January 5, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
At the end of Barack Obama’s first year in office, there is controversy over the nature and extent of his accomplishments, and even some allies and supporters appear to have forgotten the atmosphere of multidirectional crisis in which Obama took office. What’s more, the steady decline in Obama’s approval ratings appears to follow very closely a shift in media reporting away from reporting facts and back to the hyper-commentary style of the run-up to the Iraq war, an atmosphere in which conservative political propaganda fares better than the facts of deliberative action.
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January 4, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
En mesa redonda, en el programa 59 segundos de la TVE, un panel de periodistas y analistas políticos debaten los méritos y desafíos del primer año del mandato de Barack Obama, presidente de Estados Unidos. Entre las complicaciones, debaten las expectativas, tal vez más globales y desafiantes que las que encontró ningún otro presidente al llegar al poder, y la agresiva resistencia de sus contrincantes políticos a la ética del diálogo y de la política colaborativa.
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November 18, 2009 :: Riga Listin :: Comments Off
A lawsuit by a former Washington editor for the New York Post has revealed that the paper’s Washington bureau chief told her the newspaper’s official aim was to “destroy Barack Obama”. The revelation comes amid a spreading controversy over accusations the media properties owned by conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch have been used to fabricate news, organize phony Republican rallies, orchestrate sham grassroots groups —called ‘astroturf’ organizations—, systematically misrepresent the facts and personally attack political opponents of Murdoch’s preferred party and candidates.
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October 20, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
ewsmax had in recent weeks tried to debunk Keith Olberman’s report that conservative blogs, political action committees and front groups were buying Sarah Palin’s book in massive quantities to rig book sales, by claiming they are doing the opposite, with the following claim: “But the truth is that Newsmax has not purchased one book from Amazon. In fact, we are offering the book both FREE and at an incredible discount to Amazon.”
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September 18, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The most aggressive argument Republicans are now making about healthcare reform is that it would allegedly “gut Medicare and Medicaid”, two government-administered health insurance programs that provide treatment coverage for the elderly and the poor, respectively. The irony that emerges from the incoherent oppose everything Obama wants strategy being used by Republicans, shadowy front groups paid for by individuals linked to the insurance lobby, and conservative PACs, is that they are actually now arguing in favor of ‘socialized medicine’.
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September 3, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 6 Comments
With a profound philosophical rift emerging in the nation’s chief opposition party, intolerance and programmatic lack of empathy are becoming the hallmarks of a troubled Republican minority. Party strategists are now worrying that, whatever the benefit might be for “building the base”, a more hard-line, less flexible, less inclusive vision of Republicanism will hurt the party’s chances in national elections.
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July 7, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
In Senator-elect Al Franken’s debut on Capitol Hill, he explained that he sees himself not as the 60th vote for the Democratic majority but as the 2nd senator from the state of Minnesota. He added that “Minnesotans are practical people” and explained why “rational” healthcare, that is available and affordable for all Americans must be a priority, why jobs and an economy that works for working people will be part of his agenda. Franken concluded, saying: “I am going to work day and night to make sure that our kids have a great future and that America’s best days lay ahead. I’m ready to get to work.”
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July 4, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: Comments Off
Sarah Palin says she wants to save Alaska the injustice of watching its governor galavant around the country visiting fellow governors in a “politics as usual” lame-duck end to a first term. The “lame duck” problem arises, of course, only because she has chosen not to seek re-election. And a woman who professes to be presidential material is now stepping down after just two and a half years as governor of a state with population 686,293.
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June 30, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Democratic-Farmer-Labor challenger Al Franken has been declared the winner of the Minnesota race for US Senate, in the November 2008 election. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today that Franken was the winner, after a properly conducted recount. Norm Coleman, who had brought the election contest in the state courts, conceded defeat shortly after the ruling was announced, saying “We have reached the point where further litigation damages the unity of our state”.
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June 30, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed by David Boies and Ted Olsen, who argued for Al Gore and George W. Bush, respectively, in the historic confrontation over the 2000 Florida recount. They have found common ground in the defense of intellectual honesty regarding the federal civil rights issues caught up in a state [...]
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June 29, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty said on Sunday he would certify Al Franken as winner of the November 2008 US Senate race, if the Supreme Court of his state orders it. He told CNN that he would sign the certification as soon as the court gives him the “green light” and that he would not delay Franken’s certification just to facilitate a federal appeals process.
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June 23, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
When hearings were held to decide the outcome of the protracted Minnesota Senate race, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, released a statement predicting that Al Franken, US Senate candidate for the Democratic Farmer Labor party (Minnesota’s branch of the national Democratic party), would soon prevail. More than 3 weeks later, there are questions as to what is stalling the delivery of a verdict that would seat the nation’s 100th senator.
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June 19, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: 4 Comments
This is not news, but it’s worth repeating: Sen. John Cornyn, of Texas, has in the past suggested that the Republican challenge to Minnesota’s seating Al Franken as its junior senator could last for “years”. Coleman has challenged every single court ruling so far, despite losing every one of them and losing more ground in the vote-count with each examination of new votes. The last court to rule found that there was no evidence of any legitimate votes still uncounted, and ordered that Franken be certified the winner and Coleman pay court costs.
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June 18, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: 3 Comments
The state of Minnesota, and of course the netroots, are in a flurry of speculation today that the Minnesota Supreme Court may be preparing to hand down a ruling in the election contest between Norm Coleman and Al Franken. There is no news from the Court confirming the speculation that a verdict is imminent, but the hearing was more than two weeks ago, and Minnesota has been without its 2nd senator since January.
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June 10, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 4 Comments
Norm Coleman, incumbent senator for Minnesota until 3 January 2009, is gambling his political future on the likelihood the Minnesota Supreme Court will rule to allow the inclusion of absentee ballots ruled inadmissible by state officials and by every court venue to date, the counting of which he expects will overturn Al Franken’s narrow lead. Experts are saying the hearing before the court suggests Coleman has little chance of success.
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June 8, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: 3 Comments
By refusing to follow the court order mandating that election results be certified and Al Franken seated as the junior senator from Minnesota, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, has allowed the contest brought by a member of his own party to deprive his state of its second vote in the United States Senate since early January. Though a case is pending in the courts, the fact remains, Pawlenty is using his office to block the certification of results that would seat a member of the opposing party.
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May 26, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: One Comment
In what promises to be one of the most controversial court rulings of the decade, the Supreme Court of the state of California found in favor of the supporters of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage by Constitutional amendment in the state. Kenneth Starr argued the case in favor of Prop. 8. The Court allows the 18,000 couples already married in legal California marriages prior to Prop. 8 to retain their married status.
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May 15, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Norm Coleman, who is still locked in a long and hotly contested recount and lawsuit process for the 2008 Minnesota race for the US Senate, has become involved in an FBI investigation into the dealings of a “longtime benefactor”, Nasser Kazeminy. Kazeminy is being investigated for fraud in relation to his management of a company called Deep Marine Technology.
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April 30, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
The election of 2008 is historic for a variety of reasons: it saw the election of the first African American president, a second consecutive “wave election” —not seen since 1930 and ’32—, saw two women come very close to the most powerful job in the world, mobilized millions of voters and saw record amounts of fundraising from “small donors”. It was, however, also a watershed moment in the fundamental decentralization of the American political process.
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April 29, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: 3 Comments
Democratic Senate candidate from Minnesota, Al Franken, declared the winner by a 3-judge panel after a series of recounts and election contests, has hired a chief of staff for his Washington office, should he be certified and seated. It had been reported Franken was hiring staff, even as his opponent, one-term senator Norm Coleman, mounts a new round of appeals in a quest to find more votes.
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April 28, 2009 :: staff :: 2 Comments
Progressives are pledging to contribute $1 per day to a political action fund until Republican Norm Coleman concedes defeat in the 2008 Minnesota senate race against Al Franken. Franken has been found to be the winner after every stage of recount and judicial review, and was ruled to be the winner by unanimous decision of a three-judge panel earlier this month.
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April 24, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear Norm Coleman’s appeal of the ruling in which a 3-judge panel ordered the state to certify Al Franken as the winner in the November 2008 election. The date set for that hearing is 1 June 2009, meaning Minnesota may continue without its 2nd senator for another 5 weeks. Coleman had been ordered to pay court costs and the ruling had been issued not only unanimously, but “with prejudice”. The Republican governor of the state has not yet acceded to the Court’s order.
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April 19, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
Lead by example. It’s a simple idea, and one that tends to be fully realized only by those who are most able. You lead by demonstrating the best qualities, because you are able to — 1. because you have them; 2. because you are in a position to do so; 3. because you are confident both of your ability to embody these qualities and of the qualities themselves, their virtue and their efficacy.
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April 17, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: 3 Comments
The race for the 2nd Minnesota Senate seat continues, fully 5 and a half months after election day. The state has been without a 2nd senator since 3 January 2009, over 3 months. Norm Coleman, the incumbent in the race, has lost all challenges to date, and has seen his narrow deficit widened, as more recount votes went to Al Franken, the Democratic candidate. Now, with some supporters calling for an unending court battle, pressure is mounting on Coleman to concede.
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April 15, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: 5 Comments
After yet another recount, a Minnesota court has found that the total vote tally shows Democrat Al Franken winning the race for the US Senate seat, contested since November 2008. Then incumbent Norm Coleman, who said when he held an early lead, in November, that Franken should drop out for the sake of the people of his state, now intends a months-long court battle to ‘appeal’ the court’s finding.
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February 20, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
A few years back, an ambitious youngish president staged an impressive event, in which he landed a fighter-jet on an aircraft carrier, then declared “Mission Accomplished”, in the midst of what would turn out to be only the first baby steps of a very complicated war. The $780 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a victory for the president in terms of his organizing Congressional support, but it is just the beginning of a very long, high-stakes journey, for his nascent administration, and for the nation.
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January 29, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Millions of people are expected to gather on the National Mall, between the west face of the Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial; security is expected to be without any known precedent, and temperatures are not likely to rise above freezing… should we go? Should we go, and if we do, should we go as [...]
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January 21, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
Over 2 million people flooded the National Mall and surrounding streets at the heart of the nation’s capital to attend the Inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States. The unprecedented crowd, facing unprecedented security measures, gathered in good spirits to hear what was widely seen as the dawning of a new era. Obama himself said that citizenship carries the burden of responsibility for “shaping an uncertain destiny”.
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January 20, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age…
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January 20, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many — and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
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January 20, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The hour is upon us, a new period in our history is about to open up before us, and we are called to shoulder the responsibilities of our aspirations, our needs and our freedoms. It is a serious undertaking, a task of noble and concerning difficulty, to be the change, the improvement, we demand, but so it is, and we have awakened to that complex, ethical and civic principle.
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January 19, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: 2 Comments
Facing an economic crisis of historic proportions, and with the nation reeling from several years of soaring fuel prices, in the face of mounting risks from climate destabilization, President-elect Barack Obama may issue an executive order to require fuel-efficiency be raised on all new vehicles.
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January 19, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Thailand has jailed an author for 3 years for “insulting” the king and crown prince in just one paragraph in a self-published novel that sold only 7 copies; Harry Nicolaides, an Australian, received the 3 year sentence, in part because he pled guilty, earning him a lower sentence. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “Most [...]
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January 19, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The New York Times edition on this Sunday two days before the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States is a time-capsule, a probing glimpse of the nation at this pivotal moment in history. The president-elect’s road to inauguration is graced with stellar poll numbers, but also beset on all sides with crises and conflicts of daunting complexity.
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January 18, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
Setting out from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, a special inaugural Amtrak train carried President-elect Obama and his wife to Wilmington, Delaware, where they would pick up VP-elect Joe Biden and his wife, and where both men would deliver addresses to the crowd gathered outside the station. The train tour would take them on to Baltimore and Washington, DC, and was designed to recreate the final stages of Pres. Abraham Lincoln’s 1861 journey to his inauguration.
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January 17, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
We began this train trip in Philadelphia earlier today. It is fitting that we did so — because it was there that our American journey began. It was there that a group of farmers and lawyers, merchants and soldiers, gathered to declare their independence and lay claim to a destiny that they were being denied.
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January 16, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
George W. Bush, one of the most controversial presidents in living memory, throughout the fall had the lowest recorded approval ratings in history, and will leave the country with two wars and a deep recession. He is reported to believe his presidency will be remembered as consequential and as a period of tough choices, in service of his country, and has made that case in his final televised address as president.
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January 14, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) appeared before the Senate foreign relations committee, Tuesday, in confirmation hearings for her nomination as secretary of State. Her preparation and the sweeping breadth of her responses to issues of major global import were widely praised, by members of both parties. She now appears to be headed for what leaders of both parties suggest will be a significant majority vote to approve her nomination.
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January 10, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
We start this new year in the midst of an economic crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime. We learned yesterday that in the past month alone, we lost more than half a million jobs – a total of nearly 2.6 million in the year 2008. Another 3.4 million Americans who want and need full-time work have had to settle for part-time jobs. And families across America are feeling the pinch as they watch debts mount, bills pile up and savings disappear.
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January 8, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
Obama decries “imprudent and dangerous decisions” as mistakes that led to current economic crisis, calls for end to “culture of anything goes” in business and in economic policy: “We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime – a crisis that has only deepened over the last few weeks. Nearly two million jobs have now been lost, and on Friday we are likely to learn that we lost more jobs last year than at any time since World War II. Just in the past year, another 2.8 million Americans who want and need full-time work have had to settle for part-time jobs. Manufacturing has hit a twenty-eight year low. Many businesses cannot borrow or make payroll. Many families cannot pay their bills or their mortgage. Many workers are watching their life savings disappear. And many, many Americans are both anxious and uncertain of what the future will hold.”
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January 6, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
US House and Senate sworn in for next terms; Obama names Panetta to head CIA; Israel hits UN school in Gaza, killing 40, Israel says it was responding to hostile fire, does not target schools; Nkunda reportedly outsed as Kivu rebel leader, denies ouster
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January 6, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
In a dramatic scene in the heart of the nation’s capital, Roland Burris, the former Attorney General of the state of Illinois, recently named by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich, attempted to enter the Senate chamber to be sworn in and was blocked from entering, on a technicality related to his “paperwork” (his credentials were not signed by the Illinois secretary of state, for which there is no Constitutional requirement). The Minnesota seat that belongs to either Al Franken or Norm Coleman also remains unfilled, due to ongoing challenges.
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January 4, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will have to vacate her seat in the United States Senate when she becomes Secretary of State, and speculation has been rife for weeks about who will fill that seat. Long seen as the top choice, both with the public and among party insiders, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of Pres. John F. Kennedy, will be the likely choice of Gov. Paterson of New York.
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January 4, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Radio & web address by President-elect Barack Obama, 3 January 2009 As the holiday season comes to end, we are thankful for family and friends and all the blessings that make life worth living. But as we mark the beginning of a new year, we also know that America faces great and growing challenges—challenges that [...]
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December 24, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
Since the announcement of Gov. Blagojevich’s shocking insinuations, on recorded wiretaps, that he could or intended to sell the appointment to the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Obama, there has been speculation about whether any members of the transition team had contact with Blagojevich or might appear on the tapes. No allegation of any kind was made against any member of the transition, and the only “evidence” that had been included in the prosecutor’s court filings was that Blagojevich was angered by the unwillingness of anyone around Obama to participate.
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December 20, 2008 :: staff :: Comments Off
The Senate recount in Minnesota has revealed ball0t-examination processes that border on the absurd, but which are, in fact, a good-faith effort to ensure that all applicable laws are followed and each voter’s intent is accurately recorded. Each ballot is crucial in this election, which has seen the two candidates separate by 250 votes or [...]
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December 18, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
President-elect Barack Obama today named another three members of his overall economic team. Announcing appointments to financial regulatory positions, Obama pledged that “financial regulatory reform will be one of the top legislative priorities” in the early days of his administration. He spoke of the need to “crack down on the culture of greed and scheming that’s led us to this moment of reckoning”, warning repeatedly that failure to regulate properly has led to historic losses and a dangerously weak economic outlook.
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December 16, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
President-elect Barack Obama today announced his choice for secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, chief executive officer for the Chicago Public Schools system. “Arne is the most hands-on” of public schools reformers, according to the president-elect, who said that “when faced with tough decisions, Arne doesn’t blink; he’s not beholden to any one ideology”, that he takes action and achieves significant systemic improvements. Duncan has been superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools for 7 years, in which time, he has achieved a number of surprising statistical improvements in a troubled system.
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December 11, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
President-elect Barack Obama held a press conference today in Chicago to announce his choice for Health and Human Services secretary, former Democratic Senate majority leader Tom Daschle. Daschle is a top adviser to Obama and the two have made clear their commitment to ending the problem of underinsurance and the uninsured and making sure that no Americans go without treatment.
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December 1, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
President-elect Barack Obama, at an event in Chicago today, announced his entire top-level national security team. The team includes another bevy of “heavyweights”, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton named for secretary of State, Sec. of Defense Robert Gates to stay on, Eric Holder named for attorney general, Gov. Janet Napolitano for Homeland Security chief, Susan Rice for UN ambassador, and Gen. James Jones for national security adviser. VP-elect Joe Biden contextualized the nominations as right for “extraordinary times”.
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