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- Barack Obama made his first big PR push for passing a comprehensive economic stimulus package while Nancy Pelosi promised Congress would remain in session through the President's Day recess if the legislation was not yet ready. Harry Reid has also threatened to bring the Senate to order this Sunday to vote on the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, a package of environmental protections.
- The confirmation hearings for HHS Secretary-designate Tom Daschle began today.
- The president-elect's former University of Chicago colleague Cass Sunstein has been tapped to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an unglamorous post but one which Ezra describes as nothing less than "the chokepoint of the entire federal regulatory apparatus."
- The Washington Post has a front-page piece on the "powerful West Wing" being assembled by Barack Obama but reading the story you'd have to conclude that either Obama's army of czars will streamline decision making to an unprecedented degree or it will bog down the executive branch in bureaucratic indecision. Opinions vary!
- Missouri Sen. Kit Bond has become the latest Republican who would rather retire than defend a safe seat for the GOP, making it a prime target for Democrats in 2010.
- John Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, does not approve of Sanjay Gupta for surgeon general: "[T]here are highly experienced medical professionals who question whether Dr. Gupta has the necessary experience or even the medical background to be in charge of some 6,000 physicians or more who work in the United States Public Health Service," Conyers wrote to his colleagues. Of course, Conyers isn't on the relevant committee that will make a decision on Gupta, nor is he even in the proper house of Congress, so one has to wonder: why is he so concerned about this appointment? Also, the narrow ethical line Gupta walks as an advocate for particular prescription drugs.
- The Illinois House is looking to make good on impeaching Rod Blagojevich and Chris Matthews has spared us a run for Arlen Specter's Senate seat which means we're going to need new stories to fill the political drama void. Any suggestions?
- Conservatives appear determined to fight the battles of the past, rather than the future, with Brit Hume being the latest cog to argue that "everybody agrees" that "the New Deal failed," and Congressional Republicans are making sure non-existent legislation doesn't get passed on their watch. Meanwhile, Ed Kilgore boldly steps into an alternate reality, Michelle Malkin's blog, and finds that she thinks Grover Norquist is a problem for the GOP because he isn't conservative enough. Not all is bad, though. The Wall Street Journal has an uplifting piece, about Puerto Rico's new governor: "Republicans See Template for Rebound in Election of Puerto Rico's Fortuno."
- Priceless: the look on Dick Cheney's face as he certifies the electoral vote giving the presidency to Barack Obama.
--Mori Dinauer
