Another reader checks in from the inside:
I sit here quite jealous of the fresh breezes blowing at the other Executive Branch agencies. Our last “all hands” meeting was last Friday, at which former Commerce Secretary Don Evans told us in a repetitive, rambling, semi-coherent speech that George Bush was misunderstood, and an extraordinary man willing to do unpopular things that history would judge as right. That was followed by a significantly more eloquent retiring Secretary Gutierrez who told us what a privilege it had been to serve under a “giant” like Bush.
So, while others are feeling the love, we wait in limbo…
We thought it was Sens. Barrosso (R) and Inhofe (R) holding up Obama’s environment appointees. But now it seems like it’s not them after all — but rather some anonymous GOPer. We’re not clear this is technically a ‘hold’. But someone is anonymously preventing the nominations from moving forward. Perhaps you can help us smoke the person out.
Rice (UN), Jackson (EPA), Sutley (Enviro Quality), Donovan (HUD), Schapiro (SEC), LaHood (Transportation) confirmed.
I try to limit myself to posting just a few Daily Show clips a year. Seems too easy, too obvious — even though so many of them are so good. I hate to start using up my quota this early in the year, but this one is right on the mark:
New York Gov. David Paterson will finally announce Hillary’s Senate replacement at noon ET. All signs pointing to Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand as the appointee. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.
My capacity to be shocked and outraged by news out of the banking/bailout sector has gotten seriously fatigued over recent months. But the news coming about what was Merrill Lynch is eye-popping. I knew that Merrill had given out a lot of big bonuses after the TARP money started flowing. But I’d thought of it as more of an optics issue rather than somewhere where a significant amount of government money had been spent. But now it turns out that in December Merrill (which was then in the process of being taken over by B of A) apparently gave out between $3 and $4 billion in bonuses. Billion.
Even more amazing, last fall CEO John Thain and the folks at Merrill got the bright idea that the distress mortgage market had “bottomed out”, and that it was time to buy, which they then apparently proceeded to do.
From the Washington Post: “Hoping to recapture the bipartisan spirit, Obama will host nine congressional leaders at the White House today for talks about the economic recovery package …”
Remarkable how Obama let the “bipartisan spirit” slip away after, what, two days?
Late Update: Not to be outdone, Time headlines with “The Obama Team’s Debut: Not Quite Ready on Day One.”
Evidence in support of this claim includes: staffers lacking login access to their computers, misspelled names on signs identifying staff desks, and “Obama struggled with the practice of using a different pen for every document he signed.”
A former White House lawyer who handled executive privilege issues for Bill Clinton tells TPMmuckraker that in his view Obama’s executive order on presidential records was specifically intended to bolster pending legal efforts aimed at unlocking some of the secrets of the Bush years, such as the White House role in the U.S. attorney firings.