to Me would not have been much of a choice at all. But that's for another day.

Continue reading "Some Quick Thoughts On The President's News Conference" >

President Obama's nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) to be secretary of health and human services advanced to the full Senate this morning, following a vote of 15-8 by the Finance Committee.

Two Republicans, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Pat Roberts of Kansas, voted yes.

The nomination hit a speed bump regarding the issue of abortion. Senate Finance Republicans had asked her how much money George Tiller, a Wichita doctor who performs late-term abortions, had contributed to her political campaigns, and Sebelius, in a written response, said that the total between 1994 (when she was first elected state insurance commissioner) and 2001 was $12,450.

The Associated Press then revealed that Tiller had given her an additional $23,000 between 2000 and 2002 (when she was first elected governor). Sebelius called it an oversight. She also, prior to her confirmation hearing, corrected her tax returns and paid more than $7,000 in back taxes because of improper deductions.

President Obama's first nominee for HHS secretary, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, withdrew his name from consideration on Feb. 3 because of unpaid taxes.

No word yet on whether Republicans intend to filibuster the nomination. Anti-abortion groups have urged the Senate to reject her.

In this handout image released by the White House, the Obamas' new puppy, Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog, sits in the White House in Washington, D.C. Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images

We had Bo Derek in 10, Bo Callaway as a congressman from Georgia, Bo Schembechler running the Michigan football team, Bo Belinsky playing with the Los Angeles Angels and Mamie Van Doren (simultaneously), Bo Diddley on the guitar. We even had Bo (Ms. Peep to you), the shepherdess who lost her sheep.

And now, we present to you ... Bo, the Portuguese water dog, who made his debut today as the new White House pet. A gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy, Bo becomes the latest campaign promise kept by President Obama, who told daughters Malia and Sasha that they would get a puppy when they moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bo is only the latest dog to reach the White House. We all know of Checkers, the dog that saved Richard Nixon's spot on the 1952 Republican ticket. But how much do we know about the other presidential dogs?

Well, The Associated Press has put together an interactive "Presidential Pooches" game that is fun for the entire family.

Note: Some of the questions may be ruff. But no bitching allowed.

From Julie Rovner, NPR health policy correspondent:

You can tell the new White House isn't quite running on all cylinders yet.

About an hour before the White House Health Care Summit on Thursday, it seems someone forgot to give former White House chief of staff (and Obama transition chief) John Podesta's name to the guards at the gate. I breezed by and greeted him, noting that he was set to appear on that afternoon's All Things Considered. "If I ever get in," he grumbled.

It was clear the guard at the gate knew exactly who he was keeping standing by, and wasn't very happy about it. "Have we cleared in John Podesta yet?" he hissed into his phone while i was waiting to be buzzed in. Once inside the press room, I mentioned to a couple of fellow journalists that Podesta was having trouble getting in. "You mean he's still there?" said one. "He was there when I came in, like 15 minutes ago."

Podesta was finally seen entering the East Room opening event of the summit -- a few minutes late.

This would be a Twitter tweet if I could get it down to 140 characters. I failed. But I still think the entire concept is pretty interesting:

Last night, as the first African-American president was addressing a joint session of Congress, sitting behind him was the nation's first Catholic vice president and the first female speaker of the House.

The Republican response was given by the nation's first Indian-American governor.

Today, the first African-American president nominated as his commerce secretary the nation's first Chinese-American governor.

Just sayin'.

NPR science reporter Nell Greenfieldboyce says that defenders of volcano monitoring are erupting -- her word, don't blame me -- with quiet indignation at the idea that it is wasteful to spend money to watch out for potential geologic disasters. Here's her report:

During his response to President Obama's address to Congress, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal singled out "$140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring' " as an example of out-of-control federal spending. "Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.," Jindal said.

But that $140 million figure isn't accurate for volcano watching, as several blogs have already pointed out in sharply worded challenges to the idea that volcano watching is worthless. The stimulus bill allocates that amount for repair and restoration of a variety of USGS science facilities and laboratories.

Only a fraction of that money would be spent on monitoring volcanoes, says Marianne Guffanti, senior vulcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. "I've heard that it's going to be $15.6 million," Guffanti says, although the exact amount has not yet been finalized.

Continue reading "Jindal Comment On Volcano Monitoring Causes Some To Erupt" >

Bill Richardson said yes, then no. Judd Gregg said yes, then no.

Gary Locke said yes.

Locke, the former two-term Democratic governor of Washington, was named this morning by President Obama to be the new secretary of commerce.

Locke, first elected in 1996, is the nation's only Chinese-American to serve as governor. He was popular with both Democrats and Republicans. As commerce secretary, he will be faced with handling the 2010 census and the conversion to digital television.

The AP's Liz Sidoti reminds us that Locke was "briefly linked to the scandal over foreign contributions to President Bill Clinton's 1996 campaign":

In July 1998, he gave a deposition to the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight about his relationships with questioned Clinton donors. But the committee later said the deposition produced no evidence that Locke knowingly accepted illegal campaign donations.

Locke denied any wrongdoing, and he subsequently returned some checks tied to people implicated in the fundraising scandal, including $750 from John Huang. Huang, a former Commerce Department official, was the Democratic Party's chief fundraiser for the Asian-American population in the 1996 elections, and he became one of the central figures in the national Democratic Party fundraising scandal.

In December 1997, Locke's political committee was fined a maximum $2,500 by state regulators after it admitted breaking campaign finance laws during two out-of-state fundraisers in 1996.

And in March 1998, state investigators cleared Locke of wrongdoing following complaints that he unlawfully took $10,000 in campaign contributions from members of a Buddhist church.

On Tuesday, the Senate, by an 80-17 vote, confirmed Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) as labor secretary. Still to come: a choice to head up health and human services.

Here's what happens when you run President Obama's speech through Wordle:

 

A sampling of reaction to President Obama's address to Congress:

Continue reading "Some Early Reax To Obama Speech" >

For the most part, both Democrats and Republicans have given President Obama standing ovations for his goals.

But there was a noticeable bit of partisanship and gamesmanship at one point in his speech. After the president said we have a "responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay," Mr. Obama began his next sentence with, "With the deficit we inherited ..."

At that point Democrats immediately jumped to their feet in approval.

If there was any question that President Obama was going to focus on the teetering economy, his early comments erased that. But he gave an upbeat assessment:

You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It's the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job you thought you'd retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that's now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

First thing I noticed: President Obama has spent at least half of his trek to the podium shaking hands with Republicans. Earlier, when Transportation Ray LaHood (a former Republican House member) walked down that same path, he spent more time getting handshakes from Democrats.

And a long, heartfelt hug between the president and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who recently had cancer surgery.

There is always one member of the Cabinet who is kept away from a president's speech to a joint session of Congress, in the event an untold disaster hits the House chamber.

For tonight's speech, it will be Attorney General Eric Holder.

During Sunday night's Academy Awards, whenever Jennifer Anniston was speaking from the stage, cameras would invariably switch to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. A bit crass but hardly unexpected.

Now, another ceremony comes tonight to Washington, in the House chamber.

And it got me thinking: Who gets the most cutaways tonight during the president's address to Congress? Will it be Roland Burris, the embattled senator from Illinois? Judd Gregg, the New Hampshire Republican senator who changed his mind about joining the Cabinet? Congressman Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, whom I'm mentioning here only because I don't believe I've ever typed his name since he was first elected in 1992?

A waste of time? Perhaps. But think of the alternative. You know we're going to once again be thrilled to hear about Eliot Engel, the New York Democratic congressman who gets to the chamber four days early to stake out a position on the aisle so he can be seen shaking the president's hand. Boy, I never tire of that story.

And did you know that Engel, who is from the Bronx, roots for the Mets over the Yankees? What's with this guy?? You don't see the MSM focusing on that!

You can vote! Predict who gets the most camera cutaways in the comments section below. C'mon, what else are you going to do between now and 9 p.m.?

Throughout the evening, there will be the obligatory television pictures directed at what is called the "First Lady's Box" -- those privileged to be sitting with Michelle Obama.

But who are they?

Here's the list:

Continue reading "Who Are Those People With The First Lady?" >

We will be updating this blog all evening for analysis of President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress, plus offer a "truth squadding" by NPR correspondents.

The speech begins shortly after 9 pm ET and is expected to run about 45 minutes, 50 with applause.

Answer: Because he said so.

And that's good enough for us.

Lots of people have been asking that question about tomorrow night's speech by President Obama before a joint session of Congress.

First, here's what we know about a State of the Union address. The Constitution says that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." It doesn't say anything about giving it every year, or in the year of his inauguration. Nothing about the TV networks clearing their schedule.

Continue reading "Why Isn't Obama's Speech A State Of The Union Address?" >

You missed a great NPR political chat that began at noon ET today about President Obama's evolving relationship with Congress. Congressional Correspondent Andrea Seabrook and I took your questions, hosted by NPR's David Gura. We are planning on having a Political Junkie web chat every Tuesday at noon. Hope you can join us next week!

You can re-live the glorious moments of today's chat below.

Bill Richardson, Timothy Geithner (almost), Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle. Candidates for administration posts who (save Geithner) went down the tubes because of various ethics questions.

And now, Hilda Solis?

The California congresswoman, a fifth-term Democrat from Los Angeles, is President Obama's choice to be the next secretary of labor. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee postponed a scheduled vote on her nomination today. Republicans have raised questions about her role as treasurer of American Rights at Work, a pro-labor group that is advocating a bill that would make it easier for workers to form unions. For her part, Solis said nothing what she did for the group involved lobbying.

Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy and ranking Republican Mike Enzi released the following statement:

Today's executive session was postponed to allow members additional time to review the documentation submitted in support of Representative Solis' nomination to serve in the important position of Labor Secretary. There are no holds on her nomination and Members on both sides of the aisle remain committed to giving her nomination the fair and thorough consideration that she deserves. We will continue to work together to move this nomination forward as soon as possible.

But Matt Kelley of USA Today reports this afternoon that Solis' husband "paid about $6,400 Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his business." The disclosure came shortly before the above-mentioned Senate committee was about to vote on her nomination, and it ultimately may prove to be a bigger problem for Solis. According to Kelley:

Los Angeles County records showed 15 outstanding state and county tax liens against Sam Sayyad and his auto repair business, totaling $7,630. Two other liens worth $981 were released in 1999 after Sayyad repaid the taxes owed, according to county records.

Solis' financial disclosures list Sayyad's business, Sam's Foreign and Domestic Auto Center, as one of the couple's main assets, worth between $50,000 and $100,000. The disclosure form Solis filed after her nomination also lists bank accounts containing between $250,000 and $500,000.

Solis and Sayyad were unaware of the liens until USA TODAY asked about them Tuesday, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. He said Sayyad paid about $6,400 to Los Angeles County on Wednesday to settle the liens, but he plans to appeal.

Is it time to start singing?

Meanwhile, Judd Gregg (Commerce) and Leon Panetta (CIA director) still need to be confirmed in committee and by the full Senate. And Obama still needs to name a secretary for health and human services in the wake of Daschle's withdrawal.

CONTEST: Name the next HHS secretary. First correct prediction wins a genuine Nixon for President button from 1968! Send your predictions, along with your address, to politicaljunkie@npr.org.

Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader who had been nominated by President Obama to be the next secretary of health and human services, has withdrawn his name from consideration.

Daschle had been under fire for his failure to pay taxes over the personal use of a car and driver provided to him by a firm for which he was consulting. He belatedly paid the taxes, calling the failure "completely inadvertent" but acknowledging, "that's no excuse."

Daschle said he withdrew because he did not want to be a distraction, which he had become. Obama accepted Daschle's decision with "sadness and regret."

Read here for more on the troubled nomination.

"I don't know anyone more honorable, more decent, more honest and more qualified for this position." -- Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), yesterday, on his fellow Democrat, Tom Daschle, whose nomination to be secretary of health and human services is in jeopardy over his failure to pay his share of taxes.

"Raymond Shaw is the kindest, warmest, bravest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life." -- A brainwashed Maj. Bennett Marco (as played by Frank Sinatra), on Lawrence Harvey, The Manchurian Candidate, 1962.

Barack Obama may indeed be the greatest president in history, but is this the position his administration should be in after two weeks? Granted, his lofty rhetoric about a "new era of responsibility" is the kind of stuff you always hear from a new president; witness Bill Clinton's promise of the "most ethical administration in history." And perhaps much of what we heard during the campaign and at the inauguration was a bit unrealistic. But there is something troubling about the disclosures of past tax lapses first by Timothy Geithner, who has been confirmed as Treasury secretary, and now by Daschle, who failed to pay taxes on $255,000 of income over the use of a luxury car and driver from 2005-07.

Yes, Daschle is contrite. Yes, he apologized over and over yesterday in a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee, which will hold hearings on his nomination. His failure was "completely inadvertent," he said, "but that's no excuse." No, it's not. And it's a helluva message to send out.

Or, as Vi Rajnes of Binghamton, N.Y., wrote,

Is anyone in Washington honest? Does Tom Daschle really think we really believe he just overlooked the car and driver? A man who has been in the Senate for so many years? And that goes for that other guy who didn't pay his taxes either, Geithner. Do they really think they are above it all?

And it's not just the tax issue. Since being defeated in his bid for a fourth Senate term in 2004, the South Dakota Democrat had made nearly $5 million from a law firm and consulting fees from a private equity firm. He has also received hundreds of thousands of dollars for consulting for and speeches given to health care and pharmaceutical companies -- the same groups he would oversee as HHS secretary.

Can anyone say potential "conflict of interest?" Democrats can't seem to.

Part of the problem -- or, more fairly put, one of the reasons why his confirmation is still seen as likely -- is that he is a member of the club. He was certainly a top GOP target when he served as Senate majority and minority leader, and his defeat (by John Thune) was heralded by Republicans everywhere. But he is very popular with his former colleagues -- certainly among Democrats, and certainly within the Obama administration, where many former Daschle aides now reside.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, was asked about whether the administration knew about Daschle. "In terms of the vetting," he said, "we're comfortable with the process."

That's even more troubling.

Meanwhile, the New York Times, in an editorial today, urged Daschle to "step aside and let the president choose a less-blemished successor":

Mr. Daschle's tax shortfall is particularly troubling because it comes on the heels of another nominee's failure to pay taxes due. We were not pleased when the president's Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, admitted that he had failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in federal self-employment taxes while working for the International Monetary Fund despite having signed paperwork acknowledging the obligation.

Now we are confronted with an even larger lapse by Mr. Daschle, who failed to pay $128,000 in taxes, primarily for personal use of a car and driver provided to him by a private equity firm for which he consulted. Although the firm -- headed by a major Democratic donor -- had not issued a Form 1099 for the value of the car service, Mr. Daschle said he became concerned last June that he might owe taxes on it and instructed his accountant to investigate. Neither was concerned enough to actually pay the taxes.

Only after the Obama transition team flagged unrelated tax issues that would require filing amended returns did Mr. Daschle and his accountant address the need to report the personal-use value of the car service -- more than $255,000 over three years -- as income. Only after he had been chosen to be the health secretary did Mr. Daschle tell the transition team about the unpaid taxes. He paid some $140,000 in back taxes and interest on Jan. 2 to settle several tax problems -- and he acknowledges owing more.

In both the Geithner and Daschle cases, the failure to pay taxes is attributed to unintentional oversights. But Mr. Daschle is one oversight case too many. The American tax system depends heavily on voluntary compliance. It would send a terrible message to the public if we ignore the failure of yet another high-level nominee to comply with the tax laws.

A Reuters recap of editorials lists other newspapers calling for Daschle to step aside.

Indianapolis Star: "No need to fumble for words that sum up the stew of hypocrisy, arrogance and insiderism that is the unfolding saga of Tom Daschle. This is the audacity of audacity. ... Daschle isn't indispensable. But he is indefensible."

Philadelphia Inquirer: "Surely President Obama can find qualified people to serve in his Cabinet who aren't hustling to write overdue checks to the IRS. ... Daschle's error is too serious to ignore; it should disqualify him from serving in the Cabinet."

San Francisco Chronicle: "Does anyone important in Washington pay taxes? Or is that civic duty -- like jury duty or serving in the military -- now something that only the 'little people' in America, those without deep pockets and connections, do? ... Tom Daschle is the latest Obama appointee to make the American middle class feel like suckers. ... Daschle, for all of his experience and knowledge of health care, has disqualified himself from this important position because of his own personal greed. The Senate should reject his nomination."

Chicago Tribune: "So why is Obama determined to stick with Daschle despite his embarrassing record of non-compliance with the tax laws? ... Contrary to what the president seems to think, the administration can succeed without his services. Obama might keep in mind the wisdom of Charles de Gaulle, who noted that the graveyards are full of indispensable men."

Elsewhere, the White House has just confirmed that Nancy Killefer has withdrawn her name to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government. The AP's Michael Sniffen notes that "in 2005 the District of Columbia government had filed a more than $900 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment compensation tax on household help."

In her letter to Obama, Killefer wrote, "I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent. I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid. Because of this I must reluctantly ask you to withdraw my name from consideration."

And that prompted this note from NPR's Michel Martin, host of Tell Me More:

Now, somebody please explain to me why two Men fail to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes and they're STILL IN ... but a Woman doesn't pay $900 and she's OUT?

You should also check out Michel's latest online column (on the Tim Geithner situation), "You Say Forgiveness; I Say Sexism."

Sen. Hillary Clinton has been confirmed as secretary of state. The Senate vote today was 94-2, with Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) voting no.

Immediately after the vote, Clinton was sworn in in a private ceremony.

New York Gov. David Paterson (D) has said he will name a Senate successor by Saturday. (Click here for the last Junkie posting on the New York situation.)

Everyone may not be celebrating.

Lots of excitement, lots of tears, lots of joy. You would think that this is a unanimous sentiment.

Of course, it's not.

Republicans, I suspect, are mostly torn about today. Yes, let's give our new president our best wishes and sincerest prayers. But criticize him if he's wrong. Anything less would be ridiiculous, argues California GOP consultant Sal Russo, who is consulting for the Our Country Deserves Better organization:

It's ideological suicide for conservatives to sit back silent while Obama pushes for untold hundreds of billions in new spending and bailouts. If conservatives and Republicans can't find within them the ideological conviction to oppose this fleecing of the taxpayers, then what is it that we stand for?

Some people have said we shouldn't speak up now for our beliefs, but instead hold off for now. To these individuals I ask when do they propose we begin to stand up for our principles? Will waiting a month or year to fight for our beliefs somehow advance the cause of conservatism? Will it help America for us to sit back and let Obama push his agenda forward unopposed?

It seems to me that being silent and acquiescent now further empowers Obama, and further entrenches this notion that big government liberalism is somehow acceptable. It's the antithesis of our individual liberty and freedom, and it requires men and women of good conscience to step forward, take action and oppose it vigorously.

Rep. John Boehner, the Republican House minority leader, sees an era of comity:

The next four years will be marked by considerable challenges -- but also considerable opportunities for all leaders in Washington, regardless of party, to work together on behalf of the American people. House Republicans look forward to finding common ground with the President on solutions to rebuild our economy, strengthen American families, and keep our country safe. Today is a day of celebration -- a celebration of our thriving democracy and a celebration of our nation's first African-American President. I wish President Obama and his family all my best and look forward to traveling the next four years with him in our continuing American journey.

Republican commentator David Limbaugh feels differently, urging the GOP to "turn down the Kool-Aid":

It's going to take real courage the next four years for Republicans to swim against the tide and oppose Barack Obama -- in whom so many have placed their hopes, almost to the point of idolatry. But if Obama governs in a way that's consistent with his promises, the country's future security and prosperity will depend on spirited opposition.

It's bad enough for the liberal media to deify Obama, but it's almost unbearable for right-wing commentators and politicians to jump on this bandwagon, as well, as if Obama's personal attributes have blinded them to the policy dangers he represents. ...

I am not advocating that Republicans return the same mean-spirited partisanship with which the left pummeled Bush. But conservatives must not abandon their principles in pursuit of the seductive, illusory goal of bipartisanship.

Just hours after Barack Obama was sworn in as 44th president, six of his Cabinet nominees were confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.

They were:

Steven Chu, secretary of energy
Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture
Janet Napolitano, secretary of homeland security
Ken Salazar, secretary of interior
Eric Shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs
Arne Duncan, secretary of education

Also confirmed: Peter Orszag, to head up the Office of Management and Budget

At an inaugural luncheon for Barack Obama, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), who has been battling brain cancer, collapsed and was taken to a nearby hospital. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is quoted as saying it sounds as though the 76-year-old Kennedy may have suffered a seizure.

Other reports stating that Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV.), the longest-serving senator in history, also collapsed cannot be confirmed. But he did leave the luncheon for some reason.

At the luncheon, Obama said of Kennedy, "And so I would be lying to you if I did not say that right now a part of me is with him. And I think that's true for all of us. This is a joyous time. But it's also a sobering time. And my prayers are with him and his family and [Kennedy's wife] Vicki."

More details as they arrive.

President Barack Obama delivers his inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. Jae C. Hong/AP

 

Barack Obama -- President Barack Obama -- gave his inaugural address today from the West Front of the Capitol. He quickly thanked President Bush "for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition."

OK, he did say that "44 Americans have now taken the presidential oath." That's not exactly correct. It's 43. (Unless you count Grover Cleveland twice.) But this is not about math. It's about leading the nation. And Barack Obama knows what's at stake:

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. ...

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America -- they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

At some points, I heard a bit of Franklin Roosevelt, a bit of John Kennedy, a bit of Ronald Reagan.

The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. ...

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

He seemed to understand American power, and when that power should be used:

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience' sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

And he reached out to Muslims around the world, with words that brought back Sept. 11 -- and its aftermath:

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West -- know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

And he closed with this:

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Flag-waving, fireworks, cannon fire. It's official. Barack Hussein Obama has been sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts.

By the way, regarding my earlier post: There was no constitutional crisis after all. Obama officially became president at noon, even though he had not been sworn in. Oh well, it was exciting while it lasted.

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Chief Justice John Roberts after taking the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. First lady Michelle Obama stands between them. Elise Amendola/AP

 

Uh oh, a constitutional crisis.

Joe Biden has been sworn in as vice president of the United States, the first Roman Catholic to hold that position.

But it's one minute past 12. George W. Bush's term as president has expired. Barack Obama has not yet been sworn in. At this writing, there is no president of the United States.

Barack Obama made his first appearance on the inauguration platform and received a thunderous ovation. Several minutes earlier, President George W. Bush appeared and, according to NPR's Ina Jaffe, the first sight of Mr. Bush on the Jumbotron elicited boos from the crowd.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, just finished addressing the crowd. No mention of any pique about not being consulted in advance about the choice of Leon Panetta to head up the CIA.

Right now: The Rev. Rick Warren is giving the invocation. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports "thousands of bowed heads along Pennsylvania Avenue" during the invocation.

A question from Sejal Shah of Palo Alto, Calif.:

What is the basis for why the vice president is sworn in before the president? Why is it set up that way in the Constitution? Does that mean that for a few minutes Joe Biden will be President Bush's VP?

In the old days, both the president and the new Congress were sworn in on the same day, March 4. It was like that from 1789 until the 20th Amendment was ratified in 1933. Because the vice president is president of the Senate, he was sworn in first, and he then went on to swear in members of the Senate. With the 20th Amendment, the dates were changed: Congress to be sworn in on Jan. 3, the president on Jan. 20. The first president sworn in at this earlier date was Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1937, his second inauguration.

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, arrive at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday for the swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama. Ron Edmonds/AP

Any inauguration is not only a look ahead but a look back as well. Watching Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton on the inauguration platform, we are reminded that this democracy of ours, though imperfect, does work now and then. Especially on days like this.

Also seen: former first ladies Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton. As for Clinton, she is not going to be secretary of state just yet. A request for a unanimous voice vote in the Senate later today was blocked by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). He says he is not satisfied by Clinton's responses to concerns about potential conflicts regarding foreign donations to her husband's foundation.

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, says a roll call vote will come on Wednesday. Regardless of Cornyn's action, there is no threat to her confirmation.

By all accounts, today's inauguration is taking place under the tightest security measures in history. And while everything seems to be running smoothly, there is this somewhat vague statement from the Department of Homeland Security:

The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (including the USSS) and the intelligence community are coordinating with other law enforcement authorities to investigate and analyze recently received information about a potential threat on Inauguration Day. This information is of limited specificity and uncertain credibility. Authorities at all levels are vigorously pursuing any lead relating to this threat information. The Transition Team has been briefed and is fully integrated into the process.

There is an unprecedented level of security involving more than 58 federal, state and local agencies for this Inauguration, and related events. As we have previously said, Inauguration events could present an attractive target due to the large public gatherings and participation of many dignitaries. Authorities are constantly reviewing security measures in light of this threat information, as we would with any threat information.

We encourage the public attending Inauguration events to go about their normal plans. As always, we remind the public to be both thoughtful and vigilant about their surroundings, and to notify authorities of any suspicious activity. We also remind the public that they can expect very high levels of security at Inauguration events, and we ask for their patience and cooperation.

Barack Obama has completed his ride down Pennsylvania Avenue and has arrived at the Capitol, where at noon he will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.

At noon today, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the nation's 44th president. He will be sworn in by the chief justice of the United States, John Roberts.

On Sept. 29, 2005, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Roberts by a 78-22 tally. One of the 22 "no" votes was cast by Obama.

By most accounts, the relationship between Roberts and Obama is cordial; the chief justice recently had the president-elect over to visit the Supreme Court.

One not-so-cordial relationship between chief justice and the man he was to administer the oath of office involved Earl Warren and Richard Nixon. The poor relationship between Warren and Nixon, two California Republicans, went back to at least 1952, when Warren, then governor, was seeking the GOP presidential nomination. Rather than back Warren, his state's favorite son, Nixon -- then a recently elected senator -- backed Dwight Eisenhower for the nomination. Ike rewarded Nixon with the vice presidency. Warren never forgave Nixon. And Nixon, when he ran for president in 1968, spent much of the campaign criticizing the "Warren court" and what he called its liberal decisions.

And there they were, on Jan. 20, 1969, Earl Warren administering the oath to Richard Nixon, president of the United States. Only in America.

9:55 a.m.: Barack and Michelle Obama have arrived at the White House for their coffee with George and Laura Bush. The 43rd president and first lady greeted the Obamas, posed for photographs and then went inside. (Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived moments earlier.)

People wait in line Tuesday for access to the inaugural parade route prior to the swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama in Washington. Rob Carr/AP

 

Some dispatches from NPR correspondents around the city:

Neda Ulaby:

New Jersey Avenue is a major D.C. thoroughfare -- you can take it all the way to the Mall. Usually, it's filled with grim-faced commuters in cars. Right now it's filled with streams of people, walking with a palpable sense of solemnity and purpose. One lady has set up a hot chocolate stand outside her house near New Jersey and M. The hot chocolate is free. She's hung bunting all over the house and the stand, and covered the table with little golden angels. Another neighbor brought his boom box, and he's blasting vintage soul. "Free hot chocolate!" the lady yells. Three young white women in brightly colored scarves and fleece jackets are clustered around the free hot chocolate stand, giggling in excitement and chatting with two older African-American men in heavy dark overcoats and hats. Everyone -- even the clusters of National Guardsmen standing nearby -- is grinning.

Brian Naylor:

There are masses of people lined up to pass through security checkpoints to see the inaugural parade. At least one checkpoint, at Seventh Street N.W., is closed. At the 12th Street checkpoint the line stretches nearly a block long, a scene repeated at 10th Street. People seem to be in good spirits. One woman, Lisa Jones, came here from Atlanta: "I expected this -- crowds, long lines, everything. I don't mind."

Metrobuses have been parked to block off the street from vehicles. Helicopters can be heard buzzing overhead, and sirens are constantly wailing in the background, mixing with the cries of vendors hawking everything from DVDs to T-shirts.

Larry Abramson:

On ordinary days, the 14th Street Bridge is a freeway or, during rush hour, a parking lot. But today, pedestrians, cyclists and Rollerbladers are pouring across the pedestrian walkway. They have biked up from Alexandria, Va., or they have flown in from Kansas City, Mo., and then taken the Metro to the Pentagon. Everyone has a story of some circuitous route he has taken. They trek over the bridge and gaze down at the frozen river. Nearby roadways are blocked off by a menagerie of vehicles, loaders and plows and flashing police vehicles. It looks like a picture from a Richard Scarry children's book. In the background the Pentagon looms. This has been the scene of tragedy before -- the 9/11 attacks, the Air Florida crash. Today, the bridge is a gateway home.

A quick update from Laura Sullivan:

The scene at the entrance to the Purple section (at the Capitol) is chaotic ... large crowd backed up ... lots of pushing and shoving ... only 20 people at a time being allowed to cross the parade route ... there is no crossing at Third Street ... people have to cross at Seventh Street.

Metro: D.C. Metro Authority says 318,442 passengers traveled on the system by 8 a.m.

9 am: Barack and Michelle Obama are attending a service at St. John's Church, not far from the White House. It is a familiar stop for incoming presidents. The soon-to-become First Couple left the Blair House, where they had been staying, for a quick ride to the church.

From there, the Obamas will go to the White House, where they will have a private coffee with George and Laura Bush.

President-elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are welcomed by the Rev. Luis Leon as they arrive for services Tuesday morning at St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House.

Charles Dharapak/AP

 

Possibly the first button exchange in Metro history happened this morning on the Red Line.

Days of dire warning. Of crowds, of traffic snarls, of jammed Metro cars.

At 5:50 a.m. this morning, I approached the Shady Grove station stop on the Metro with trepidation.

But the ride was anything but a grind. What I witnessed was an indescribable celebration. Enormous crowds, as advertised. But unlike the usual mornings of sleepy folks on their way to work, the Red Line -- from Montgomery County, Md., into the nation's capital -- was filled to capacity with old and young, black and white, all smiling, all cheering, all wide awake, all taking pictures. Chants of "Obama!" would go up every few minutes.

I looked at all the faces, and wished I had access into their deepest thoughts. Many elderly African-American women, dressed in furs, some with tears in their eyes. I couldn't help but wonder what they have seen in their lives, if they ever envisioned this moment.

Young families, many with young children. I smiled at the kids and they smiled back. I wondered what they were thinking, and would they remember this day the rest of their lives.

The local government announced that 207,335 passengers were on the Metro as of 7 a.m.

It was still dark out when I got off the train. It's 8:37 a.m. now, the sun long up in the sky. It's cold, very cold, but no one is complaining. The lines of people, of cars, heading down Massachusetts Avenue toward the Capitol are just enormous. Chanting, singing, waving flags and wearing buttons.

Full disclosure: I traded an NPR pin for the Obama button shown above. It was from a woman and her young son, who took a bus from Iowa for today's ceremonies. The transaction took place on the Metro. It is believed to be the first button exchange in Metro history.

Whether they won in a squeaker or in a blowout, the 42 men who preceded Barack Obama all started with an inauguration. And we celebrate that today.

The first light of dawn above the U.S. Capitol on Inauguration Day.

Kevin Wolf/AP

 

We've used a lot of ink (or bandwidth) in the 77 days since the election to talk about hiccups and distractions and embarrassments and whatnot. We went on and on about Blagojevich and Burris, Richardson and Geithner. And, no doubt, we'll be talking about those subjects again.

But not today.

There is something about the inauguration of a president where, for at least this day, politics and partisanship make way for celebration. And this is an especially special Inauguration Day. In a country where racial divisions are as old as the nation itself, today, at noon Eastern time, we are set to swear in an African-American as president.

It is a moment that few of us thought we would see in our lifetime. Today's events do not eliminate those divisions. And Barack Obama may never again see his approval ratings this high. But on this day, we all hope, and many of us pray, that this young 47-year-old man can succeed in tackling what is on his plate.

NPR will be covering the inauguration round the clock. And I will be here, blogging away, doing my best to share observations of the day and reflections of the past, in Political Junkie.

In the last gasp of the Clinton presidency, the president made a controversial -- to this day -- pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich.

In the course of American history, most presidential pardons have been routine. Some have not.

Four more days of the Bush presidency, and people are wondering who, if anyone, might be pardoned by the president. The list of possible beneficiaries includes Lewis Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, and Ted Stevens, the former Alaska senator who was convicted of corruption charges in October.

But the question I'm posing is this: Whom do you think should receive a pardon? Who's on your list? Plaxico Burress? Harry Whittington? Ron Elving? Serious or not, send me your choices, and tell me why you think they should be pardoned, and if this bit works, I'll run it in an upcoming post.

Sen. John Kerry, the new chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, talked about the historical nature of this morning's hearings that will ultimately end up with the confirmation of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. The previous committee chair, Joe Biden, is now vice president-elect. Another committee member, Barack Obama, is the president-elect.

And, lest anyone think the path to the top is easy, Kerry reminded everyone who was sitting in the room that Clinton, Chris Dodd, Dick Lugar and he are all examples of those who tried for the brass ring and failed.

One major piece of history left unsaid: if confirmed, Clinton would be the nation's first female secretary of state since Condoleezza Rice.

Check out today's New York Times' Op-Ed page for a series of questions by 10 experts that they would like Clinton to answer at her confirmation hearing.

For the record, Clinton came to the hearing accompanied by her daughter, Chelsea, but not by her husband, the former president. Bill Clinton's foundation and its taking of foreign donations was the subject of the opening statement by ranking Republican Dick Lugar.

More to come.

After having the day off yesterday, the Senate committees holding hearings for Barack Obama's Cabinet selections and other administration officials resume today. Here's the latest schedule:

Tuesday, Jan. 13
Steven Chu, secretary of energy -- Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Hillary Clinton, secretary of state -- Foreign Relations Committee
Shaun Donovan, secretary of housing and urban development -- Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
Arne Duncan, secretary of education -- Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
Peter Orszag, budget director -- Budget Committee (also: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Jan. 14)

Wednesday, Jan. 14
Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency administrator -- Environment and Public Works Committee
Ray LaHood, secretary of transportation -- Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
Eric Shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs -- Veterans Affairs Committee
Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture -- Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee

Thursday, Jan. 15
Timothy Geithner, secretary of the Treasury -- Finance Committee
Eric Holder, attorney general -- Judiciary Committee
Janet Napolitano, homeland security -- Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Susan Rice, U.N. ambassador -- Foreign Relations Committee
Christina Romer, Council of Economic Advisers chair -- Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
Ken Salazar, secretary of interior -- Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Mary Schapiro, Securities and Exchange Commission chair -- Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee

Last week, confirmation hearings for Tom Daschle, the health and human services secretary-designate, and Hilda Solis, the choice for labor secretary, were both held by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (Jan. 8 and 9, respectively). The Senate Finance Committee must also hold hearings on Daschle's nomination.

Still to be scheduled: hearings for Ron Kirk (U.S. Trade Representative) in the Finance Committee.

And we're waiting for a commerce secretary nomination to replace the withdrawn Bill Richardson.

No confirmation hearings are required for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, since he is a carryover.

Note: This listing will be updated as necessary.

I'm still awaiting a final transcript. But in his farewell news conference as president, George W. Bush said this morning that he had a "Taipei personality."

We keep saying over and over that Barack Obama ran as close to a flawless campaign as one can remember, and nothing changes that. But in attempting to fill his administration, the president-elect has run up against some bumps in the road.

One was seemingly resolved on Sunday, when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the commerce secretary-designate, withdrew from consideration in light of an ongoing federal investigation into an alleged "pay for play" operation in the awarding of a state contract to a company that contributed to Richardson's political action committees. Still, some are wondering how the Obama team could continue with the choice of Richardson, given that the existence of the probe was well-known.

The news that Leon Panetta will be the next director of the CIA is not, at least not now, thought of as a mistake. But it does raise questions.

Panetta is one of the best-liked people in Washington, one with many friends on both sides of the political aisle, as well as with journalists. He served in Congress for 16 years, following his 1976 defeat of GOP Rep. Burt Talcott, and rose to become chairman of the House Budget Committee. He resigned in 1993 to become President Clinton's budget director and then his chief of staff.

But he has no experience in intelligence matters and has never served on the intelligence committee while in Congress. No doubt he dealt with intelligence matters as Clinton's chief of staff, but his expertise was always thought to be in budgetary matters, his skills always seen as political or managerial.

And that concerns some leading Democrats who will be dealing with intelligence matters in the 111th Congress. Incoming Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) complained she was not consulted in advance of the pick and, according to the Los Angeles Times, indicated she might oppose it. "I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA director," Feinstein said. "My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time." Feinstein is not known for grandstanding, nor is she known to have any personal problem with Panetta. It seems to be about qualifications.

A senior aide to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the outgoing chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is also quoted by the Times as saying Rockefeller "would have concerns" about a Panetta nomination: "He's puzzled by the selection. He has concerns because he has always believed that the director of CIA needs to be someone with significant operational intelligence experience and someone outside the political realm."

Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, the ranking Republican on Intelligence, also expressed skepticism over the Panetta pick.

Others were more supportive. Former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN), who served on the 9/11 Commission in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, called it a "savvy" choice. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid described Panetta as "one of the finest public servants I have ever served with and dealt with."

Panetta, who has been a strong critic of CIA interrogation and detention methods, might receive a difficult welcome from old hands at the agency. But first he needs to win approval by the Senate.

For the record, Panetta's nomination is yet to officially be made. If confirmed, he would succeed Gen. Michael Hayden. At 70, he would become the oldest CIA director.

Other pols. Two other former members of Congress headed up the CIA. They were:

-- Porter Goss (R-FL), named by President George W. Bush in 2004; and

-- George H.W. Bush (R-TX), named by President Gerald Ford in 1976.

Postscript: Yesterday we speculated on some potential choices for commerce secretary in the wake of Richardson's withdrawal. NPR's Madeleine Brand interviewed Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, one of those on our list, who said she told Obama she was not interested in any administration position.

The obvious question: Where was the vetting of Bill Richardson, since there have long been reports about a "pay to play" scheme in New Mexico, questions about how a financial investment firm won a state contract shortly after making contributions to Richardson's political action committees. A grand jury has been on this for months. Richardson's former chief of staff, David Harris, was interviewed by the FBI last summer.

Trip Jennings writes in The New Mexico Independent that Richardson informed the Obama transition team about the federal investigation prior to his being named by Obama last month. But it's not that simple:

There is no indication that the probe will end soon. In fact, the federal grand jury asked to review evidence in the case during 2008 has been released from its duty, meaning a new grand jury empaneled this year must take up the case all over again, including witness testimony. And that could mean a drawn-out inquiry.

The surprising but shouldn't-have-been-surprising action: Richardson withdrew yesterday as President-elect Obama's choice for secretary of commerce. The New Mexico governor said he feared the investigation could prove to be a distraction to Obama and his new team. He denied any wrongdoing and said he would stay on as governor. (He is term-limited and cannot run again in 2010.) With "pay to play" coming under major scrutiny in Illinois -- albeit a bit late -- there was no way the new administration was going to allow a potential scandal to explode in its infancy. (For the record, no one is suggesting Richardson is a target of the investigation. But the investigation will no doubt look to what, if anything, the governor's office knew or did regarding the contributions and subsequent contract.)

The details: CDR Financial Products, based in California, made at least $110,000 in political contributions to Richardson's PACs. Not long after, it received a $1.48 million contract to work with the state. Coincidence? Absolutely.

Did he jump, or was he pushed? No one knows for sure. According to the New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg:

Mr. Obama did not ask Mr. Richardson to step aside, associates close to both men said. But when Mr. Richardson offered to withdraw, the officials said, Mr. Obama simply accepted, without trying to persuade Mr. Richardson otherwise.

Now what: Richardson has to deal with the $450 million budget shortfall. It's one thing to travel the world's hot spots, meeting with world leaders. It's another banging heads with state legislators in Santa Fe.

Not so fast: Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (D) was measuring the drapes in the governor's office, having already named a transition team. She was long planning to run in 2010, but now it's unlikely she'll do so as an incumbent governor. Unless the investigation clears Richardson and he gets another administration post. Or unless there's more to the Richardson investigation than we know.

The next secretary of commerce? Some of the names suggested are those who were thought to be finalists for other Cabinet positions, such as Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius or Rep. Xavier Becerra of California. But the betting is that Obama could pick someone completely new out of the hat. (With Richardson gone, Latino groups may renew their lobbying efforts on behalf of Becerra.)

Gone but not forgotten: Other administration would-have-beens-but-never-were include Linda Chavez, President Bush's choice for labor secretary; Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, President Clinton's choices for attorney general; and Theodore Sorensen, President Carter's choice to head up the CIA.

We seem to have a better understanding of the two remaining unfilled Cabinet posts. Tomorrow, President-elect Barack Obama is expected to nominate:

Rep. Ray LaHood for secretary of transportation. The retiring Illinois lawmaker, the only Republican of the group (unless you count carryover Robert Gates at Defense), LaHood is widely liked on both sides of the aisle. A longtime fixture on Capitol Hill -- he was chief of staff to House Minority Leader Bob Michel for a decade before succeeding him in the House 14 years ago -- LaHood is one of just three Republicans of the Class of 1994 who refused to sign onto the Contract With America.

LaHood had made it clear that he was not happy with the rightward trend in his party, and was never a fan of Tom DeLay, the GOP power house from Texas who resigned in 2006 under an ethics cloud. He was close with then-Speaker Dennis Hastert, a fellow Illinoisian, but that never translated into his wielding much power in the party. He considered, but opted out of, challenging Gov. Rod Blagojevich two years ago in order to stay in the House. But he decided this year that he had had enough.

Transportation, though, is an interesting choice. LaHood was not a member of any transportation-related committees in Congress. HIs Peoria-based district is best known for grain, agriculture and ethanol interests.

Rep. Hilda Solis for secretary of labor. Solis was first elected to the House from east Los Angeles in 2000, unseating her fellow Democrat, Matthew Martinez, in the primary. A favorite of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she has been a tireless advocate for environmental, women's and workers' rights.

In addition, Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas who was the unsuccessful Democratic Senate nominee in 2002 against John Cornyn (R), will be the next U.S. trade representative.

And, in response to an e-mail request from Johnette Barham of Detroit, here are the rest of Obama's Cabinet picks:

Treasury -- Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York

State -- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)

Attorney General -- Eric Holder, deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration

Defense -- Robert Gates (holdover)

Homeland Security -- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D)

Commerce -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D)

Health and Human Services -- Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD)

Veterans Affairs -- Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki

Housing and Urban Development -- Shaun Donovan, NYC housing commissioner

Energy -- Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics

Education -- Arne Duncan, Chicago superintendent of schools

Interior -- Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO)

Agriculture -- Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D)

Other posts filled:

National Security Adviser -- Retired Marine Gen. James Jones

National Economic Council Director -- Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration

OMB Director -- Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office

EPA Administrator -- Lisa Jackson, former NJ environment commissioner

President-elect Barack Obama will name Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The announcement will come at a Chicago news conference this morning at 10:45 ET.

Schapiro, a lawyer, is currently the chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. She was an SEC commissioner for six years until becoming chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Clinton administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Schapiro would replace Christopher Cox, the former California congressman who was named by President Bush to head the SEC.

The SEC has come under fire as major financial institutions in the country have collapsed and scandals — the latest being the $50 billion investment fraud scheme allegedly carried out by Bernard Madoff — have destroyed confidence in the industry.

Tomorrow, Obama is expected to name retiring Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood, a Republican, as secretary of transportation.

One of the interesting quirks in our Constitution takes place today: the meeting of the Electoral College. You might have thunk that voters on Nov. 4 — all 131 million of them — determined the 44th president. That was only the first step.

Today, electors from all 50 states are meeting in their respective state capitals to ratify last month's will of the electorate. Actually, what voters were actually doing was deciding their states' "electors." There are 538 total electors, and a majority — 270 — is required for a candidate to be declared the winner. It's not the popular vote that decides the election, as Al Gore (2000), Grover Cleveland (1888), Samuel Tilden (1876) and Andrew Jackson (1824) learned to their dismay.

Kevin Christie (right) of White River Junction, a Vermont member of the Electoral College, smiles after casting his ballot for Barack Obama in Montpelier, Vt., on Monday. Elector Euan Bear of Bakersfield sits next to Christie.

AP

 

According to what transpired on Nov. 4, Barack Obama (D) received 365 electoral votes to John McCain's (R) 173. It was the most EVs for a prez winner since Bill Clinton had 379 in 1996.

In terms of both popular vote and electoral vote, the race wasn't close. But when it is close — as it was in 2000 and 2004 — then the counting of electoral votes becomes a closely watched and potentially nail-biting event. Because, in most states, these electors are not bound by law to vote for their states' presidential winners. And there have been instances in the past where these electors — call them "faithless electors" — strayed from voting for the candidate who won their state. There has never been a case where these strayers have altered the outcome of the election. But it could happen.

Here is the list of those "faithless" folks since 1900:

— 1948, a Harry Truman (D) elector in Tennessee voted instead for States Rights Democrat Strom Thurmond;

— 1956, an Adlai Stevenson (D) elector in Alabama voted for a local judge named Walter Jones;

— 1960, a Richard Nixon (R) elector in Oklahoma voted for Sen. Harry Byrd (D-VA);

— 1968, a Nixon elector in North Carolina voted for American Independent Party nominee George Wallace;

— 1972, a Nixon elector in Virginia voted for Libertarian Party nominee John Hospers;

— 1976, a Gerald Ford (R) elector in Washington voted for former Gov. Ronald Reagan (R-CA.);

— 1988, a Michael Dukakis (D) elector in West Virginia voted for Dukakis' running mate, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX);

— 2000, an Al Gore (D) elector in Washington, D.C., cast no vote in protest of the District's lack of statehood; and

— 2004, a John Kerry (D) elector in Minnesota voted for Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards (D-NC).

Last week, it was his economic team, stupid. This morning, President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team, naming Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as his designate for secretary of state, and keeping Robert Gates as secretary of defense. Both moves were expected for quite some time.

The Clinton announcement was conditional upon the willingness of her husband, Bill Clinton, to release the names of donors to his presidential library, as well as those foreign governments who gave to his international foundation. With that apparently resolved, and following the expected Senate confirmation, she adds another "first" to her resume: the first former first lady to become secretary of state.

Gates makes history as well, becoming the first defense chief to stay on from one party's administration to another. A former director of the Central Intelligence Agency under the first President Bush, Gates has been heading the Bush administration's war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan since Donald Rumsfeld was forced out immediately following the 2006 midterm elections. He may not exactly fit the "change" mode that Obama made during his campaign, but the Prez-elect probably decided he is best equipped to begin implementing his policy of withdrawal from Iraq while at the same time buffing up the number of troops in Afghanistan. And this is, after all, Obama's policy.

Also named today were Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security; retired Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser; Eric Holder, a Justice Department official under President Clinton, as attorney general; and Susan Rice, a long-time Obama aide, as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Obama has indicated that the latter position will be elevated to Cabinet-level, as it was under President Clinton.

Clinton, Holder, Napolitano and Rice require Senate confirmation. Jones does not, and Gates, as a holdover Cabinet official, has already been confirmed by the Senate (a 95-2 vote on Dec. 6, 2006).

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