Sen Hillary Clinton gives her prepared remarks after being named by President-elect Barack Obama to become the Secretary of State.

Download | Play    Download | Play

President-Elect Barack Obama held a news conference this morning to announce his core group of National Security appointments. Impressive and bipartisan, the team signals a dramatic shift in American policy, or as the President-Elect put it, "a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century."

"And so, in this uncertain world, the time has come for a new beginning -- a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, and to seize the opportunities embedded in those challenges. We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships. We will show the world once more that America is relentless in defense of our people, steady in advancing our interests, and committed to the ideals that shine as a beacon to the world: democracy and justice; opportunity and unyielding hope -- because American values are America’s greatest export to the world."

I also included Obama's response to a question about the so-called "Team of Rivals" and how he will ensure that his team will execute his vision, despite any lingering ideological differences or high-profile personality clashes that may exist amongst them. This is exactly why I have not been among those on the left and right who are criticizing any of President-Elect Obama's choices. To me, the most important aspect of assembling a Presidential cabinet is valuing competence over anything else. As he made crystal clear, he chose this team -- and they all decided to accept his nominations -- because he believes they are best prepared to execute his policies and, echoing the phrase made famous by Harry Truman, ultimately "the buck stops with him."

Head over to Change.gov to learn more about the impressive resumés of each nominee.

This new legislation is so disgusting that I'm surprised Bush didn't try to get this passed at the beginning of his second term. It's no shock that the right-wing freaks always target women with their extreme anti-choice agenda. Now they are trying to set back the medical world 200 years.

A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws.

The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.” It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to “assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity” financed by the Department of Health and Human Services. The counsel, Reed L. Russell, and two Democratic members of the commission, Stuart J. Ishimaru and Christine M. Griffin, also said that the rule was unnecessary for the protection of employees and potentially confusing to employers. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already prohibits employment discrimination based on religion, Mr. Russell said, and the courts have defined “religion” broadly to include “moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong, which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.”

Medicine should be religion free in America. Have you ever wondered why they don't ever target legislation that puts restrictions on men?

From a press release:

In light of reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is preparing to enact a rule that would undermine critical health care services for women and families, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) today introduced legislation that would prevent the HHS rule from going into effect. The proposed HHS rule would require any health care entity that receives federal financing to certify in writing that none of its employees are required to assist in any way with medical services they find objectionable. The proposed bill would keep HHS from moving forward with this rule.

"In the final days of his administration, the President is again putting ideology first and attempting to roll back health care protections for women and families. The fact that the EEOC was never consulted in the drafting of this rule further illustrates that this is purely a political ploy. This HHS rule will threaten patients' rights, stand in the way of health care professionals, and restrict access to critical health care services for those who need them most.

The House is also introducing legislation to fight this too.

DeGette and Slaughter Introduce Legislation to Stop HHS Rule

Empirically speaking, Barack Obama possesses a special kind of charisma that inspires and uplifts people, as evidenced by the talk of an Obama baby boom due to the euphoria surrounding his election. What I don't get is the diametrically opposite reaction that the Clintons, both separately and together, seem to evoke in The Villagers. Chris Matthews' obsession is long documented, and there's no one better to get your unhinged, irrational Clinton hatred on with than the drink-soaked popinjay Christopher Hitchens.

Let's keep score, shall we? Hitch is the guy that has been cheerleading the Iraq invasion and occupation (still does, as you can see from the video). Cheering arguably the biggest blunder of foreign policy we've ever committed and one that most people understand to be an epic fail. And he's on to criticize Bill Clinton--who will NOT be a member of Obama's cabinet--and while highly imperfect, did manage to lead the country to a prosperity and global status that we can only distantly and fondly remember. Why? Doesn't his continued support of our actions in Iraq speak for his judgment and grasp on reality?

And can I just object right here and now to the misogynistic and patronizing framing? Apparently the meme is that Hillary is too ambitious and self-serving to actually serve Obama's agenda. Based on what? Running a bare knuckle campaign? I don't think that if his primary rival had been a man that this would come up at all. The media was falling all over itself to talk about how cordial the meeting between Obama and McCain was yesterday. And what does it imply about Obama's strength that the assumption is that Hillary would railroad him (presumably with Bill, because to hear the media talk, you'd assume they were some sort of Machiavellian conjoined twins)? It's completely insulting on many levels.

The back-stabbing Bill and Hillary meme (one entirely conceived by GOP strategists, dutifully regurgitated in the media and swallowed sadly all-too-often by otherwise smart liberals) has gotten so out of hand that as Eric Boehlert reports for Media Matters, Fox News is already openly contemplating how Obama needs to fire her. For a job that (as of this writing) she has not been announced for and that does not take effect for another two months. Strike anyone else as premature?

Download | Play    Download | Play (h/t Heather)

The Republicans in Washington have just been handed a devastating setback as the majority of Americans showed by their votes that they realize that the GOP just can't govern, what's a RNC propaganda arm to do? Do an hourlong special on the Clinton presidency, or more precisely, on the Clenis.

Did you know how amazing and magical the Clenis is? It is, my friends. It's so powerful that it even got Hillary Clinton a Senate seat. You read that right. Not out of sympathy or admiration for Hillary for sticking with her man, but it was a deal struck between the Clintons:

DICK MORRIS: And the deal was ‘you take over, you defend me, you absolve me and in return you can get what you want' and she settled on that Senate seat. Some guys give necklaces, Bill gave a Senate seat.

And all this time I thought that the people of New York voted for her. But no, according to Fox News, Bill Clinton gave her the Senate seat, much the way Kobe Bryant gave his wife a $4M diamond ring. I tell you, that is one magic Clenis.

Download | play QT only

C&Ler Jim T. alerted me to this segment from Hardball and said this:

The last 20 minutes or so are a case study of the gossip-fest that cable and "journalism" in general have become. The segment features Michelle Bernard and some kook from N.H. discussing the possibility that Hillary Clinton may be offered State in the Obama administration. Probably one of the most bizarre spectacles I have seen in a long time, even considering the two year idiocy we've just been through.

Bernard is a serious Clinton Hater and as the day unfolded she just couldn't contain it any longer. There were plenty of snide comments about Hillary from the media like, "Obama better have a food taster" if he gives her the job, (I wonder if the media would say things like that if McCain asked Romney to join his cabinet) but nobody went as far as she did.

For some people the primary has never ended.

MATTHEWS: [unintelligible] You guys are so suspicious. Look, I think that since she lost the fight for the nomination, Michelle and Jennifer, she has been not just a good soldier, she has sang the tune of this guy. She's been illustrious, she's been admirable. She -- her spirit seems to be with him. Bill's a little more troubled, obviously, by what happened. But she's been totally with him, and that's why he's obviously thrown her name out. Why would he even be thinking of her if he thought she might be insubordinate?

{snip}

BERNARD: No, they're not going to keep her in line if she's secretary of state. If she's secretary of state --

DONAHUE: Well, that's why she's not gonna get it.

BERNARD: -- she will run a parallel government. It will be a huge problem.

DONAHUE: I don't believe she'll get it

It's Obama's party and he gets to decide ultimately who he wants and if he actually asked her or even seriously considered her then he knows he can trust her not to run a parallel government that would destroy Obama. Outside of being plain stupid, it's insane talk.

I always wondered where Michelle Bernard came from when she suddenly showed up on MSNBC as an analyst. The group she belongs to have people like Kate O'Beirne and Larry Kudlow attached to it. Bob Somerby felt the same way back in March:

Who is Michelle Bernard?

On the surface, the question is easily answered. At present, Bernard is CEO of the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative women’s group founded in 1992. (According to Wikipedia, the IWF grew out of an ad hoc group created to support Clarence Thomas.) The groups directors emeritae include such conservative stars as Lynn Cheney, Wendy Gramm, Midge Decter and Kate O’Beirne. To peruse the group’s web site, just click here.

The IWF, like many such groups, is founded as a non-partisan 501(c)(3) group. As such, the group does not endorse candidates. But it does promote a range of conservative causes.

Download | Play    Download | Play

Hillary Clinton declined to answer any questions today about the speculation that President-elect Obama is talking to her about being Secretary of State in his Cabinet -- and the denial left little doubt that she is indeed in the running.

Meanwhile, Nico Pitney at HuffPo reports that Obama has offered her the job.

Personally, I'd always suspected he would name Clinton to the Supreme Court with the first opening there, but the fact that Obama is looking to build bridges with former enemies this early says volumes about how he's going to approach governance. Mostly that is a good thing, but there is a built-in downside here too.

Download | Play    Download | Play

The Obama camp sure is leaking a lot of names out there these days. They are called trial balloons:

Here's the definition:

A trial balloon is information sent out in order to observe the reaction of an audience. It can be used by companies sending out press releases to judge reaction by customers, or it can be used by politicians who deliberately leak information on a policy change under consideration. In politics trial balloons often take the form of an intentional news leak to assess public opinion.

The newest one that NBC is reporting is that Hillary Clinton is being considered for Secretary of State.

There's talk, indeed, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) may now be under consideration for the post. Her office referred any questions to the Obama transition; Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to comment.

The pick of the former presidential contender and Senate Armed Services Committee member would go a long way toward healing any remaining divisions within the Democratic Party after the divisive primaries. Also, Clinton has long been known for her work on international women's issues and human rights. The former first lady could also enhance Obama's efforts to restore U.S. standing amongst allies worldwide.

This one is very interesting indeed. She's certainly qualified for the job and it certainly would freak out the freepers.

Download | Play    Download | Play (h/t Heather)

Can the media please stop saying that Bill and Hillary Clinton aren't throwing their full weight behind Barack Obama already? I mean, seriously...what more do they have to do? Both of them hit the stump today in Pennsylvania, forcefully arguing, like they have for months now, that America can't afford four more years of George W. McCain.

Yahoo!:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a Democratic rejoinder to the Republican chant of "drill, baby, drill." Said the one-time presidential candidate: "Jobs, baby, jobs."

Campaigning for her once bitter rival Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, the New York senator told about 1,500 people at an historic farm in suburban Horsham, that her husband's administration produced a balanced budget and a surplus.

"Now, eight short years later, we've had to add a digit to the debt clock," she said, referring to the digital sign in New York City that tracks the national debt.

Hillary Clinton and many Senate Democrats pounded away at the economic policies of Bush and McCain.

Clinton: What we have seen over the course of the last eight years is an administration that refused to recognize the threats lurking in our economy. No matter what lurked just beneath the surface or what problems were facing middle-class families. Now, we know that many C.E.O.'s are paying lower tax rates than their receptionists. We know that President Bush and those who carry his mantle seek to lower those taxes even further. Middle-class families have seen their wages decline even as the cost of living has skyrocketed. This administration has the worst job creation record in 70 years.

Millions of families were locked into ballooning and unaffordable adjustable-rate loads as this administration stood by denying there was a crisis. Regulators and regulations designed to keep pace with the markets have been steadily chipped away by Washington Republicans even as companies experimented to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars in ever more complex and risky financial instruments.

More transcripts below the fold:

Continue reading »

  Download | play   Download | play   (h/t Heather)

Amy Poehler brings back her Hillary Clinton with Tina Fey's eerily accurate Sarah Palin to castigate the media for their sexist coverage of the presidential campaign. Like Clinton, I'm a little surprised that this has become an issue now, especially after how much grief I got for complaining about it six months ago.

PALIN: Good evening, my fellow Americans. I was so excited when I was told Senator Clinton and I would be addressing you tonight.

CLINTON: And I was told I would be addressing you alone.

PALIN: Now I know it must be a little bit strange for all of you to see the two of us together, what with me being John McCain's running mate...

CLINTON: And me being a fervent supporter of Senator Barack Obama, as evidenced by this button.

PALIN: But tonight, we are crossing party lines to address the now very ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign.

CLINTON: An issue that I am frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about.

PALIN: You know, Hillary and I don't agree on everything...

CLINTON: Anything...I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy.

PALIN: And I can see Russia from my house.

CLINTON: I believe global warming is caused by man...

PALIN: And I believe it's just God huggin' us closer.

CLINTON: I don't agree with the Bush Doctrine...

PALIN: And I don't know what that is.

CLINTON: But Sarah, one thing we can agree on is that sexism can never be allowed to permeate an American election.

PALIN: So please, stop Photoshopping my head on sexy bikini pictures.

CLINTON: And stop saying I have cankles.

PALIN: Don't refer to me as a MILF.

CLINTON: And don't refer to me as a "FLIRJ". I Googled what it stands for and I do not like it.

PALIN: Reporters and commentators, stop using words that diminish us, like "pretty", "attractive", "beautiful"...

CLINTON: ..."Harpy", "shrew", "boner-shrinker"...

Joe's a good guy overall and a stand up man for saying this, but I happen to agree with him.

CNN:

Joe Biden told supporters at a town hall Wednesday afternoon that Barack Obama might have been better off choosing Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

"Make no mistake about this, Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let's get that straight," Biden said testily when a voter told Biden he was glad the Delaware senator had been chosen and not Clinton.

"She's a truly close personal friend and she is qualified to be President of the United States of America, she's easily qualified to be Vice President of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me," he continued."I mean that sincerely, she's first-rate."

We would have solidified our base in the nutshell.

As a pragmatic exercise, I asked hundreds of rank and file Democrats, many Obama supporters in Denver and in the Big Tent about the VP pick and 99% said he should have picked Hillary for party unity. Everybody liked Biden, but thought it would have rocked Denver and the rest of the party, including the media. Not scientific, but if you walked the gauntlet a few times to the Pepsi Center in the blistering heat, you would know what I mean.
Most of the on-line community that supported Obama were against it there except for a few. On the other hand, McCain solidified his base with his VP pick.

As the election goes I'm not saying all is lost, far from it, Obama still should be our next president, but I'm just making an observation.

  Hillary Clinton was down in Florida country stumping for Obama. She made the strong case that Obama/Biden need to lead this country. plain and simple.

Download | play   Download | play

Hillary: 'I don't think the choice could be any clearer....

If we want to restore American leadership.  If we want to restore the American standard of living. If we want to tackle the myriad of challenges facing this country---then slightly amend my comments from Denver. No way, no McCain, no Palin!

I was telling Digby that I hope Hillary will step up against Palin. 

Mrs. Clinton's friends said she was galled that Ms. Palin might try to capitalize on a movement that Mrs. Clinton, of New York, built among women in the primaries....Guy Cecil, the former political director of Mrs. Clinton's campaign, said it was "insulting" for Republicans to compare Ms. Palin to Mrs. Clinton.

"It is insulting to compare Hillary's lifetime of service and her commitment to progressive causes with that of a novice, right-wing governor," Mr. Cecil said. 

This should be interesting. 

  In an incredibly unifying and symbolic moment during the New York state delegate roll call, Senator Hillary Clinton asks for a suspension of the vote and requests the nomination of Barack Obama by acclamation. RIP "Democratic Disunity" meme.

Download | play   Download | play

"With eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let's declare together, in one voice, right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our President. Madame Secretary, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of the roll cal vote -- all votes cast by the delegates will be counted -- and I move Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be sleceted by this convetion by acclamation as the nominee of the democtaric party for president of the United States."