This week Barack Obama officially resned from the senate. Although no one has yet been assigned to fill his position, many suspect that Jesse Jakson's son,Jesse Jackson Jr., will be taking the role of Illinois senator. However, Governor Rod Blagojevich says he will anounce Obama's succesor by the end of the year.
Obama also named Peter Rouse, his senate chief of staff, to be the senior advisor to the president. He also spoke in his second of what he plans to be weekly Addresses that have been released on YOUTUBE.
Obama plans to meet with Sen. John McCain in Chicago tomorrow in order to discuss how they can serve together to create a "more effective and efficient government."
YOUTUBE: Obama's Weekly Address
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd8f9Zqap6U
Next Illinois Senator
http://www.lasentinel.net/Will-Jesse-Jackson-Jr.-be-the-next-U.S.-Senator.html
Obama meets with McCain
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111601840.html?hpid=topnews
11 comments:
The McCain meeting seemed to be a real publicity stunt. I really doubt that Obama will give McCain any power in the new administration. Also I don't think the promises to cooperate in solving the financial crisis will materialize. First there are too many differences in the mentality of Obama, the democrats and many Republican legislators. We see this in the proposed auto bailout, some democrats are dead set on a handout while most republicans are strongly drawing a line against it and many want a different proposal. The financial crisis is even more complicated and any new legislation and spending in the financial industry will be hard fought for any party despite the promises.
Although your probably right about it being a publicity stunt, I still think that the meeting with McCain was a wise decision on Obama's part. It shows conservatives that he is at least making an effort to reach across party lines, and who better to do that with than the man they just all voted for.
I've been trying to figure out when the last time was that the winning candidate met with his former opponent (excepting the situations when the opponent was the incumbent president) so recently after an election. Bush didn't meet with Kerry in '04, and 2000 brought about its own problems, so a meeting with Gore was not going to happen. I'm not sure if Clinton met with Dole after '96, but I'm pretty positive Bush the Elder and Dukakis didn't sit down together after '88, and Reagan and Mondale didn't have a love fest after '84. Before that, you'd have to go back to Nixon's victories over Humphrey and McGovern, and I'm POSITIVE a meeting never happened there!
Has anyone found anything online that would indicate the last time this type of meeting took place--or if it ever has?
I googled some of the older presidents and from what I have read, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams never did meet but they did reconcile their differences and attempt to reestablish their friendship long after the election. There was nothing political about their conversations nor did they ever meet in person. But, from what I've read, the only reason they never met in person was because they were both very old at the time of reestablishing communications with one another.
I know JFK and Nixon were "buddies" before the election but I couldn't find any post-election info on meetings. I don't think many winning candidates have done this. Maybe Obama is just a really classy guy.
I'd have to agree with Cameron too, it is probably a publicity stunt, but maybe he just wants McCain's support in the senate. After all they didn't get the 60 seats. If it is a publicity stunt, the Obama campaign has been successful. My dad is obsessing over Obama's class and his 60 minutes interview yesterday.
It been said that Obama was reading up on some Lincoln in the days following his victory, and he has taken a few pages out of the old Abe's playbook...namely bringing in the enemies.
Wow!...a true scholar. If for no other reason, I am impressed by Obama's embracement of academia and scholarship.
Haha, Samir I also saw that on 60 minutes. Not only is Obama a scholar and academic,he is also quite the sports enthusiast, giving better ideas on how to manage the College football BCS than the coaches and executives.
In the meantime, I hope Obama is ready to act decisively on the economy in his first 100 days. While this is no "new new deal," thousands of layoffs are occuring daily, Detroit is a mess, and the overall uncertainty in the economy accounts for a ridiculously volatile stock market.
Theres no question that Obama will face the toughest and most complicated issues regarding the nation in a long time.
Though it may very well have been a publicity stunt, I honestly think that Obama is trying to live out the core message of his campaign--that being change and unity (a new direction etc). I think this attitude was again illustrated by his support of Joe Lieberman in continuing to caucus with the Democrats. He understands the art of politics and knows how to play to his strengths while making the other guy look good. It's pretty funny that now Joe Lieberman is thanking Obama, and John McCain even looked like a pretty decent loser in their reunion talks. Obama's a smart guy, and it is gratifying to have a president who not only studies History, but acts like he understands it.
It will be interesting to see how successful Obama will be in dismantling the legislation that President Bush has been ramming through Congress lately. Issues include drilling and the proposed use of other natural resources. Some are also designed to resist attempts at removal. However, the Obama transition team is on the ball, keeping an accurate list of midnight Bush legislation.
I honestly believe that Obama will be one of the most honest Presidents in a long time in the sense that he will stand by what he said and what he represented during his campaign. Sure, its hard to stand by your word 100percent of the time, but taking into consideration what America has been through the past 8 years, I think its safe to say that Obama is truly inspiring through his actions.
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