Obama Sent Letter To Kim Jong Il
President Obama sent a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. An anonymous government official would not disclose the exact contents of the letter, but said they were consistent with the general message that the United States has had: “The North Koreans have a choice: continued and further isolation or benefits for returning to the six-party talks and dismantling their nuclear weapons program.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:45 a.m. ET, and Obama will receive the economic daily briefing at 10:15 a.m. ET. Obama will meet with Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams at 11:45 a.m. ET. He will meet at Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum at 12:10 p.m. ET. He will meet with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden at 3:05 p.m. ET. The President and First Lady will host a Hannukkah reception at 5:15 p.m. ET.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will attend President Obama’s daily briefing at 9:45 a.m. ET. Biden will host a Middle Class Task Force meeting at 1:30 p.m. ET, on the future of manufacturing, with participants including Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers, and leaders from the business, labor and academic sectors. Biden will meet at 2:30 p.m. ET with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and directors of three leading national laboratories. Biden will attend the 5:15 p.m. ET Hannukkah reception with the President and First Lady.
Harkin: Senate Bill ‘Doesn’t Just Tinker Around The Edges; It Changes The Paradigm’
In a new guest column in Roll Call, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) touts the benefits of the Senate health care bill, a seeming rebuttal to liberals who say it hasn’t gone far enough. “Make no mistake, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act doesn’t just tinker around the edges; it changes the paradigm,” Harkin writes. “Our aim is to re-create America as a genuine wellness society focused on healthful lifestyles, good nutrition, physical activity and preventing the chronic diseases that take such a toll on our bodies and our budgets”
House Dems Putting Off Some Difficult Issues Until 2010
House Democrats are delaying some tough fights for after New Year’s, including the long-term raising of the debt limit, and will instead pass stop-gap measures to raise the limit by a smaller amount and pass other measures to fund the government. “In a world of alternatives, that is the one we have,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). “This is what we can get done now.”
Schwarzenegger: Is Palin Really Interested In Climate Change Science — Or The GOP Nomination?
Speaking at the Copenhagen conference on climate change, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) criticized his fellow Republican Sarah Palin for calling on President Obama to boycott the event. “Is she really interested in this subject or is she interested in her career and in winning the (Republican presidential) nomination?” said Schwarzenegger. “You have to take all these things with a grain of salt.”
GOP Rep. Chaffetz To Seek Overruling Of D.C. Gay Marriage
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) will try to overturn Washington D.C.’s legalization of gay marriage, though he concedes that “it’s going to be exceptionally difficult” to get it through Congress. “If it were put up for a vote, traditional marriage would win,” said Chaffetz. “It would win with a congressional vote, and it would win with the residents of Washington, D.C.”
