The Barackberry

Interesting. I never thought about the fact that one of the dangers of a president having a Blackberry could be the ability to track his location. This may be one of the few times I can empathize with President-elect Obama as I know that I am addicted to my iPhone (and MtoQ and Treo before that).

Did Obama fail to learn the lessons of the Treen administration?

Somehow, I don't think President-Elect Obama has given much though to how former Louisiana governor Dave Treen staffed his cabinet, but it's a valid point about the dangers of including opponents in the cabinet. Personally, I'm glad to see it because it's comparatively more centrist than expected.

Obama Names Bill Clinton to Presidential Post

Heh, Iowahawk rules.

The Associated List?

The Times-Picayune posts "Who's in the running for top jobs in Obama administration? Read a comprehensive list by The Associated List." Associated Press maybe? The Associated List would have more credibility these days though.

On the substance of the list, nothing new jumps out out me. Lots of Clinton retreads, which shouldn't be a bad thing compared to Republican fears during the election. Not much meet for the progressives who dreamed of Dennis Kucinich, Jimmy Carter or Tom Hayden for "Secretary Peace."

Now they tell us

Big surprise here: Washington Post Admits Bias for Obama, Against McCain, Palin

Broken Promises Nos. 1 and 1a

Obama said that lobbyists would have no place in his administration. Now, Politico reports that Obama "would prevent lobbyists from taking administration jobs in the same areas they had advocated for in their private practices." I actually agree with lobbyists who argue that it is not necessarily wise to bar lobbyists since they may have useful knowledge, but don't make promises you can't/won't keep-oh wait, that's politics. What is the over/under on broke promises in the new administration anyway?

Newsmax also references the hiring of Rahm Emanuel as a broken promise that there will be a new tone in Washington. Not so sure I agree for reasons previously stated, and that's a judgment call, so I won't add to the running total.

H/T Newsbusters via NeoconExpress

UPDATE: One-half of Obama's transition team thus far are or were registered lobbyists.

Replacing US Attorneys

Many have questioned whether Obama will retain Peter Fitzgerald as US Attorney in Chicago given his investigations of Tony Rezko and other members of the Chicago political machine. My take is there is no way in hell Obama wants anyone looking any further into corruption so close to home. On the other hand, I'm hopeful that another US Attorney who has successfully fought corruption in New Orleans will be retained, Jim Letten. According to the Times-Picayune:

Landrieu also said that as senior senator, she will have a major voice in whether to retain U.S. Attorney Jim Letten as the chief federal crime-fighter in the New Orleans area. She said she will meet with members of both parties on retaining Letten. "He has done an outstanding job," she said. "He has my support today."

Let's hope than doesn't change, but just in case, be sure and let Senator Landrieu know that we need Jim Letten.

No Hope Here

No, not from me, but from native New Orleanian Quin Hillyer in his piece for The American Spectator. Not a pretty picture for what he anticipates for (less than) the next four years: at least two of the close senate elections stolen, continuing media cheerleading, etc. No question, absent some catastrophic missteps during the next two years, the Republicans won't turn around things for the next election in two years, probably longer. There's no message, no focus, and no Reaganesque champion. The Democrats, on the other hand, learned well from the hated Karl Rove. For all of the complaining from some conservatives about the Rahm Emanuel choice as chief of staff, he reminds me of Rove, who, of course, was deputy chief of staff for Bush II. I think the Republicans need to rediscover their cojones.