clinton would take pay cut at state department

Recent reports on the blogosphere claimed that Sen. Hillary Clinton may have faced an uphill battle against the Constitution during her nomination hearings.

An obscure section on compensation for public officials, the Emoluments Clause, says that no member of Congress can be appointed to a government post if that job's pay was increased during the lawmaker's current term.

As it turns out, the position of secretary of State received a pay raise during Clinton's tenure as New York's junior senator. So in order to keep things on the up and up, her congressional colleagues have changed it back.

Clinton would make about $4,700 less as secretary of state than her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice.

Congress late Wednesday lowered the salary for the nation's top diplomat to keep Clinton's nomination from running afoul of the Constitution.

Clinton's new salary will be $186,600, still an improvement over her compensation as a senator.

Not everyone is pleased, though, and conservative watchdog groups may challenge her appointment as the nation's top diplomat, not sure that Congress' pay cut satisfies the constitutional requirement.

But Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said Thursday that Congress’ action has never been tested in court, and he says his group is considering litigation in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to challenge her appointment.

“In our view, it is an end-run around the Constitution,” Fitton said. “We are contemplating our next steps.”

Clinton's confirmation hearings will likely begin next month.

a resounding endorsement

Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, issued a resounding endorsement today of President-Elect Barack Obama's choice of Sen. Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state designate.

The selection of Senator Clinton represents an important first step down a new path for American foreign policy -- an enormous shift represented by the selection of a champion of women's health and rights to be in charge of America foreign policy.

As first lady and as a U.S. senator, Hillary Clinton visited more than 80 nations, but for a majority of the world's population, her unique quality may be her gender. Senator Clinton understands that improving the status of women is not simply a moral imperative; it is necessary to building democracies around the globe. Improving the status of women is key to creating stable families, stable communities, and stable countries. Women's ability to control the size of their families, regardless of economics, nationality, or culture, has a direct impact on their economic well-being and that of their children. Senator Clinton understands that women's quality of life directly affects the major issues confronting the globe: national security, environmental sustainability, and global poverty.

Read the rest of the article here. We agree with Richards -- Clinton is a magnificent pick for this job. We congratulate her and are excited to continue on this journey with Obama, Clinton, and the rest of the new team for a new America.

the obama administration

This morning, President-Elect Barack Obama announced his cabinet. We congratulate the picks and hope the Senate will provide a quick confirmation for the new Obama administration. Meet the newcoming presidential team below.


Joe Biden, Vice President




Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff




Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State




Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense




Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury




Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General




James L. Jones, National Security Adviser




Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security




Robert Gibbs, Press Secretary




Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Following today's announcement of the national security team, we're still awaiting announcements from the president-elect on his choices for domestic leaders for Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Education, and Secretary of Health and Human Services.

the trashing of a former president (throwing bill clinton under the bus)

It began during the Democratic primary, when detractors began accusing former President Bill Clinton of being a racist.

Since then, people have blamed Clinton for sinking his wife Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions. People, especially the pundits, have been chattering since before the New York senator even conceded about the former president's role on the campaign trail.

After his wife's concession and endorsement of Barack Obama for president, they continued to denigrate Bill Clinton by saying that he wasn't fully on board, he wasn't doing what was asked of him by the Obama campaign, that he didn't really want Obama to be elected, and that he and Hillary would likely vote for John McCain so she could run for president again in four years.

Now, as reports abound that Hillary has been offered the secretary of state position in the incoming Obama administration, the networks can't stop discussing whether or not Bill will cost her the cabinet post.

I think it's high time that we take a step back and remember the 1990s. Under President Clinton's purview, economic growth was positive. And when Clinton left office, armed conflict around the world was at an all-time low. We truly were experiencing a time of peace and prosperity.

And even though the Clintons lost the health care battle in their day, their hard work on introducing the issue on the national stage will make it that much easier for the Obama administration to assemble and pass a national health care plan.

Let's stop attempting to tarnish President Clinton's legacy, and instead honor and respect the great work that was accomplished in the Clinton years. The Republicans have done enough to try and bring down the Clintons-- we don't need good Democrats following their lead.

secretary of state clinton?

All of the hard work that Sen. Hillary Clinton put in by hitting the campaign trail and making eloquent and passionate speeches on behalf of Barack Obama was paid off on Election Day, but she may be in for yet another reward.

Rumor has it that President-Elect Obama is not interested in the names that are vying for the Secretary of State slot in his new administration, such as Sen. John Kerry and Gov. Bill Richardson.

Two Obama advisers have told NBC News that Hillary Clinton is under consideration to be secretary of state. Would she be interested? Those who know Clinton say possibly. But her office says that any decisions about the transition are up to the president-elect and his team.

Speculation increased after Clinton boarded a flight to Chicago today, though an adviser claimed it was for personal business.

UPDATE: ABC News has a a knowledgeable source calling talks of Clinton being tapped "very serious" and Politico reports Obama sources calling her "the favorite."

a special message from bill and hillary

President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton sent the following message out to supporters. It's more important than ever to get out the vote! In Texas, early voting will continue this week or you can vote on Election Day, Nov. 4.

With Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the White House and bigger Democratic majorities in Congress, we're going to achieve things that didn't seem possible just a few years ago. But it's up to us to make it happen.

With only a few days left, it is crucial that we all do everything we can. Every single conversation, every single phone call, and every single volunteer could make a difference

Watch the video and sign up below to volunteer.

mccain's last senate vote in april

According to an article in this morning's Washington Post, John McCain's vote on the bailout package will be his first since April 8. He has missed 115 consecutive votes in the Senate since then.

He hasn't voted since before Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary.

Comparatively, Barack Obama's last Senate vote was in July.

Just thought that was an interesting little tidbit. Welcome back, John.

sen. clinton on the economy

Sen. Hillary Clinton made the television rounds to talk about the economy and the new bailout plan. She gives her take on it in an appearance on Morning Joe, which you can view below:

biden and clinton discuss women's issues

Democratic vice-presidential nominee set down with Sen. Hillary Clinton to discuss women's issues and the supreme importance of the 2008 election. View the discussion below:

the sarah palin show

We all shared a laugh at Tina Fey's deadringer impersonation of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, because Fey mocked some of the obvious holes in Palin's candidacy.

But will Middle America overlook these holes, among them zero foreign policy experience? Are they more interested in her family life than her politics, and if so will that help her or hurt her in the long run?

Americans have certainly tuned in to the Sarah Palin show, and as long as it continues the public will continue to eat it up.

The past eight years have been riddled with war and scandal, but Palin's life on display translates into a more understandable narrative that is more likely to resonate with the public. Sure, the majority of people have turned on the president and believe we should end the war in Iraq, but I'm willing to bet that a majority could also recite details on Britney Spears' rocky road to recovery and Lindsay Lohan's sexual orientation. Those are the kinds of stories that get readers and viewers, and we're learning that it doesn't really matter if we're stalking celubtantes or politicians through the media's omniscient eye, we still salivate over every luscious detail.

In the same way that the English relish in royal scandals, Americans love to dissect the personal lives of their own ruling class. But there's a difference in the Palin narrative when compared to say, the Clintons or John Edwards. While a sex scandal could potentially end a politician's career, family drama could prove to propel it.

While some in the blogosphere have dismissed Palin, Middle America has embraced her as one of their own. She's a Westerner, she's folksy and gutsy, sure, but as Eileen Smith explains at Poll Dancing, there's more to it than that: she's normal.

They raise their kids, go to work, go to church and do the little things that so often don’t garner media attention, but keep much of America stable and functioning. They feel slighted by a left-wing that has (fairly or unfairly) become the party of elites that scoff at IHOP patrons and can’t step inside Wal-Mart without trepidation (the selection of Joe “I have a much higher IQ than you” Biden doesn’t help). And Palin is the perfect stand-in for their ambitions: someone who has five kids, ran a city, now runs a state and, hell, hunts moose in her free time. She embodies the overlooked potential of normal people.

I've spoken with several Texans who feel that Sarah Palin is "one of us." They don't necessarily have to have or have had a pregnant teenager in order to empathise with her. They don't have to have a son going off to war in order to know how that must feel. They don't have to have raised a child with special needs to understand and appreciate how tough of a challenge it is. But they have done it, or their sister has done it, or their neighbor has done it. These are challenges that real Americans face on a daily basis. Middle America is not judging Palin for her family woes, they're rewarding her for them. They're defending her against media slights, and in some cases, pledging to give her their vote.

In a commentary for CNN today, Ed Rollins describes the situation perfectly:

What the country wants to know is do these candidates understand what's going on in their lives and in their neighbors' lives, and are they willing to try and fix it.

They want to get our soldiers home from Iraq as quickly as possible and leave that country as stable as it can be without us being there for another decade. They want someone who understands ordinary Americans are hurting and will try to find solutions to the economic mess we are in.

The leading "mainstream media" including ABC's condescending Charlie Gibson and The New York Times' Maureen Dowd have raced "North to Alaska" to find out what makes this woman tick. But alas, they show again and again that they just don't get it.

Nobody cares if Palin knows the Bush doctrine. I defy anyone to tell you what the Bush-Cheney strategy has been over the last seven years (other than getting re-elected) or what doctrine has been practiced by this "gang that can't shoot straight." And who cares? They are gone in 126 days.

What the media doesn't get is that Palin is one of us. She got to the top of the heap because she could relate to ordinary people, because she is ordinary people and through extraordinary efforts made it.

An unnamed Dallas area professional woman told me that she would be more likely to vote Republican with the addition of Palin to the ticket. Why? "She gets it." Obama and the Democrats are once again relegated to the elite class, and while McCain may be aloof, he is experienced and he can "train Sarah Palin for the job." The source went on to say that politicians usually lie or are corrupt, so if you can actually trust them and know that they understand your needs, specific policy becomes less important.

The woman said she had voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary, but is usually Republican-leaning. So we have to realize that the Palin pick may not be drawing away potential Obama voters in droves, but it's certainly inspiring previously disenchanted Republicans to make plans to support their party this time.

Clinton is reminding her voters why it's so important for them to choose Obama, but many women voters did not choose Clinton in the primary or do not have loyalty to her and are beyond her grasp. Clinton is taking the right track, though, and should continue to pound out the differences between potential Obama and McCain administrations, to really highlight it for anyone on the edge. Joe Biden needs to step up his game, as well, because he has hardly gotten half of the coverage that Palin has gotten since their respective VP announcements.

Polls show that McCain is suddenly leading the race among white women, though. This bounce can only be contributed to Palin's addition to his ticket. While black women (along with the vast majority of black voters in general) are pretty much locked up for Obama, white women have become a voting block to be reckoned with, and presently McCain holds the advantage.

It's true that the Palin bounce could be temporary, but Democrats would do well not to underestimate it.

[This post is part two of our Sarah Palin series. Be sure to read part one, The Palin Pick.]

tina fey as sarah palin on snl

Barack Obama may have had to cancel his appearance on the season opener of Saturday Night Live, but Tina Fey and Amy Poehler wouldn't miss the chance to impersonate Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. Some have already drawn comparisons in looks between Palin and Fey, so it was only fitting that Fey portray Palin's character on the late-night sketch show.

the palin pick

Many analysts are pointing to John McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate to explain his post-convention poll bounce, but why?

The media should have taken the pulse of the nation on the Palin pick before assuming that women would be up in arms about the choice and that informed voters would reject her. The liberal blogosphere should have given her half a second before pouncing on her, and bringing all of her personal controversies to light.

Why? Well, because the mainstream media combined with the online left may have helped to bolster Palin's image despite their efforts to tear her down. By attacking her from the moment of her announcement, Republicans were forced to learn more about her and begin defending her on day one, which has set a precedent. Because the left was so outraged at the pick, the right was automatically inspired by it.

Others will leap to Palin's defense as sexism continues to color her coverage. If some of us in the blogosphere may be thinking that Palin's large family would prohibit her from holding the office of vice president, we'd do best not to express those feelings publicly, because we would be perpetuating a sexist meme that has seeped into the American conscience: the idea that the woman's first priority is to the home.

Yes, Sarah Palin has a special needs child, a pregnant teenager, as well as three other children, but she also has a husband who can help with the parenting while she holds elected office. If it were her husband that were running for vice president, no one would even think to ask if he could hold office while presiding over a large family.

And regardless of whether or not Democrats have sexist intentions behind their comments, if the American voter perceives sexism in politics, especially if that voter is a woman, she may feel a duty to defend that person and even vote for that person. Sometimes, when the media wants to pronounce someone down and out, the American public has different ideas and forces the media to come around to the pulse of the public.

The Palin pick was not an accident. McCain knew what he was doing, whether or not you think she was fully vetted. By picking Palin, McCain utilized the element of surprise to steal attention away from Barack Obama's powerful convention speech. He knew that her feisty nature, her scrappy style of politics, her contrasting youthfulness, and her conservative chops would add considerably to his ticket. He also hoped that she might stir resentment among Democrats who voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary and felt she got a raw deal.

On Barack Obama's part, Joe Biden is a solid pick. He closes holes in Obama's candidacy, namely foreign policy experience, Washington know-how, and blue-collar appeal. But Obama mainly picked Biden because he knew that Biden would actually make a decent vice president. Obama chose his Senate colleague as a running mate under the assumption that he was going to win the election. From what we have seen since the announcements, Biden has not considerably helped the Democratic ticket, but would arguably be a boon to an Obama administration if elected.

Palin's is a pure political pick, because her experience as governor of Alaska actually brings little to the table of national politics. Is it qualifying, executive experience? Sure, but how will she help McCain's administration once in office? McCain picked Palin to help him win. It is reminiscient of the long-canceled television series Commander In Chief in which Geena Davis stars as the first female president, rising to that office from vice president following the death of the president. On his deathbed, the president asks Davis' character to resign from office and allow the Speaker of the House to ascend to the presidency, reminding her that he only picked her to win the "soccer mom vote." Needless to say, she ignores his pleas and assumes the presidency.

As it turns out, Obama would have benefited greatly from picking his former opponent Hillary Clinton as his running mate. If Obama had chosen Clinton, McCain would not have chosen Palin. Because both of the running mates would be female, it would starkly contrast the two... and even Republicans can admit that Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton. I'm sure that Palin was a lock under the assumption that Obama would not choose Clinton, but had he chosen her, McCain would have been almost forced to make another choice. Without the Palin pick to shake things up, the media would have incessantly covered the new Democratic team of Obama and Clinton right through the Republican convention, and with a duller pick from McCain he arguably wouldn't have enjoyed a post-convention bounce. (Another way McCain could've shaken things up would have been to choose Joe Lieberman, but that would have opened a whole new can of worms on both sides of the aisle.)

But Obama did not choose Clinton, so what can he and Biden do now to tame Palin and take down McCain?

[This post is the first in a series about Sarah Palin and her affect on the presidential race. Stay tuned for the next installment.]

barbara boxer on mccain's choice

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California released a strongly worded statement concerning Sen. John McCain's newly-announced running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The Vice President is a heartbeat away from becoming President, so to choose someone with not one hour's worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice.

If John McCain thought that choosing Sarah Palin would attract Hillary Clinton voters, he is badly mistaken.

The only similarity between her and Hillary Clinton is that they are both women. On the issues, they could not be further apart.

Senator McCain had so many other options if he wanted to put a woman on his ticket, such as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison or Senator Olympia Snowe -- they would have been an appropriate choice compared to this dangerous choice.

In addition, Sarah Palin is under investigation by the Alaska state legislature which makes this more incomprehensible.

mccain chooses alaska gov. sarah palin for vp

The day after Barack Obama delivered one of the best speeches in recent political history, John McCain named his choice for the VP slot on his Republican ticket: Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska.

Is this a slick move for the McCain campaign, who we can tell from recent ads are clamoring after disaffected Hillary voters? Or is it an insult to intelligent women everywhere, that McCain picked a woman running mate for the purposes of political pandering? Will it backfire?

Either way, it's a history-making choice: Palin is the first female to ever be on a Republican presidential ticket. She's also the first ever Alaskan to be nominated. We'll have to see what happens, but in the meantime, here's what we do know about Sarah Palin's thin record:

• Palin is 44 and a first-term governor of Alaska
  
• She is an advocate for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
  
• She holds an degree in journalism from the University of Idaho
  
• Before serving as governor, Palin served on the city council and as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
  
• She is a former beauty queen
  
• She has objected to listing polar bears as endangered species
  
• Palin is pro-life and supports teaching creationism in public schools
  
• She is opposed to same-sex marriage, though she did use her gubernatorial veto to block anti-gay legislation

Palin will debate Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, in St. Louis on October 2.

democrats officially nominate first black candidate

After pushing for a roll call vote on the floor of this week's Democratic Convention in Denver, Sen. Hillary Clinton made the unprecedented move to motion a suspension of the rules of the roll call vote and ask for Sen. Barack Obama's nomination by acclamation.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi held a voice vote, and the Democrats nominated for the first time in history a black man to be their candidate in the race to become president of the United States of America.



[Stay tuned... more convention coverage to come.]

"i'm hillary clinton and i do not approve that message"

Hillary Clinton, in her first appearance at the ongoing Democratic National Convention in Denver, reaffirmed her cry for post-primary party unity, urging her voters and supporters to work for the election of Barack Obama.

She also took the chance to strongly denounce John McCain's ads that prominently feature her: "I'm Hillary Clinton, and I do not approve that message," she said.

biden biden biden

So, I'm sure everyone's heard by now that Barack Obama has chosen Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate. I heard the news late last night on CNN, and apparently Obama's super-secret text message that was supposed to pre-empt the media coverage ended up being sent out at around 3 a.m.

Surely, when Democrats receive a text message at 3 a.m. it's usually from Hillary Clinton.

Eileen at Poll Dancing has a great analysis of Obama's VP decision.

Our take: Biden may not necessarily help Obama win the election the way someone like Clinton would've, but Biden will definitely be a post-election asset when it's actually time to govern.

For a relatively new kid on the block like Barack Obama, he needs the balance that Joe Biden can provide: proven leadership, strength on foreign affairs, bipartisan appeal, and a Washington insider's perspective.

Not to mention, he's really funny. Which will make things more interesting. A lot of folks are commenting on Biden's inability to "roll over and take it," so to speak. He stands up for himself, and will undoubtedly be a fighter for the Democrats and Obama. These attributes will lend a hand for the rest of the campaign season, as John McCain continues to roll out attack ad after attack ad.

she can't be serious

I think this election cycle has officially pushed New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd off her proverbial rocker.

She is absolutely nuts.

Not sure how her editors saw this op-ed as fit for publication, to be perfectly honest. Wonkette compares the picture she paints to a dastardly scene from Harry Potter, for crying out loud.

Despite what Dowd may think, Hillary Clinton is not conspiring with the Republicans and is not Satan incarnate (or Lord Voldemort, for that matter).

Give us a break, Maureen!

hey at&t, where's my vp?

The Obama campaign has offered supporters the chance to be among the first to know of his vice-presidential pick by receiving a special text message. Seriously, this guy's all about a new kind of politics. So instead of obsessively checking Drudge and Politico this morning, let alone CNN, I continually lit up my phone's screen to see if I somehow went deaf and could no longer hear my text alerts.

It was supposed to come this morning, was it not? Now they're saying we'll probably know tomorrow afternoon. Bah! And while most sources seem to think that Joe Biden has it in the bag, Biden isn't his own biggest cheerleader. He told reporters, "I'm not the guy."

If it isn't Biden, then who is it? Tim Kaine? Evan Bayh?

Well, here's hoping it's Hillary.

maverick no more (dnc responds to mccain ad)

On Friday we showed you John McCain's new ad that features prominent Democrats giving him compliments, which ended with Hillary Clinton mentioning McCain's lifetime of experience and implying that Barack Obama had none.

Well the DNC has responded with a new ad, in which each of the Dems gets a chance to redeem themselves with an updated assessment of McCain.  Sen. John Kerry, who reportedly offered the VP slot to McCain back in 2004, calls him "a different John McCain."

"After eight devastating years under President Bush," Hillary says, "Sen. McCain is simply offering four years more."

The DNC allows President Bush to have the last word, and while it's a good one, it's obviously tying McCain to Bush in an attempt to show that the two are one in the same policy-wise.

View the ad below: