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January 20th marked the beginning of a new chapter in American history as we moved away from the partisan and war-minded administration of George W. Bush to the more modern and hopeful Barack H. Obama. And, he’s the first African American President elected to office, a detail retired General Colin Powell noted following the inaugural address.

A southpaw from Illinois, President Obama has already signed Executive Orders and begun the undoings of the last eight years. First to go was the steadfast rule of jackets or blazers required in the oval office by former President George W. Bush.

And then President Obama announced that his entire staff will be required to attend an ethics class. Pay freezes have been implemented for staff making over $100,000, and on his first full day on the job, Obama was already busy on the phone calling officials in the Middle East.

And yet amidst all the festivities and celebrations, at least one thing did go wrong – the Presidential Oath. As Wolf Blizter commented on CNN,

Chief Justice Roberts had one job to do today, and he kind of screwed it up.

He is of course referring to the blunder that occurred in administering the Presidential Oath of Office, a 35 word dissertation. Legally, though, Barack Obama was already crowned President at high noon, a stipulation of the Constitution of the United States.

Regardless of the mess up, change has already begun. The White House website was switched over promptly at noon, and re-runs of the inauguration are abundant. Watch below to relive the history as it happened, and remember where you were, what you were doing, when this historic event happened. Your kids may ask you someday.

[photo by The White House]

“We have chosen Hope.” ~President Barack Hussein Obama

Change has come to America as former Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-IL) was sworn in by Chief Justice Roberts just past noon eastern standard time. Festivities filled and packed with supporters and hopefuls, Capitol Hill became the stage for this historic inauguration. The 44th President of the United States Barack Obama represents more than hope, more than change. He is the nation’s first African American President. He calls out to the Middle East and offers peace to those who will join the movement against terrorism. He calls out the past as problematic, and he lays the path for a bumpy road ahead.

But it is a brighter day. With an estimated attendance of over 2 million, plus the billions that watched the inauguration around the world on the Internet and on television, Obama made clear one thing – he will represent an administration of you, of Us. And as George Walker Bush flew off on Executive One for the last time, we were reminded of the past, and happy about the future.

News continues to trickle out of the Obama Transition Team’s office in Illinois regarding officially and unofficially announced Cabinet positions for the Obama administration. Let’s take a look at a breakdown -

It is widely expected that President-Elect Barack Obama will formally ask Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to accept the role of Secretary of State. Clinton, Obama’s chief rival during the Democratic Primaries for Democratic presidential nomination, brings a lot to the table for the position. Her world-class status as a renowned diplomat and various relations with world leaders will prove important and worthy of the nomination. She has garnered significant influence in the United States Senate despite her relatively short tenure, elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2006. All of this will prove significant to the position. But the rumors surrounding Obama’s nomination of Clinton proves more important than just filling a cabinet seat – it is evidence that President-Elect Obama is trying to begin an era of a new kind of politics, an era not bogged down by partisanship and enemies. Surely in politics, there will be those who disagree with you, politicians from both sides of the political spectrum.

President Abraham Lincoln crowned the tone of argument amongst cabinet members. He welcomed and encouraged arguments amongst his Cabinet, using disagreements as a point-counterpoint measure to gauge effectiveness of policy decisions before taking public action. Historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin argues that Lincoln’s motis operandi of surrounding himself with dissenting opinions to mold public policy consensus is what’s missing from today’s Cabinet and is what this country needs.

And it appears that is what President-Elect Obama is trying to accomplish. Wanting to bring aboard rivals and opponents as well as supporters to the Cabinet will offer a unique perspective into policy making and will shape public policy for the better, especially in such times of economic crisis today.

This is exactly the thinking taking place in Obama’s Secretary of Defense pick. Probable candidate is the current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who was sworn in as the defense secretary in December, 2006, and Obama is expected to ask Gates to stay on as the Pentagon Chief for at least one more year. His resumé includes 27 years of service with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as both an agent and director. His experience in recent years with national security and defense measures as well as ongoing counter-terrorism measures likely tops Obama’s reasoning for his continued service.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner has officially been chosen by President-Elect Obama as the next Secretary of Treasury. Geithner helped manage Wall Street’s financial crisis earlier in the year, overseeing the acquisition of Bear Stearns by the more financially secure JPMorgan Chase, as well as the bailouts of AIG and Lehman Brothers. His experience in working with the United States Treasury Department date back to the late 1980’s, where he held various secretarial positions even beyond the Clinton administration of 1992-2000. He will be heading up the Obama economic advisory committee as the face that sells its ideas to Congress and to the people. He is widely respected amongst his peers and in and around Washington, and should provide the know-how to save this country from the economic crisis it is in today. He will lead an economic team consisting of Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, Christina D. Romer, Director of the Council of Economic Advisors, Melody C. Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Heather A. Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Below, Barack Obama announces his economic team from his Transition Team headquarters in Chicago, Illinois -

The President-Elect is looking to nominate Retired General James L. Jones as the next National Security Advisor. Jones, who served in Vietnam, was named by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as the commander of the U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander of Europe in early 2003.

Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman looks to be the next Energy Secretary. Bingham currently chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, a committee that oversees U.S. energy policy, a seemingly easy and logical transition for the Senator.

Meanwhile, on the Homeland Security front, Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) is emerging as Obama’s top choice for Secretary of Homeland Security.

Already announced is Robert Gibbs as the Press Secretary. Gibbs, a trusted advisor dating back to Obama’s senatorial bid in 2004, was a senior advisor and communications director for the President-Elect’s presidential campaign.

And lastly for today, the Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (D-IL). A veteran of the Clinton administration, is well known around Washington. Currently the fourth highest ranking member of the United States House of Representatives, Emanuel has been a trusted advisor for Obama throughout his campaign and Senatorial work, and is a appropriate fit for the next administration. I will end this post with a video from 2005, which C-SPAN just re-aired after learning of Emanuel’s appointment to Chief of Staff.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Democrat-turned-Independent Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) mended some of the tides of separation with Democratic leaders today. By a vote of 42-13, Lieberman was allowed to keep his chairmen position on the Senate Homeland Security Committee by the Senate Democratic caucus.

It was not all that long ago that Lieberman enraged Democrats by speaking at the Republican National Convention, offering his public support for Senator John McCain (R-AZ). But in the new Obama-era of politics, the President-Elect offered a sense of forgiveness to the Senator. Whether or not you or I agree with, or like for that matter, Senator Lieberman, Obama is clearly trying to create a government that works together, mending ties with politicians of opposing political views, and even in the case of Lieberman, mending the ties with defectors.

This election year looks to be a cleaning house of the Senate and government. Reaching an overwhelming majority in the Senate, Democrats may be able to prevent a Republican filibuster for the next few years. A change of party has reached the Oval Office. Its cabinet is shaping up to be comprised of Clinton-era men and women with long, established, and qualified resumés. And in the end, hopefully this means a government that works together for the greater good, putting out the fires that Lieberman eludes to in the below interview with Katie Couric.

In the midst of financial bailouts and failing economies, the Pentagon has revised its request for funding from the United States government. It is now asking for $524 billion in funding, a $9 billion increase in its baseline request for next fiscal year. This does not include added expenses for keeping troops overseas fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is likely to add a few more billion to the budget.

What does this mean for the nation? President Bush entered the Oval office back in 2000 with a relative surplus in the National economy. Fast forward nearly eight years later, and this country is trillions of dollars in debt. Most of that debt comes from costly wars and defense budgeting. These are the tax payers dollars and supplementals to Congress.

Should we be spending this much on defense? We are talking over a half trillion dollars for one year! Surely there must be some inefficiencies that could be eliminated to bring down this dollar amount. When President-Elect Barack Obama takes office January 20th, among the many other issues on his plate, he needs to take a serious look at government spending programs. He needs to evaluate their effectiveness and appropriateness, and make changes accordingly.

The United States Dollar can not be the open, readily-available resource that it has been to government spending programs the past eight years. Military officials expect the Pentagon budget requests to reach a plateau in the next couple of years as the wars are dialed down and research on new weapons technologies advances to the production stage.

Photo Credit: CNN

As the “Big Three” teeter with collapse, three million workers around the nation face the looming possibility of job loss. They have not seen economic success in several years, and are treading dangerously close with having no financial capital with which to operate their respective companies.

Why? They have resisted change. Body designs, amenities, and features in automobiles certainly have changed in recent years. But the business practices have remained largely the same. Japanese and other foreign auto industries have successfully dealt with changing needs and consumer demands. The environment is becoming a growing concern. Oil is a unstable commodity that we are hoping to steer ourselves away from holistic dependance on.

It was not until the past few years that American automotive makers began to realize they needed to change. American’s were opting to buy foreign-made cars that were more fuel-efficient over the design and muscle of American vehicles. Jumping on the ship so late has cost General Motors (GM), Ford, and Chrysler billions in expenses, and put their corporations in danger of bankruptcy.

Questions have been brought up during Congressional hearings with American auto industry executives as to the necessity of such bailout measures. Would bailing out another industry in hard economic times prove fruitful? According to the auto industry, the alternative would be far more catastrophic. Not offering $25 billion in economic stimulus aid would result in a sure collapse of the industry. The loss of an industry that comprises approximately 4% of this country’s GDP would be catastrophic. The loss of jobs would be in the millions, the loss in American income in the billions. The economy – even worse off.

The problem is – we can not trust these companies based on their past business practices. Shelling out billions of dollars in economic aid is not the answer. The government should rather devise a package in which it offers these companies a chance to turn themselves around, and reward these companies for doing so, with government loans that are required to be paid back.

The government has bailed out an auto manufacturer before. In 1979, Chrysler received $1.2 billion in government loans as it faced bankruptcy. And less than four years later, Chrysler paid the government back every dollar, with interest. Chrysler used the bailout funds to restructure and get their act together. And in doing so, they were able to turn profits to such a degree that they were able to pay back the government all money owed.

We can not issue a blank check to the auto industry today. Giving them a $25 billion economic stimulus aid package will only go towards operating expenses and cover purchasing capital. It will not go towards restructuring or reworking their business models. The government has recognized this, and will not simply issue out a blank-check aid package. The best result out of this situation, for the American people, for the economy, and for the auto industry, is a rewards-based aid package which offers financial aid to the companies who have proven they can dig themselves out of their current sleuths of messes.

And to put things simply, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called out the Detroit auto manufacturers at a luncheon speech, calling on Detroit to “get of [their] butts.”

Photo Credit: New York Times Archives and American Elephants

Ted Stevens loses Alaska Senate Race…Developing Story

Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), the longest-serving Republican Senator and a figure in Alaskan politics since before statehood has not only been indicted and convicted on seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from various companies, but has all but lost his re-election bid for a seventh term as Senator to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. This marks a dramatic shift in Senate power, moving Senate Democrats to within two seats of a fillbuster-proof 60-vote majority.

As of Tuesday night, Stevens was trailing the Anchorage Mayor by 3,724 votes, with only 2,500 overseas ballots remaining uncounted.

“Uncle Ted,” as Alaskans refer to him has seen his glory days wither away in the midsts of federal corruption convictions. The balance of power in the Senate is about to drastically change, and the loss of Stevens will further the Democratic leadership and power. Stevens has served in the Senate since the days of the Johnson administration.

But in the midst of a generational shift across America, Stevens has been ushered away by the younger candidate. The Republican party is withering away and in need of restructuring badly as a result.

“With seven seats and counting now added to the Democratic ranks in the Senate, we have an even stronger majority that will bring real change to America,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

Even if Stevens were to manage to pull a victory out of a self-funded recount, he would likely be facing expulsionary hearings from the Senate next year. The age of old-school Republican politics is coming to an end for the State of Alaska, and it looks like for the United States Senate as well. This should be a sign of good things to come for this nation as an era of new-politics is ushered into the Senate halls and political practices.

UPDATE: Tuesday, November 19th, 2008 Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) has conceded the 2008 election, ending his bid for re-election to the Senate for a record seventh term. Trailing by over 3,700 votes, Stevens decided to throw in the towel and “enjoy life” in the private sector. The Senate is now two seats away from a fillbuster-proof majority. Mayor Mark Begich will assume the Alaskan Senate seat that Stevens has held for the past few decades come next January.

Banks, financial institutions, AIG, American Express, and now, the auto industry. What’s being called “The Big Three Bailout,” the major three auto manufacturers have been visiting Washington, pleading Congressional leaders for a share of the bailout which has become a trend of late. How much money are we talking about here? $25 billion shared amongst General Motors (GM), Ford, and Chrysler.

But unlike the $700 billion financial banking bailout that the government began dishing out a couple of months ago, the aid the auto industry is asking for is being met with staunch resistance. Flying in on private company jets, top executives from the top three U.S. auto manufacturers lobbied and begged for economic aid. On the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection, fears are spreading that GM, among the other two companies, is running out of operational capital.

“Our industry … needs a bridge to span the financial chasm that has opened up before us,” General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee.

Wagoner blamed the auto industry’s economic woes not on management failures but on the deepening global financial crisis. And Robert Nardelli, CEO of Chrysler LLC, told the panel the bailout would be “the least costly alternative” when compared with damage from bankruptcy. The companies are reaching out to its consumer base to put pressure on Congress to grant financial support.

The fear of course is that the collapse of the auto industry, and the financial protection of bankruptcy would have a trickle-down effect on not only the American economy, but on the world economy. With the failure of the auto companies, many supply companies would suffer from a sudden decrease in demand. Job losses at all levels would result. And if these auto companies file for bankruptcy, studies show that consumers, by an overwhelming majority (roughly 80%), would not purchase vehicles from a company in bankruptcy. Fears of insecure warranties top the list of reasons causing this consumer thought.

Failure of the auto industry “would be catastrophic,” Wagoner said, resulting in three million jobs lost within the first year and “economic devastation (that) would far exceed the government support that our industry needs to weather the current crisis.”

Just how much money do these companies have left? And how much money do they need to operate each month? GM CEO Wagoner faced direct questions from Rep. Paul Kanjorski in Congressional hearings.

If Congress does grant a bailout stimulus package to the auto industry in some form, what does this say to other industries and organizations? Is our government becoming a fail-safe bailout group that lends an excuse to mismanaged companies and corporations to seek aid in tough times? That is the fear of many on Capital Hill. Had the auto industry focused more research and resources to bringing more economical and green cars to the market, perhaps they would not be bleeding red so much economically. Toyota and Honda both have faired well in the recent economic downturn.

Can some blame be placed on lavish Union contracts of the auto workers, guaranteeing large portions of wage earnings after retirement or layoff? Can some blame be placed on management and organizational factors of the auto industry? The executives would answer that its the economy, stupid. And in part, it no doubt is. But if a bailout package were to be issued, it in no way can be a blank check. Oversight is essential. Stipulations must be abundant. And responsibility must be present. Good faith loans will not cut it. The government, if leaning towards an auto industry bailout, must make it clear to the auto executives that they must change their business models, and show proven change, in order to be rewarded with government funding, funding that comes with a return expectation.

GM has compiled a video they circulated on the company’s YouTube channel explaining the need for government financial assistance. It’s clear that the American auto industries are deeply intertwined in the American and global economies. The fear of a total failure would result in catastrophic economic fallout’s.

Photo Credit: 2405.com and CNN

Keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer (rivals).

President-Elect Obama invited Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to his transition team’s headquarters in Illinois today to clear the air and move forward. In what began as a clearly awkward meeting, Obama’s official Change.gov website released the following statement:

“We had a productive conversation today about the need to launch a new era of reform where we take on government waste and bitter partisanship in Washington,” President-elect Obama and Senator McCain said in a joint statement released after the meeting. “We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation’s security.”

In order for Obama to be successful to any degree in his upcoming term, he must develop relationships with prominent officials on both sides of the political spectrum. So far, Obama is doing just that. He wants to run a bi-partisan administration which promotes inter-connectedness and cooperation amongst both Republicans and Democrats. Obama wants and needs to create a government not dialed back by party differences, but a government that works together with one common goal – working for the benefit of the American people and for the American nation.

This meeting that Obama called for with McCain is the first step towards mending any woes that were created during the long Presidential campaign.

In order for Obama to see any level of success, he needs to reach out to his opponent and attain a common ground. Senator McCain has vast knowledge in areas of energy, military, and varying views on economic policy, among many other areas of expertise. By working with McCain, Obama will likely gain the support of McCain advocates, and see easier results in working with the Senate and Congress.

Many have begun speculating that McCain may find himself with a seat in Obama’s administration, specifically a cabinet-level position. Realistically, this is looking less like a reality. But McCain will more than likely play a large role in the Obama administration, offering his input on various issues and lending his Congressional pull.

President-Elect Obama has made many relationships in the Senate as a Senator for the State of Illinois the past few years. He will need to utilize these friendships to create a government that can bring about the drastic changes he has proposed and the changes that this country needs. Obama has walked into a pile of problems, both economically and politically, that need to be fixed. And he has his work cut out for him.

Easing the tensions between his campaign rival McCain will certainly help.

Below is the press video released of the two’s initial meeting and praiseful remarks.

Rumors are abound and support is growing for Senator Hillary Clinton. Only a week after the Presidential Election was decided, President-Elect Obama is busy staffing his administration. And as of late, rumors are brewing that Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is atop his list for the position of Secretary of State.

Henry Kissinger, a former Secretary of State under both the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations, as well as Chief of Staff in the Clinton administration, had the following words of praise for the possible job offer -

“I believe it would be an outstanding appointment. If it is true, it shows a number of things, including great courage on the part of the President-Elect. To appoint a very strong personality into a prominent cabinet position requires a great deal of courage. Obama was my second choice in the election. But at the same time, I want to stress that this is the moment for non-partisanship in America. There are a number of challenges that must be dealt with…I believe that the United States faces a moment of enormous complexity, but also a moment of extraordinary opportunity”

The possibility of Senator Hilary Clinton’s acceptance of the offer for Secretary of State would position the United States in a favorable stance internationally. Approval ratings are already higher than ever around the world for President-Elect Obama, but with Hilary Clinton in the cabinet, the knowledge and power she brings to the table would be astronomical. Clinton has traveled the globe extensively, both for her philanthropic work with her husband, President Bill Clinton, and during his administration. She has contacts in virtually every nation, and is on a first name basis with many of them. The pre-defined relationships she has with world leaders would be advantageous to the Obama administration.

After the last eight years of the Bush administration, the country needs a strong leader for the Secretary of State position. Her role could restore some level of international relation with many countries around the world.

While both the Office of the President-Elect and Senator Clinton remain mum on the subject, tidbits are leaking out that the President-Elect views Clinton as his number one candidate for the position. We shall find out shortly what, if anything, comes of this.

Photo Credit: CNN