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The Note: Obama Leans on Insiders in Choosing Team

November 20, 2008 8:30 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note:

Call it change Washington can believe in.

The Cabinet that is emerging (still unofficially -- President-elect Barack Obama has yet to make a single formal announcement) looks so very . . . practical, maybe typical.

The faces are like the folks at a college reunion -- you knew these people once before, when there were a little younger, and sort of always had the feeling you’d see them again.

And -- surprise -- Obama picks top aides the same way previous presidents have: From the ranks of elected officials, old friends and allies, and people who have done it before -- yes, in Washington.

Your latest entries for the ledger of the likely: Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader, at Health and Human Services; Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz., at Homeland Security; and Penny Pritzker, an early campaign supporter and a big Obama fundraiser, at Commerce.

Made formal Wednesday: David Axelrod, to become senior advisor to the president; Greg Craig as White House counsel; Lisa Brown as White House staff secretary; and Chris Lu (not Patti Solis Doyle) as Cabinet secretary. 

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

“President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts,” Kevin Freking writes for the AP. 

“President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on the slogan of ‘change.’ But his early appointees, including two top choices that emerged Wednesday, show that experience is one of his main criteria,” Laura Meckler and Jonathan Weisman write in The Wall Street Journal.

“The latest transition news highlighted the three personnel pools supplying Mr. Obama with his picks,” they write. “Most prominent are Clinton administration veterans -- including, possibly, former first lady Hillary Clinton for secretary of state. Some high-profile appointments are also long-serving members and staff from Capitol Hill. Then there are the influential Chicagoans -- a group that seems smaller than the hometown crowd that usually accompanies a new president to Washington.”

And why is it that all the Cabinet picks come with what Al Kamen is calling a “Best Buy” contingency -- a 30-day return policy?

“Reminds us of the Hamlet-like performance of former New York governor Mario Cuomo when Bill Clinton offered him a seat on the Supreme Court and he accepted, then he didn't, and back and forth,” Kamen writes in his Washington Post column. “In the end, if it doesn't work out, there was no Obama announcement, no photo op. There are no pictures of him walking out with Clinton, smiling. He's reached out to his former foe, he's been magnanimous. And of course he will be saddened that it didn't work out.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

November 20, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Clinton, Bill, Clinton, Hillary, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (78)

The Note: Obama, McCain Could be Valuable Allies

November 17, 2008 8:24 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Monday's Note:

Questions worth pondering while you’re thinking about the prospect of a Palin-free week:

1. Who will play a bigger role in filling out President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet -- Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, or Doris Kearns Goodwin? 

2. Will the Republican Party have to blow itself up to put itself back together? (Which of those directions does Mike Huckabee’s new book take the party?) 

3. Will the president-elect spend more political capital getting a playoff system for college football than he will pushing a bailout package to help save Detroit? (And will he spend this much time in the gym when he’s in the White House?) 

4. What does it say about the most open and transparent transition in history that Obama meets in super-secrecy with Democrats, while press releases are sent out for meetings with Republicans?

5. Who’s the more powerful Republican this week -- John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, or John McCain?

The rival reclamation tour continues Monday in Chicago, with Obama set to meet at noon ET with that other individual who almost stopped him from becoming president: McCain.

McCain is at heart a dealmaker, and his return to the Senate as part of a diminished GOP caucus enhances his opportunities to cut them. Just like he’d have to if he’d won, McCain will be forced to work with Democrats -- and, of course, there’s one Democrat in particular whose cooperation is vital if McCain wants to remain a potent force.

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

McCain, R-Ariz., has no more friends in the Senate (in either party) than he did before he ran. And the Senate remains the place where some of the bolder Obama ideas may go to die.

But McCain won’t be speaking for leadership in the new Congress. Even more than after his 2000 run, he is one of a handful of senators whose celebrity brings power that can’t be measured by chairmanships or seniority (Hillary Clinton is another). When an Obama measure -- any measure -- is sent to Congress, who do you think will be the first lawmaker reporters seek out for reaction?

“Both have much to gain from swift reconciliation after a bitter contest,” The Wall Street Journal’s Jonathan Weisman and Laura Meckler write. “Mr. Obama's pledge to move beyond the partisan bickering requires Republican partners. Sen. McCain would be a potent symbol -- and one with a long history of working with Democrats on key issues on the president-elect's agenda: climate change, energy efficiency and national service. . . . Obama aides stress the opportunity the president-elect is offering Sen. McCain.”

The Palin mania that’s enveloped the past week has mostly enhanced McCain by not focusing on his missteps (other than, possibly, his selection of Sarah Palin).

So the Arizona senator returns to the Hill with the potential to be more of a power source than ever -- the one man whose reaction to an Obama proposal could immediately set the tone for debate.

“Sources close to McCain say their man wants to leave the campaign behind and return to the role he forged for himself on Capitol Hill as the leading reformer and bi-partisan legislator in the Senate,” Time’s James Carney writes. “By meeting with McCain so shortly after the election, Obama is demonstrating both magnanimity and self-confidence. But his move is also based on self-interest. Obama is keenly aware of the fact that, despite increased Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House, he cannot enact the kind of sweeping legislative overhaul he envisions without the help of Republicans.”

With two years left on his term -- why wouldn’t he want to be a player? And the choice of wingmen for Monday’s meeting -- new White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel for Obama, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. -- for McCain -- says that both men are serious about a potential partnership.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

November 17, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Bill, Clinton, Hillary, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (114)

The Note: Palin a Hit, and McCain Bats Next

September 04, 2008 9:16 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has gotten the scrambled race he wanted when he turned to Gov. Sarah Palin. So, this is his party now -- what does he do with it?

McCain’s convention gets to be about McCain again (or maybe for the first time), as one of the strangest political gatherings in memory comes to a close Thursday in St. Paul with Cindy and John as your highlights.

McCain’s teammate in this endeavor capped a weeklong journey from obscurity -- across Quayle Quarry and Eagleton Pass and back (no wonder Trig’s hair was out of place) -- with a powerful speech that keeps her in the image game.

To wear out some imagery, the hockey mom knows how to lace up the skates -- and can deliver a check into the boards, lipstick intact.

The speech wasn’t soaring or specific, but it didn’t have to be. It wasn’t perfect or polished, but neither is she (and that’s the point).

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

We stayed earthbound with Sarah Palin. Yet, a beleaguered party has found its inspiration -- a person who makes Republicans proud to call themselves Republicans again, even if she’s someone that the “elite media” (more unpopular at the RNC than Harry Reid?) doesn’t quite know what to do with. (That applies maybe even to those who have yet to learn the perils of the hot mic.)

“Ms. Palin’s appearance electrified a convention that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job, as she launched slashing attacks on Mr. Obama’s claims of experience,” Elisabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper write in The New York Times.

“Palin pitched herself as the product of small-town America and laced her address with sarcastic digs at Sen. Obama. She said it is his experience, not hers, that is lacking, and she embraced the role of leading the attack against the Democratic ticket,” Michael D. Shear writes in The Washington Post. “Palin focused on almost every tactical misstep Obama's campaign has made, painting a caricature of the Democrat as an out-of-touch elitist and a lightweight celebrity with no sense of what matters to average Americans.”

Even Sen. Joe Biden was impressed -- well, sort of.

“She had a great night. I thought she had a very skillfully written, and very skillfully delivered speech,” Biden, D-Del., told ABC’s Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America” Thursday. “I was impressed by the speech, but I was also impressed by what I didn’t hear spoken. ... They were good, funny lines -- I’m glad they weren’t about me.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 4, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Hillary, Giuliani, Rudy, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Romney, Mitt, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (206)

The Note: New Questions Dog McCain-Palin Ticket

September 02, 2008 9:16 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Tuesday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

What did John McCain know, and when did he know it?

We will get a full Republican National Convention back, starting Tuesday. (Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Sen. Fred Thompson help get us from telethon to television -- and President Bush will get his address via satellite, for better and worse, while Rudy Giuliani gets bumped to another night.)

But even if we didn’t get back on track, just think of what we’ve been through together already. A storm blew through St. Paul, Monday -- and there was a hurricane you may have heard about, too.

And behind the news about Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter (biology as pushback?) is a pregnant series of questions about Sen. John McCain: Did he know, really and fully, what he was getting into? Does his campaign regret the choice, even a little bit? What does all of this say about his judgment?

(How many more stories before Palin = “Northern Exposure,” and how long a trip is it from there to Tom Eagleton/Harriet Miers territory?)

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

(And while we’re waiting for those answers -- Sen. Barack Obama will be George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive headliner Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”)

It was a good political day to dump Palin information, as Gustav wasn’t quite dumping its wrath on the Gulf Coast. But this starts to add up:

“Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years, in the 1990s, of the Alaska Independence Party, which has, at times, sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken driving charge,” Elisabeth Bumiller writes in The New York Times.

“We are going to flush the toilet,” new McCain-Palin aide Tucker Eskew (yes, THE Tucker Eskew) tells the Times.

Things Team McCain may have wanted done, say, last week: “Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background,” Bumiller reports. “A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice presidential choice.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 2, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Thompson, Fred, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (149)

Obama Now Takes The Lead in Superdelegates Too

May 09, 2008 6:19 AM

ABC News' Karen Travers Reports: For the first time this campaign season, Barack Obama has surpassed Hillary Clinton's support among superdelegates, according to the ABC News delegate estimate. 

Sen. Obama, D-Ill., picked up two superdelegates this morning giving him a new metric to tout in addition to his current commanding leads in pledged delegates, popular votes, states won, and money raised.

Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., switched his endorsement from Clinton to Obama and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., endorsed Obama. DeFazio was previously uncommitted.

With these endorsements, Obama has the support of 267 superdelegates and Clinton has 265 superdelegates.

Every news organization's superdelegate count is a little different because it is an imperfect science. Since October 2007, the Political Unit has continuously reached out to the nearly 800 superdelegates to determine their candidate preference. We also reach out regularly to the Obama and Clinton campaigns for their superdelegate lists and work to confirm any that they include on their lists.

Clinton’s advantage among superdelegates was once massive and has been dwindling steadily since Super Tuesday, when she was ahead by over 60 superdelegates.

Clinton’s institutional support from within the Democratic Party allowed her to build a commanding lead in superdelegates over Obama in the early part of this nomination battle.

Despite several rough weeks on the campaign trail, Obama has maintained momentum in picking up superdelegates. Obama has outpaced Clinton at every marker of this campaign since Super Tuesday -- after the controversial comments of Rev. Wright came out, after Clinton’s big win in Pennsylvania and after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries.

Below are the superdelegate tallies, as of this morning, from other news organizations:

ABC
OBAMA 267
CLINTON 265

CBS
CLINTON  271
OBAMA 261

CNN
CLINTON 268
OBAMA 258

NBC
CLINTON 274
OBAMA 260

AP
CLINTON 271.5
OBAMA 266

New York Times
CLINTON 263
OBAMA 258

Politico
CLINTON 268.5
OBAMA 260

Washington Post (uses AP statistics)
CLINTON 271
OBAMA 256

May 9, 2008 in Huckabee, Mike | Permalink | User Comments (328)

Kucinich: 'I'm No Longer Running For President'

January 25, 2008 12:25 PM

ABC News' Jennifer Parker Reports: Returning to his hometown of Cleveland, presidential dark horse Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, announced he is abandoning his second White House bid to concentrate on fighting for his congressional seat that is up for grabs in November.

"Today we are re-committing our energies," Kucinich said Friday. "I'm directing my energies to being re-elected to the Congress of the United States."

"To those who supported this campaign with their energies and their hearts, I want you to know that we are transitioning the presidential campaign to a movement based on integrity, and based on practical ways we can affect policies on a local and national level," he said, announcing the launch of a new group called 'Integrity Now.'

"I'm no longer running for president, but I am intent on saving our nation," he said, directing supporters to a website called integritynow.org.

Throughout his campaign, Kucinich trailed badly behind his Democratic rivals, raised little money, and was recently shut out of Democratic debates because of his long shot status.

Kucinich, who made an unsuccessful bid for the White House in 2004, ran on his longtime opposition to the war in Iraq, and advocated the creation of a federal "Department of Peace."

However news about his candidacy was overshadowed by news about his assertion that he saw a UFO; that President George W. Bush may need mental "care"; and attention devoted to his second-wife, Elizabeth, who is 30 years his junior.

The former Cleveland mayor has been an Ohio congressman since 1997, but is facing challenges from local politicians who charge that Kucinich's quest for the White House, and his failed effort to impeach Vice President Cheney have left the people of his district neglected.

In an "urgent personal appeal" Wednesday to his campaign supporters sent out by e-mail and released on YouTube, Kucinich said, "Right now I'm under attack by corporate interests, most of them from the city of Cleveland, who have an agenda that has nothing to do with the people of my community, nor with most people in this country."

"And so what I'm asking you to do is to help me stay in Congress, so that I can continue to represent the people of my community, the state of Ohio and the United States of America," he said in the appeal.

ABC News' Jennifer Duck and Lindsey Ellerson contributed to this report.

January 25, 2008 in Huckabee, Mike, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (8)

Dennis Kucinich to Drop '08 Presidential Bid

January 24, 2008 4:16 PM

ABC News' Jennifer Duck Reports: Presidential dark horse Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, will announce at a news conference tomorrow in Cleveland that he is dropping out of the presidential race, ABC News has confirmed.

Since announcing his intention to seek the White House, Kucinich has trailed badly behind his Democratic rivals, raised little money, and was recently shut out of Democratic debates because of his long shot status.

Kucinich is expected to announce that he is foregoing his presidential aspirations to focus on his congressional seat, that may be in jeopardy.

"I want to continue to serve in Congress," Kucinich said, reports his hometown Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper which first reported Kucinich's plans to drop out.

Kucinich, who made an unsuccessful bid for the White House in 2004, has run on his longtime opposition to the war in Iraq, and advocated the creation of a federal "Department of Peace."

He garnered some media attention during the campaign when he questioned President George W. Bush's mental health and said he had seen a UFO.

"I did,''' Kucinich said at a Democratic debate in 2007. "It's unidentified. I saw something.''

In a discussion with editors of the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, Kucinich suggested Bush's comments about Iran and World War III suggest he needs "care."

"You cannot be a president of the United States who's wanton in his expression of violence," Kucinich said. "There's a lot of people who need care. He might be one of them. If there isn't something wrong with him, then there's something wrong with us. This, to me, is a very serious question."

News about the former Cleveland mayor's candidacy was overshadowed by news about his much younger second-wife, Elizabeth Kucinich, who he married in August, 2005.

Elizabeth Kucinich, a native of England, is thirty years younger than her husband. 

After losing badly in the New Hampshire primary, Kucinich demanded a recount because of electronic voting machine problems in the Myrtle Beach area. He spent $27,000, won a 40 percent recount, but it earned him all of 32 changed votes, with Sen. Barack Obama drawing 18 votes closer to Sen. Hillary Clinton, the N.H. primary winner.

At age 31, Kucinich was in the national spotlight in when he became "the Boy Mayor" of Cleveland and the youngest person ever elected to lead a major American city in 1977. 

The former Cleveland mayor has been an Ohio congressman since 1997, but is facing challenges from local politicians who charge that Kucinich's quest for the White House, and his failed effort to impeach Vice President Cheney have left the people of his district neglected.

In an "urgent personal appeal" Wednesday to his campaign supporters sent out by e-mail and released on YouTube, Kucinich said, "Right now I'm under attack by corporate interests, most of them from the city of Cleveland, who have an agenda that has nothing to do with the people of my community, nor with most people in this country."

"And so what I'm asking you to do is to help me stay in Congress, so that I can continue to represent the people of my community, the state of Ohio and the United States of America," he said.

January 24, 2008 in Huckabee, Mike, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (25)

'Who Does Dennis Kucinich Think He Is?'

January 02, 2008 9:51 PM

ABC News' Donna Hunter reports: Saying that Sen. Chris  Dodd, D-Conn., is not too pleased with Dennis Kucinich is putting it mildly.  While at an event in Ottumwa, Iowa the senator became hot under the collar when asked about Kucinich telling his supporters to back Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., if he doesn't get the necessary 15 percent on caucus night. 

"Who is Dennis Kucinich to tell these people who to vote for? Iowans make up their own minds on who they are going to vote for and if they don't vote for you for some reason don't you start to tell them who not to vote for. I find that offensive," he said.

Dodd  was equally offended by the idea that his rivals for the White House would even think about coming to him or suggesting he follow Kucinich's lead. "I've said to everyone in these other campaigns don't come to me looking for a deal. I'm trying to convince Iowans to stand with me and support me," Dodd  said.

In the past few weeks Dodd has walked the line on whether or not he would consider a Vice President spot if he doesn't make it out of Iowa. If he's not successful he'll be supporting a Democrat no matter what.  But it's not clear if no matter what includes Kucinich.

January 2, 2008 in Clinton, Bill, Huckabee, Mike | Permalink | User Comments (6)

Obama Launches First Negative Ad

December 31, 2007 7:06 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein and Teddy Davis Report: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has launched the first broadcast advertisement of the Democratic race to mention rival candidates by name, with a radio spot that escalates a long-running battle with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and former senator John Edwards, D-N.C., over whose healthcare plan would cover the greatest number of people.

The ad, which is airing in Iowa and New Hampshire, quotes media reports that favorably portray Obama's healthcare plan -- and portray Edwards' and Clinton's plan as ineffective.
An Obama aide said it is response to ads run by independent group -- one that is backing Clinton's candidacy -- that has attacked his healthcare plan as "rewarding the irresponsible who don't get covered."

"Here's the real difference on health care: Senators Edwards and Clinton favor mandates which the Daily Iowan says would, quote, 'force those who can not afford health insurance to buy it, punishing those who don't fall in line,' " a male announcer says in the ad.

A female announcer then chimes in: "Barack Obama believes the solution isn't making it illegal not to have health care. It's making it affordable."

The ad -- coming on the eve of Thursday's caucuses -- seeks to rebut a central critique of Obama's healthcare plan. Edwards and Clinton have argued that Obama would leave as many as 15 million Americans without health insurance.

The key difference between Obama's plan and those of his rivals is that it does not include a so-called "individual mandate," a requirement that all U.S. citizens obtain health insurance.

"His plan would leave 15 million Americans out," Clinton said at a debate last month in Las Vegas. "I have a universal health care plan that covers everyone."

Countered Obama: "The fact of the matter is that I do provide universal health care."

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees -- a union that has endorsed Clinton -- has funded a mailing that attacks Obama's healthcare plan by quoting Edwards. The union has also run a radio ad that accuses Obama of not being serious about achieving universal healthcare.

But AFSCME spending is not controlled by any campaign or candidate. Obama's ad, by contrast is being run directly by his campaign.

Some independent experts argue that none of the major candidates' plans are truly universal in the same way that Rep. Dennis Kucinich's, D-Ohio, plan for a single-payer system would guarantee health coverage to all Americans.

But economists generally agree that a plan with an individual mandate -- such as Clinton's or Edwards' -- would cover more of those who are currently uninsured that a plan that lacks such a feature, such as Obama's.

UPDATE: ABC News' Sunlen Miller, traveling with the Obama campaign, reports that the ad has been running for approximately 10 days, according to the campaign. Asked why the campaign did not send out a media advisory about the ad, one aide said that there typically is not much media interest in radio advertising -- and kept a straight face.

The campaign did put out a press release for a radio ad in October, to announce Obama's endorsement by Duffy Lyon, the sculptor of the famed "butter cow" at the Iowa State Fair.

Full text of the ad:

MALE ANNCR: Barack Obama's health plan.

FEMALE ANNCR: Here's what the experts say. President Clinton's own Labor Secretary Robert Reich says, quote, "I've compared the plans in detail. Obama's plan would ensure more people than the others." The Pioneer Press confirms Obama guarantees coverage for all Americans.

MALE ANNCR: But here's the real difference on health care. Senators Edwards and Clinton favor mandates which the Daily Iowan says would, quote, "force those who can not afford health insurance to buy it, punishing those who don’t fall in line."

FEMALE ANNCR: Barack Obama believes the solution isn't making it illegal not to have health care. It's making it affordable.

MALE ANNCR: And that's why his plan cuts costs for a typical family by twenty five hundred dollars.

FEMALE ANNCR: As the Concord Monitor says, when it comes to honesty about health care, Obama has the edge. Check the facts, at Iowa dot Barack Obama dot com.

MALE ANNCR: And caucus on January third for change we can believe in.

FEMALE ANNCR: Paid for by Obama for America.

Read all the latest from the campaign trail -- from Iowa to the ABC News/Facebook/WMUR debates to the New Hampshire primaries and beyond -- in The Note every day.

December 31, 2007 in Bush, George W., Huckabee, Mike, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (84)