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25% - IMPROVING, BUT BEHIND

We began our third subscription drive Monday.  At this point in our last drive we'd reached more than 40 percent of goal.  In this drive we've reached 25 percent.  We acknowledge the impact of the recession and the fact that our last drive was held in the heat of the election campaign.  Still, we're far behind.

Subscriptions are the lifeblood of Urgent Agenda.  They're the reason we're still here.  This is a critical drive.  We must triple the number of subscribers to become financially stable.  Otherwise, Urgent Agenda will either disappear or be reduced.

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This is a momentous week, a great time to join.  So please subscribe, or donate, in the column on the right, so that we can keep going.  Urgent Agenda is needed more than ever. 

We have been flooded with e-mails in the last few days, coinciding with the start of the Obama presidency.  Each one will be answered.  Please give us a little time.  Thanks.

FRIDAY,  JANUARY 23,  2009

ADVICE FROM THE TOP - AT 9:10 P.M. ET:  From the New York Post:

WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

COMMENT:  Now, do Republicans have to certify that they've thrown away their radios?  Taken the batteries out?  What if they're caught listening by the Radio Police?  Does this include car radios?  If Rush is interviewed on another show, do they have to turn that off, too?  The president should be clear on what the rules are for participation in government.  They should be written. 

THE LATEST IN CULTURE - AT 8:51 P.M. ET:  From London's Telegraph:

In tough times, celebrities are embracing what the head of Chanel has christened 'The New Modesty'

Not since bustles and smelling salts has modesty been considered a virtue. But last week Karl Lagerfeld breathed new life into a long outmoded word: "Bling is over," he declared. "I call it 'the New Modesty'." Quite how seriously we can take this sentiment from a man who wears diamond knuckledusters, bathes in Evian and still keeps close the comfort cushion he had as a 10-year-old is up for discussion, but the notion is as timely as it is wide reaching.

COMMENT:  Thought you'd like to know about the latest trend.   I give this trend a week.

DIFFERENT RULES FOR DIFFERENT GUYS - AT 8:33 P.M. ET:  From ABC News:

Two days after introducing what he heralded as the most sweeping ethics rules in American history -- ones that would "close the revolving door that lets lobbyists come into government freely" -- President Barack Obama today waived those rules for his nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, William Lynn.

Until last fall, Lynn was a registered lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon.

COMMENT:  Can you just imagine if George W. Bush had done this.

DOW DOWN - AT 4:29 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed down 45 points, at 8078.  It did manage to close above the psychological 8000 mark, but has been trending downward for most of this week.

UNBELIEVABLE - AT 3:56 P.M. ET:  I was just monitoring the TV news channels, which I do every day for Urgent Agenda, and Bush-bashing author Ron Suskind was on CNN, announcing that our intelligence capabilities will now improve because Obama is president.  Why?  Because people will like us and give us information.  Suskind claimed that human intelligence, getting information from people willing to give it, "died" under Bush.

Mr. Suskind doesn't know what he's talking about.  Human intelligence didn't die under Bush.  The fact is, we've never been very good at it.  When I was in the CIA, and that was in the sixties, one of the first things were were told was that the agency was strong on technology, weak on human intelligence.  Human intelligence depends on "native assets," citizens of a particular country who are willing to help us.  Rarely is this willingness related to how much we've loved.  It usually has more to do with money, resentments, and favors.  (We recently bribed some local chieftains in the Afghan/Pakistan border area with Viagra.)

The fact is, though, that very few people in any country will stick their necks out to help a foreign intelligence organization, even if they hate their own government.  And, by the way, about 80 percent of intelligence information is collected openly.

Mr. Suskind has seen too many James Bond movies. 

THIS JUST IN - AT 3:53 P.M. ET: 

(CNSNews.com) - Actress Susan Sarandon says that Egypt, Abu Dhabi and “the world” are impressed with the American people for selecting Barack Obama as their president.

“I know just coming back from Egypt and Abu Dhabi and other places in Europe that the world is so happy that we’ve changed direction. They’re so hopeful,” Sarandon told CNSNews.com at The Creative Coalition’s post-inauguration dinner on Tuesday night. “They are as hopeful as we are, and they are really impressed with the American people that they have taken on this guy and that uh, he’s going to be – they hope, managing things in a different way.”

COMMENT:  We're so moved that Ms. Sarandon knows what the world is thinking.  Apparently, actresses have this sixth sense.  Oh, by the way, we wonder if she knows that Egypt and Abu Dhabi are dictatorships.  Just asking.

THE TRUTH COMES OUT - AT 11:01 A.M. ET:  We asked yesterday whether President Obama's order requiring that interrogations of suspects,including terror suspects, stick to the limits of the Army Field Manual had any exceptions, secret or otherwise.  The Wall Street Journal has the important answer:

The unfine print of Mr. Obama's order is that he's allowed room for what might be called a Jack Bauer exception. It creates a committee to study whether the Field Manual techniques are too limiting "when employed by departments or agencies outside the military." The Attorney General, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Director of National Intelligence-designate Dennis Blair will report back and offer "additional or different guidance for other departments or agencies."

In other words, Mr. Obama's Inaugural line that "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals" was itself misrepresenting the choices his predecessor was forced to make. At least President Bush was candid about the practical realities of preventing mass casualties in the U.S.

COMMENT:  Bottom line - President Obama doesn't want thousands of American casualties on his head if we fail to get information from a high-value subject.  He's left the required loophole.

NOW THE DOW - AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  The Dow is down 135, to 7987, below that 8000 psychological mark.

TO THE SHRINK - AT 10:17 A.M. ET:  You just won't believe this.  From Fox News:

CHICAGO -- Illinois' embattled but defiant governor, so fond of reciting poetry as he defends himself against federal corruption allegations, has turned instead to the history books to describe the emotional strain his arrest put on him and his family.

In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Gov. Rod Blagojevich compared his early morning December arrest by FBI agents to Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

He says it was a "complete surprise" but he'll prevail, just like America in World War II.

COMMENT:  An informed source tells me that the governor's state-funded health plan includes psychiatric care.  He should avail himself of the benefit.

THERE IS FEVER, THERE IS PAIN - AT 9:20 A.M. ET:  Triple ace political writer Fred Dicker reports on the mental distress and physical pain felt by liberal New York Democrats over the selection, by Governor David Paterson, of moderate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton.  There is talk of revolt, of primary challenges, even against the governor himself.  Oh, it's so delicious.

MILLI VANILLI FOR LONGHAIRS - AT 8:46 A.M. ET: From The New York Times:

It was not precisely lip-synching, but pretty close.

The somber, elegiac tones before President Obama’s oath of office at the inauguration on Tuesday came from the instruments of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and two colleagues. But what the millions on the Mall and watching on television heard was in fact a recording, made two days earlier by the quartet and matched tone for tone by the musicians playing along.

COMMENT:  We can't even trust our classical musicians anymore.  Civilization is near its end. 

WITH THE CLINTONS, IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING - AT 8:37 A.M. ET:  From The Washington Times:

Former President Bill Clinton's foundation, despite identifying more than 200,000 of its donors in recent weeks, will not say who paid it windfall prices for stock in a struggling Internet firm with links to the Chinese government.

The William J. Clinton Foundation has identified donors and promised unusual transparency in order to reassure critics who fear the foundation could become the object of largesse from foreign interests seeking to influence his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

COMMENT:  Influence the Clintons?  Whoever heard of such a thing?  Look, I suspect Hillary has enough smarts to insulate herself.  She's ambitious.  She doesn't want to blow it.  But money can complicate things.

DON'T TELL ME WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF - AT 8:29 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.

The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen.

COMMENT:  Puts all the fast talk about "closing Gitmo" in a bit of perspective, ay?  Maybe the fast closers should be put in a room with parents of some Americans who'll probably be killed by this guy.  And, of course, once again the name Saudi Arabia surfaces.  You know that great ally of the United States? 

THE OBAMA STARE - AT 8:11 A.M. ET: Benny Goodman, the great band leader, used to beam a stern look at musicians who weren't playing the way he wanted them to.  It was called the ray.  Now President Obama has his own version.  From Fox News:

WASHINGTON -- President Obama paid a surprise visit to members of the White House press corps Thursday evening when he walked through their working area of the West Wing, but he quickly became agitated when he was confronted with a question by one of the journalists.

According to reports, when the Politico's Jonathan Martin asked the president about his nominee for deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, Obama refused to answer, saying he was not there to take questions.

"I came down here to visit. I didn't come down here -- this is what happens. I can't end up visiting you guys and shaking hands if I am going to grilled every time I come down here," the president said.

Pressed further by the Politico reporter about his Pentagon nominee, Obama turned more serious, putting his hand on the reporter's shoulder and staring him in the eye.

"All right, come on" he said, with obvious irritation in his voice. "We will be having a press conference, at which time you can feel free to [ask] questions. Right now, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys -- that's all I was trying to do," Politico.com reported.

COMMENT:  As reported here yesterday, there were also testy moments between the press corps and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.  Already there is some tension between the media and the new administration.  In a way, that's good for the reporters.  The more they get out of the in-the-tank-for-Obama mode, the better for all of us.

TIMELY TROUBLE - AT 8:04 A.M. ET:  More signs of financial disaster at The New York Times.  From The New York Times:

The New York Times Company is in advanced negotiations to sell a substantial portion of its 52-story headquarters building on Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan to W. P. Carey & Company, an investment and management firm that specializes in so-called sale-leaseback transactions, the newspaper company confirmed on Thursday.

COMMENT:  The building was just built.  There are still factory warranties on the equipment.  The Times is in serious trouble, and does not want to confront the fact that its product just isn't as respected as it once was.  That is why readers drop away, and fewer readers means less advertising.  This is an important story because The Times is still the most influential journalistic institution in the country.   

THE STRANGEST BEDFELLOWS - AT 7:58 A.M. ET: From The Jerusalem Post:

Israel made a "big mistake" by ending Operation Cast Lead without overthrowing the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah said on Thursday.

His remarks came as the PA security forces intensified their crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank.

"It was a big mistake to end the war this way," the official said. "The fact that Hamas is still in power is bad for all."

The PA leadership had decided to take draconian measures to thwart any attempt by Hamas to stir unrest in the West Bank, the official also said.

COMMENT:  The Palestinians are in a near civil-war situation.  The more moderate (comparatively) wing, the Palestinian Authority, is in conflict with Hamas, a radical Islamic group.  The PA official is right:  Once again, under international pressure, Israel withdrew before the job was done.  Soon, though, Israel will have a new government - elections are scheduled for next month - and maybe some better strategic planning will result. 

IN TODAY'S EPISODE...

Posted at 7:22 a.m. ET

CUE ORGAN MUSIC:  In today's episode, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of fame and fortune, is crushed by press reports saying that she had to bow out of the race to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate because of problems involving taxes, a nanny, and possibly her marriage.

ORGAN MUSIC UP:  At the same time, David Paterson, wily governor of New York and son of Democratic power Basil Paterson, is ready to appoint Kirsten Gillibrand, upstate congresswoman, to Clinton's seat.

PATRIOTIC ORGAN MUSIC:  Meanwhile, back at the State Department, Hillary Clinton, who has it in for Caroline because Caroline backed Obama in the primaries, is in her glory, with a wide smile, introducing the president and vice president to the State Department staff.  She is satisfied that Caroline didn't get her seat.

SINISTER ORGAN MUSIC:  But in Albany, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of the powerful Mario, and who was once married to Caroline's cousin, and who wanted to be senator, steams over the rejection by the hated David, and plots revenge as he paces his office.

HAPPY ORGAN MUSIC:  As all this is going on, Rose, daughter of Caroline, whoops it up at Harvard, hanging with guitarist Mike Einziger, who's some kind of important music guy.

FUNEREAL ORGAN MUSIC:  Watching are liberal Dems, seething, angry, weeping, because new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is backed by the NRA.  There is talk of revenge, plots, betrayal.

Brought to you by Tide, for whiter whites and bluer blues.  Tune in tomorrow...

January 23, 2009.      Permalink          

THURSDAY,  JANUARY 22,  2009

BRILLIANT MOVE BY MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE - AT 8:24 P.M. ET:  From London's Telegraph:   Merrill Lynch, the loss-making Wall Street bank, paid its staff billions of dollars in bonuses even as it prepared to be taken over by the US government-backed Bank of America.  Merrill's move took as much as $4 billion out of the bank days before it became part of Bank of America, which last week said it would get $20 billion from the US Treasury.

COMMENT:  Brilliant.  Real brilliant.  Another act of genius by "executives," who provide the left with all the ammunition they need.  It's also a warning to all of us:  There are very responsible people on Wall Street.  But some are not.  There are some who should be drummed out of the investment business, but probably won't be.  These types are not thinking of ways to reform the system.  They're thinking of ways to do exactly the same thing again, and not be caught at it next time.  I know some of these characters personally.  Trust me.

DOWN DOWN - AT 8:20 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed down 105, to 8123, flirting again with that 8000 psychological barrier.

THE OBAMA BEGINNING

Posted at 8:14 p.m. ET

This was the first full day on the job for President Obama.  He signed executive orders closing the prison at Guantanamo within a year, and restricting interrogation techniques to those found in the Army field manual.

But what do these orders really mean?  Robert Gibbs held his first briefing today as White House press secretary, and the news was in what wasn't said.  The reporters were prickly and challenging at times, which is good.  There were indications that some of them, at least, have gotten the message that in-the-tank journalism won't do, especially on live television.  Gibbs, a laid-back southern chap who looked like he'd be more at home in the Bush White House, fielded all questions, but fully answered many fewer.

The main story:  When asked if the restriction on interrogation techniques applied to "high-value" captures, say, Osama bin Laden, Gibbs declined to give an explicit reply, simply saying he'd check with the White House counsel.

The point, of course, is that there may be exceptions in the executive order, expressed or implied, or secret exceptions that will never be revealed publicly.  Thus, no real answer to the question. 

Gibbs was also shy when challenged on what, specifically, will be done with the Gitmo detainees considered too dangerous to release.  No real answer except Gibbs's constant repetition of the memorized talking point - that the president felt the order closing the prison would enhance American security.

The press is constantly obsessed with itself, and many reporters expressed annoyance at being kept out of the second swearing-in ceremony.  Bill Plante of CBS was especially testy on this point, charging that it violated the Obama administration's claim of transparency.

Summary:  It was a testier news conference than I would have predicted.

TV coverage then shifted to the State Department, where a confident-sounding and very-much-in-charge Secretary Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her subordinates, the president and the vice president, introduced two new special envoys - former Senator George Mitchell for the Mideast, and former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke for Afghanistan/Pakistan.  The president spoke, and, despite some hysterical reporting in the British press that he made a sharp break with Bush policy on Israel, he did nothing of the kind.  He essentially reiterated American policy on the two-state solution and expressed compassion for victims on both sides.  There was nothing, thus far, to be alarmed about.

The president speaks well, as we all know, and it was his style that differed from the former president's, in his State Department speech.  He has a more personal tone than did Mr. Bush.  You can parse his words all you wish, but I saw far more continuity in policy than rupture.

January 22, 2009.      Permalink          

SOAP OPERA, CONT'D - AT 7:43 P.M. ET:  We said early this morning that the Caroline thing was juicy.  It gets juicier, and it's sad.  She would have been better off just staying a private citizen.  From the New York Post, via Fred Dicker, one of the best:

In a stunning revelation, a source close to Gov. David Paterson insisted this afternoon that the governor "had no intention" of picking Caroline Kennedy for New York's vacant senate seat - because she was "mired" in an issue over taxes, her nanny and possibly her marriage.

Kennedy was "mired in some potentially embarrassing personal issues," the source said, citing tax liabilities and worker compensation liabilities connected to the employment of a nanny.

The source also said the state of her marriage may have presented a problem as well.

"She has a tax problem that came up in the vetting and a potential nanny issue," the source said. "And reporters are starting to look at her marriage more closely," the source continued, refusing to provide any specifics.

COMMENT:  These issues would have potentially embarrassed Governor Paterson, but they could have also embarrassed the president.  Please recall that Kennedy headed up his search team in the quest for a vice presidential candidate.  Apparently, if the above story is accurate, she was never properly vetted for the position, a problem that has plagued the president in some of his Cabinet picks.

FROM MIKE SCULLY - AT 4:20 P.M. ET:  I sometimes do the Mike Scully Show on WVOX (1460 AM,Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.).  Mike, who minces no words, reminds us that the Kennedy family, which has once again produced some embarrassing moments in the Caroline saga, has produced some others in recent years:

Honestly, what is it with this family? It reminds me of her cousin Joe Kennedy, when after long years of mundane service in the House of
Representatives decided that it was now his turn to begin the run-up
for governor of Massachusetts in 1997. That is, until his former wife,
Shelia Rauch, published the book, "Shattered Faith," detailing her
struggle to stand up to the Kennedys when Joe tried to have their marriage annulled behind her back, three years after their divorce. The book was a best seller and Joe Kennedy suddenly decided his real calling in life was to provide low cost heating oil for the poor of New England, not run the Bay State. What a guy.

COMMENT:  Famous political families often produce bizarre histories.  Franklin Roosevelt's children didn't work out all that well.  The Longs of Louisiana are a saga in themselves.  We're glad that Jimmy Carter's brood never became politically important.  Lincoln only had one child who lived to adulthood, Robert Todd Lincoln, who, after some years of government service, became a railroad lawyer and is largely forgotten.  And then there's Britain's royal family, which, in terms of food for gossip, puts the Yanks to shame.

THE CAROLINE MESS - AT 4:15 P.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

ALBANY — Problems involving taxes and a household employee surfaced during the vetting of Caroline Kennedy and derailed her candidacy for the Senate, a person close to Gov. David A. Paterson said on Thursday, in an account at odds with Ms. Kennedy’s own description of her reasons for withdrawing.

COMMENT:  I'll bet Caroline Kennedy wishes she'd never have gotten involved.  Every supermarket tabloid, and plenty of legitimate news outlets, will be after this story.  The president might be able to save her by giving her one of those "special assignments," but she's damaged herself.

YOU MUST SEE THIS - AT 1:29 P.M. ET:  Reader John Catherwood alerts us to this terrific clip from The Daily Show, comparing Bush's speeches to Obama's inaugural address.  Very revealing.  Take a look. 

VAGUENESS-IN-CHIEF

Posted at 8:50 a.m. ET

One of the raps against President Obama is that he's vague.  You never know, according to the charge, exactly where he stands or what his policies will be.  The Politico seems to confirm that in a fine story this morning, examining the president's lobbying reforms.  The key word is "loopholes."

President Barack Obama’s new ethics rules concerning lobbyists appear to be written right out of Wednesday’s headlines — the scandalous ones.

And while they represent the most aggressive attempt by an administration to rein in lobbyists, a host of loopholes that have bedeviled reform efforts for years won’t be plugged by the president’s executive order.

Other stories out today regarding the closing of Guantanamo and new rules for interrogating terror subjects feature the same vagueness.  Rules will be issued, but how tight they'll be still remains a mystery.

Interestingly, though, what the rules don’t do is prohibit lobbyists from working in the Obama administration, which shouldn’t be surprising, since quite a few of them have already been named to it.

A sample: Attorney General-designee Eric Holder was a lobbyist with Covington & Burling, Deputy Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Bill Corr advocated for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Vice President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, was a player at O’Melveny & Myers.

Yeah, we noticed all that change we can believe in.

The Obama rule banning former presidential appointees from lobbying any part of the administration during his term — including a second one, if he wins reelection — is a sweeping prohibition that goes further than any similar presidential good government rules.

But what it doesn’t do — and can’t do — is ban former government officials from lobbying Capitol Hill, which is where the bulk of legislative advocacy happens anyway.

Such loopholes are notoriously common in rules aimed at containing the influence of lobbyists.

There's always the matter of interpretation:

The strength of Obama’s commitment, of course, will rely heavily on the independence and interpretations of the White House and Justice Department attorneys. In Bush’s case, he had their blessing each time he withheld records.

But, in fairness, most experts quoted in the story say that Mr. Obama's effort is the most far-reaching, and that is good.  We now have to see how all this plays out in the real world.

January 22, 2009.      Permalink          

AGAIN, THE FALSE NUMBERS - AT 8:23 A.M. ET:  From combined news sources:

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra Thursday quoted a doctor at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City saying that, despite Hamas and UN claims, most of those killed in Gaza were young men who were members of terror groups.

"The number of deaths was between 500-600...most were young men between 17 and 23 who were recruited into the ranks of Hamas, which sent them to be slaughtered," he said.

Journalist Lorenzo Cremonesi confirmed that only 600 people were killed, and not 1,300 as was widely reported, based on hospital visits and discussions with families of the victims.

"It was strange that the non-governmental organizations, including Western ones, repeated the number without checking, but the truth will come to light in the end," said the doctor.

"It's like what happened in Jenin in 2002," he said. "At the beginning they spoke of 500 dead; afterwards it was clear there were only 54 dead, at least 45 of them fighters."

COMMENT:   We expect Hamas to lie.  It's a fascistic terror group.  But what is sickening here, although not shocking, is the corrupt role of the UN in just accepting Hamas numbers.  Equally sickening, and not shocking, is the role of the press.  You'd think, by now, in light of documented episodes of padded numbers, Photoshopped photos, and invention of "massacres," that the press would get the picture.  It doesn't.  I'm afraid too many "journalists" don't want to.

TALK ABOUT IN-THE-TANK JOURNALISM - AT 7:35 A.M. ET:  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is executing the clean break from the Bush administration that he promised in his campaign and his inaugural address, with a dizzying series of events highlighting openness, inclusiveness and ethics.

The man known for speaking so eloquently now seems hellbent on doing things, dispensing a flurry of executive orders on his first full day in office Wednesday, even if he had only just seized the levers of government and his top aides had yet to turn on their computers.

COMMENT:  He also proved himself faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and he's working on leaping tall buildings at a single bound.  Whatever happened to journalism?

NO OIL, NO SECURITY - AT 7:07 A.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama may order a hold on a proposal issued in the final days of the Bush administration to expand offshore drilling in previously banned areas, an Interior Department official told Reuters on Wednesday.

COMMENT:  No good, no good.  Hope it isn't true.  The American people, in survey after survey, favor that drilling.  It's critical for our independence, until some other energy sources are developed.  We hope Obama doesn't cave to the environmental religionists.

JUICY

Posted at 6:59 a.m. ET

Do you love political intrigue?  Then you have to love what's going on in New York, where Governor David Paterson, son of a powerful New York politician, must fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, wife of a powerful Arkansas and Washington politician, and has been considering Caroline Kennedy, daughter of a powerful Massachusetts and Washington politician.  Now Caroline has pulled out of the race, and the frontrunner is New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of a powerful New York politician and former governor, Mario Cuomo.  And Andrew Cuomo used to be married to Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert Kennedy, a powerful New York and Washington politician.  But the marriage broke up when Kerry Kennedy fell in love with Andrew Cuomo's friend.  Oh, and Kerry Kennedy is the cousin of Caroline Kennedy, mentioned above.

Procter & Gamble is negotiating for the rights to this story, and plans to put it on CBS every afternoon at three, with organ music. 

Welcome to public responsibility, at a time of economic peril.

So, Caroline has now pulled out.  Fred Dicker, of the New York Post, one of the best political reporters around, was on TV this morning, having broken the story.  He reinforced our doubts, expressed here late last night, that Caroline's sudden withdrawal, citing "personal reasons," had anything to do with Uncle Ted's collapse at an inaugural luncheon Tuesday.  He made the point that Teddy has been seriously ill for some time.  He speculated - stress speculated - that the withdrawal may have had something to do with the background check on Caroline, conducted for New York Governor David Paterson.

Andrew Cuomo is now considered frontrunner for the post, something that might enrage the Kennedys because of his difficult split from Kerry Kennedy.  However, don't be shocked if the governor names a woman, possibly a congresswoman. 

Great political story.

January 22, 2009.      Permalink          

HILLARY SWORN - AT 6:29 A.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton was sworn in as the 67th U.S. secretary of state Wednesday afternoon after the Senate approved her nomination by a vote of 94-2.

Hillary Clinton was sworn in Wednesday in her Senate office by Associate Judge Kathleen Oberly.

Former President Clinton and her Senate staff looked on as Clinton's childhood friend and D.C. appeals court Associate Judge Kathleen Oberly swore her in on a Bible belonging to the former first lady's late father, in a ceremony in her Senate office.

COMMENT:  I thought this was a bit weird.  Shouldn't the president have been in attendance?  It was an all-Clinton affair, including her childhood friend.  Hmm.