It’s Official: Caroline Ends Senate Bid
Caroline Kennedy released a short statement declaring that she was ending her bid to be appointed to Hillary Clinton’s former Senate seat: “I informed Governor Paterson today that for personal reasons I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate.”
Obama’s Schedule For Today
Here are President Obama’s morning events: A closed-door meeting with economic advisers at 9:40-9:55 a.m. ET; a 10:00-10:15 a.m. ET closed meeting with senior staff; a 10:30-11:35 a.m. ET meeting with retired military officers, with pooled press. Then in the afternoon: A closed meeting with Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, National Security Adviser James Jones and Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, from 1:50-2:30 p.m. ET; and then he and Hillary will speak to State Department employees, from 2:40-3:00 p.m., with pooled press.
Today: Obama Expected To Order Gitmo Closure
The New York Times reports that President Obama is expected to issue his executive orders today to close the CIA’s network of secret prisons and to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. The orders will require an immediate review of the 245 detainees at Gitmo, though the whole process of closing the camp will take place over a year’s time.
Former Gitmo Prisoner: The Prison Will Still Hurt America
A former Guantanamo inmate told CNN that the legacy of Gitmo will continue to damage the United States even if President Obama successfully shuts it down. “Guantanamo Bay is the most notorious prison on earth,” said Moazzam Begg, a British citizen who was captured in Afghanistan and later freed in 2005, without ever having been prosecuted.
Obama Staffers Discover Primitive White House
The Washington Post reports that the new White House staffers, who were used to a campaign driven by technology, are now discovering a White House setup with old technology and legal prohibitions on the use of Facebook, outside e-mail accounts, instant messaging and other modes of communications. “It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,” said spokesman Bill Burton.
Obama Stimulus Could Be Boon For K Street
The Hill reports that lobbying firms are cautiously optimistic that business will pick up from corporate America, even in the difficult economy, due to the impact of President Obama’s stimulus proposals. “Big decisions are going to be made, and corporate America is aware of it,” said Smith Davis, a partner at lobbying firm Akin Gump.
LAT: “Hope” Poster Apparently Swiped From Photo
The Lose Angeles Times reports that the iconic “Hope” poster of Obama appears to have been copied from an Associated Press photo of Obama from 2006. Perhaps worse, the possibility exists that at the moment the photo was taken, Obama was listening to a very grisly speech about the genocide in Darfur.
