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

Obama Begins Transition

President-elect Obama has had a busy week since the election. After promising his children a puppy, he witnessed his first President's Daily Brief, which will be given to him every morning by the CIA. The world is eagerly awaiting Mr. Obama's picks for his cabinet and administration posts, and was rewarded with one: Rahm Emanuel, Representative from Illinois, will be the Chief of Staff in the new Administration. Rep. Emanuel was the architect of the Democrat's successful bid to take control of Congress in 2006. An Obama aid said that the President-elect is not likely to make any cabinet picks this week, however. Obama also met with President Bush at the White House to talk about the transition.

Mr. President

You might have heard, but yesterday the first black president of the United States was Voted in yesterday, in a descisive Electoral victory, and a 3 point popular vote. Barak Obama, ladies and Gentleman, in now our official President Elect. This is indeed a historic day, and the begining of a very interesting four years. Obama said in his acceptance speech that he would 'tackle the nation’s broken economy, fight off global threats and support soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.' Whether or not this means that he will or will not be withdrawling troops from Iraq has yet to be seen. A very interesting four years indeed...

Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States

As Election Nears, Obama Hits Key States

With the election only 48 hours away, Senator Obama has been all over the country, visiting many key states, including Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Florida and Colorado. In his speeches, he cautioned his supporters, telling them "don't believe for a second that this election is over." While the polls are beginning to tighten, the Democratic nominee still has a commanding lead.

The state of Hawaii has verified Obama's birth certificate as genuine, knocking down notions that he was actually born in Kenya, which would have made him unable to serve as president.

Florida Uniting

Today in Florida, Obama met with Bill Clinton in Florida for a rally. After spending Monday in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Tuesday in Pennsylvania and Virginia, Obama finally spent a full day in Florida. He ended his day with his rally With Clinton. This is a huge step, because it shows that the Clintons are finally throwing their full support behind the democratic candidate. This unification of the democrats, so to say, is a huge gain for Obama, especially since Clinton was the last democrat to win Florida’s electoral votes.

Obama plans to move from Florida to Virginia, Missouri, and then back to Florida tomorrow, and ending his week with a visit to Iowa on Friday.

Obama Heads West

Senator Obama spent the latter part of the week campaigning in Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. He witnessed a record turnout in Boulder, where over 100,000 people came to a rally on Sunday. There, he pounced on a comment made by McCain on "Meet the Press." "Just this morning, Senator McCain said that actually he and President Bush 'share a common philosophy.'" Obama hopes to wrest back these western states from the red, where they have been for the past several elections.
Several newspaper endorsements rolled in, including a surprise from Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News endorsed Obama, saying that "brings far more promise to the office." The Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and several other papers also endorsed the Democratic nominee. This marks the first time in history that the Chicago Tribune has endorsed a Democrat.
In other news, a federal court has thrown out a suit brought by Philip J. Berg, questioning whether Senator Obama was a "natural-born citizen." Judge R. Barclay Surrick stated that Mr. Berg had no grounds to sue, a similar decision as the one made on a suit questioning Senator McCains citizenship earlier this year.