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- The 111th Congress was sworn in today, with two notable exceptions. Roland Burris got about as far as the secretary of Senate's office, where he was turned down because his credentials weren't in order. Burris will now explore his legal options for being seated. Meanwhile Al Franken, fully aware that Harry Reid won't seat him until the legal challenges in Minnesota are resolved, didn't make the trek to Washington. In New York, Gov. David Paterson has asked Senate hopefuls to fill out a 28-page questionnaire. It's not as good as a special election, but at least it resembles a meritocratic process. Finally, USA Today observes that while Barack Obama will be one of the youngest presidents inaugurated in history, he will be working with one of the oldest Congresses in the history of the Republic.
- The nomination of Leon Panetta has unleashed division amongst the nation's pundits, politicians and intelligence community professionals as to the old Washington hand's qualifications for the position. Initially, the fact that incoming Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein was not informed in advance was chalked up to a leak in the Obama transition team. But now a figure no less than Joe Biden has since come out to admit that shutting out Feinstein was "a mistake" but the conflict on The Hill hasn't abated. Outgoing Intelligence Chair John Rockefeller is less than enthused about the nomination, but Russ Feingold is into it. Even stranger, Sen. Ron Wyden was consulted on the pick, contradicting Biden and reinforcing the notion that the leak was, well, a leak. Additionally, there's evidence that Panetta was more interested in a position at Commerce -- which would have been easy to facilitate in the wake of Bill Richardson's withdrawal.
- Tim has an excellent summary of the opening business of the incoming Senate and an analysis of what the new House rules changes will mean for parliamentary procedure, and the WSJ Washington Wire reports that a D.C. voting rights bill will also be introduced in the 111th.
- CNN personality Sanjay Gupta has reportedly been tapped to serve as surgeon general in the Obama administration. Don't have much to add to this, but I'll echo my TAPPED colleague's assessment: "Someone who has made a career of synthesizing complex medical knowledgeinto television specials seems to be the right person to educateAmericans about their health."
- Tom Geoghegan, frequent Prospect contributor, has announced he's running for Rahm Emanuel's vacated House seat in the Illinois fifth CD. I won't speculate on his chances of winning the seat, but I think he would undoubtedly bring a Moynihan-level of intellectual seriousness to the people's House.
- Recommended reads: James Vega on how to harness intra-party debate for Democratic success in a new progressive era, and Joshua Green's long profile of Chuck Schumer's role in shaping the new Democratic majority.
- Would-be GOP savior Jeb Bush has squashed rumors that he will run for the Florida Senate in 2010. "He said it just wasn't the right timing," a spokesman explained.
- More junior staff in the Obama administration have been announced, and former Pentagon official William J. Lynn is rumored to be in consideration for Bob Gates' deputy at Defense.
--Mori Dinauer
