News from Focus on the Family makes me believe in karma!
Also, the debate continues over Clinton as a potential Secretary of State and Eugene Robinson urges the Obama administration to air Bush's dirty laundry in public.
And, a really funny story about Joe Lieberman and his McCain bumper sticker.
Is this a prime example of what goes around, comes around?
Focus on the Family says it has eliminated more than 200 positions, the largest staff cuts in the evangelical Christian group's 31-year history.
Citing the faltering economy and a decline in donations, Focus officials said Monday that 149 employees would lose their jobs, most by month's end.
and:
Donations in October were down $2 million compared to the same month in 2007, Schneeberger said.
And I'm sure most of you know that Focus on the Family was a big supporter of Proposition 8 in California and was the seventh largest donor to the "yes" campaign. The timing is just too perfect... it definitely makes me believe in karma.
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Bloomberg News reports that a potential Clinton appointment as Secretary of State increases the chances that Gates will stay on as Defense Secretary:
One potential obstacle to retaining Gates appears to be waning as Clinton, a New York senator, has emerged as the top candidate for secretary of state.
Earlier, two Republican senators close to Obama -- Richard Lugar of Indiana and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska -- were among the candidates to run the State Department. Choosing one of them would likely have scotched a Gates reappointment because Obama, a Democrat, would avoid naming Republicans to the two top national- security positions.
The LA Times is also reporting that former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is also lobbying for the Secretary of State position.
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David Ignatius makes the case against Clinton as Secretary of State in the Washington Post:
It would, at a stroke, undercut much of the advantage Obama brings to foreign policy. And because Clinton is such a high-visibility figure, it would make almost impossible (at least through the State Department) the kind of quiet diplomacy that will be needed to explore options.
Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan tells the Kansas City Star (MO) that a Clinton appointment is a wise choice:
Obama has to offer something to Clinton. Left to fester in the Senate, Clinton will plot against the president if he doesn’t actively seek her support and engagement. It is a senior enough position not to be fobbed off; it really does take advantage of the Clinton name abroad; it could even put Bill to good use and keep him out of mischief; and Obama has kept telling us that his cabinet model is “Team Of Rivals.” Unlike the vice-presidency, a secretary of state has real constitutionally designated things to do.
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The Denver Post Editorial board also has praise for a potential Clinton pick:
The news that Clinton is at the top of Obama's list for that key Cabinet position speaks well of the president-elect on several levels.
That Obama wants his erstwhile rival as his secretary of state underscores his confidence and good judgment. Many presidential candidates talk about putting together a Cabinet stocked with strong-minded individuals fully capable of speaking frankly and honestly. Some candidates even say they'll include rivals with opposing viewpoints. But few presidents- elect go through with such promises.
Personally, I would love to see a career diplomat appointed as Secretary of State, rather than a career politician. But since that hardly ever seems to happen, I won't hold my breath. Also, I haven't seen any confirmation this morning that Clinton has accepted other than reports based on the Guardian story, so I think we should take that news with a grain of salt.
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Quote of the day, courtesy of Eugene Robinson:
The new Obama administration has a duty to conduct its own investigation and tell us exactly what was done in our name. Realistically, some facts are going to be redacted. Realistically, some officials who may deserve to face criminal charges will not. But to restore our national honor and heal our national soul, we at least need to know.
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I never tire of watching the Republicans fight amongst themselves. Jim Mills at The Hill writes, To engage or obstruct - Republicans contemplate their lousy hand:
If voters come to see Capitol Hill Republicans as merely whining, “We lost power, we hate you, we hate everybody and we don’t know what else to do,” then the next two years are going to be worse than the GOP could ever imagine.
Republicans are already marginalized. But if they seek comfort and solace in the easy, quick, knee-jerky, personality-based attacks on the Obama Cabinet picks as they come in, they will quickly find themselves totally marginalized on the ideas front as well.
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A group of Republicans in Northern California are filming a national commercial for Sarah Palin, thanking her for "her work in the 2008 Presidential campaign." What, no thank you for John McCain?
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Speaking of Republicans, something must be done about THIS:
CNN's "American Morning" — which dominated its competition the morning after the election, with 2.1 million viewers — is facing increasingly tough competition from MSNBC's "Morning Joe" in the battle for second place in the cable news morning ratings race.
"Morning Joe" won both total viewers and the demo last week, the week of November 10-14.
Now, I don't think American Morning is a very good show and generally I prefer MSNBC. But, I could tolerate the existence of Morning Joe only because I knew that the only viewers were DKers who were only watching it so they could bitch about it here later. So you mean this show actually has real viewers?
Something must be done or they will never put a decent morning show in there!
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USA Today reports on the drama (oh, the drama!) over the next chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce:
A fight brewing among congressional Democrats could shape the course of President-elect Barack Obama's plans for energy policy, climate change and health care reform. Barring a last-minute deal, House Democrats will decide this week, possibly Thursday, in a secret ballot who will lead the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where major environmental, consumer safety and health laws have been crafted.
Rep. Henry Waxman, a California liberal best known for his high-profile oversight hearings, is challenging Michigan Rep. John Dingell, who has been the committee's top Democrat since 1981 and one of the automobile industry's staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill.
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Any predictions for TIME Magazine's Person of the Year? You can view the 25 finalists at their site and vote. Obama is currently leading in their online poll. (Palin is also on there, for those of you wishing for a replacement for the PBS poll!)
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I don't know if you've been following the wild horse story at all, but there have been several reports on the potential slaughter of thousands of wild horses because of "budget shortfalls." It's disgusting, really:
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says slaughter remains a possibility for some of the more than 30,000 wild horses and burros being cared for in government-run pens.
But shortly after I read this article, I read in the Washington Post that this story may have a happy ending after all:
Madeleine Pickens, wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, made known her intentions to adopt not just the doomed wild horses but most or all of the 30,000 horses and burros kept in federal holding pens. Lifelong animal lovers, the Pickenses just a few years ago led the fight to close the last horse slaughterhouse in the United States.
Madeleine Pickens is looking for land in the West that would be an appropriate home for the horses.
According to USA Today, Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation while in the Senate that would protect wild horses. Yet another reason I like this guy!
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I was going to institute a self-imposed ban on any mention of Joe Lieberman in today's Morning Reaction, but this was too funny to pass up:
A Senate aide reports to the Sleuth: "I was in my car on Constitution Avenue in front of the National Gallery waiting for the light to change when I noticed that lo and behold who but Joe Lieberman himself was in the car sitting next to me. He was being driven by a young male staffer and was furiously scrolling through his blackberry. When the light turned green, they pulled ahead of me and I saw a McCain 2008 sticker on the rear bumper, half scratched off!"
The Sleuth blog at WaPo was able to confirm that the bumper sticker was half scratched off, but Lieberman sources say it actually happened in a car accident. Hmmmmm...
The McCain bumper sticker, according to the Lieberman source, was "merely scraped by another car" that accidently backed into Lieberman's vehicle.
Too funny.
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So what's on your mind? And wow, thanks for filling in for me - I had no idea you guys were going to do that!