From Bloomberg …
General Motors Corp., seeking a federal bailout as its cash dwindles, would cost the government $200 billion should the biggest U.S. automaker be forced to liquidate, a forecasting firm estimated.
A GM collapse would mean “more aid to specific states like Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and more money into unemployment and extended benefits,” Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, said today in an interview.
Bill Richardson meets with the Obama team about Secretary of State position.
Barack Obama premieres the new Presidential Weekly YouTube Address, calls for Congressional action on the economy before he takes office. That and other political news in today’s Election Central Saturday Roundup
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Mike Allen says that “Democratic officials” confirm to him that Greg Craig has been chosen for White House counsel.
I’m a little surprised he’s not slotted for some foreign policy related position.
A Rasmussen poll from a week ago had 64% of Republicans nationwide saying that Sarah Palin was their top choice for the 2012 nomination.
In other news, Mike Wooten, the state trooper and former brother-in-law who Palin abused power over and lied about, is getting reassigned again because of continuing threats to his safety tied to Palin’s nonsense.
Barack Obama has officially resigned from the Senate. That and other political news in today’s Election Central Sunday Roundup.
From CQ …
Among the small number of White House staff announcements made so far by President-elect Barack Obama , most of the top spots have gone to recent Capitol Hill veterans.
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While Capitol Hill experience is not the primary reason for the appointments, the hires reflect Obama’s sensitivity to the importance of Congress in governance, according to a senior transition official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
He is intent on enacting an agenda by finding common ground with Democrats and Republicans, according to the official.
Turning to Capitol Hill for talent is a “very smart move that will only enhance prospects for significant legislative victories,” said Jim Manley, a senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev.
The article goes on to suggest that Hill people who had already made the move to K Street may face a real hurdle in getting appointments.
I’ve been saying that 60 votes is extremely unlikely given how hard it will be for the Democrats to prevail in the Georgia senate run-off. But Kos had Research 2000 poll this race last week. And while it’s definitely an uphill struggle, the odds may not be quite as long as I’d figured. The numbers they got were Chambliss 49%, Martin 46%.
At the end of the day, that’s still an incumbent under 50%, albeit barely. The other wildcard is turnout, which will almost certainly be dramatically lower than on November 4th. A lot of factors would suggest that diminished turnout in this race hurts the Democrats. But it also makes the ground game a more critical factor.
Kos has more.
I can’t be the only one who’s thought of this.
In late December of last year The New York Times wrote a lengthy article about the various donors to the Clinton Foundation, and the conflicts of interest (real or apparent) they might create for Sen. Clinton should she become president. At the time Bill Clinton said that if Hillary were elected he would disclose the identities and contribution totals of all the Foundation’s contributors going forward, though not the ones that predated her presidency.
The Foundation’s contributors include not only a number of heads of state but also a lot of high-flying businessmen who play the game so high in the stratosphere that what we normally consider foreign policy questions routinely play into their business interests.
Now, Secretary of State is not president. But in the foreign policy realm, it is as close as you get. So how does this all play out if she’s nominated to serve as Secretary of State? Does the same going-forward disclosure policy apply?
Late Update: I’m not sure when today this article went up. But it turns out the Times has a piece up on their site about precisely this question.
Latter Update: TPM Reader PD reminds us of this follow-up to the December 2007 Times article. Also by Becker and Van Natta.