Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen urges President-elect Obama to choose Al Gore as secretary of state: “Can you imagine a bolder statement about a new direction when it comes to global warming and the general care of our abused planet? Gore has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in this area (and an Oscar, to boot), and his appointment would signal a dramatic shift from the indifference of the Bush era with its cold shoulder to the Kyoto treaty. In one stroke, the United States would emerge as the leader of nations in the effort to save the planet from ourselves – and could prepare for the consequences of a changed world.”
Meanwhile, there are reports that Hillary Clinton is being considered for the job.
There will be plenty of time to blame Barack Obama for the U.S. economy once he’s sworn in, but the Wall Street Journal editorial board isn’t waiting: “The voters may be full of hope about the looming Obama presidency, but so far investors aren’t. No president-elect in the postwar era has been greeted with a more audible hiss from Wall Street.” The editorial suggests that Obama reassure markets by announcing “that he won’t be raising taxes for the foreseeable future.”
Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity already have dubbed the current crisis the “Obama recession.”
Economists are debating whether it would be better for the government to bail out General Motors or for GM to declare bankruptcy. But Time magazine noted that taxpayers will pay either way. The bailout money, obviously, would come out of taxpayers’ pockets. But if GM goes bust, the government will face lost tax revenues and higher unemployment costs and would have to take over GM’s huge pension obligations. A GM bankruptcy could pull down Ford and Chrysler, too. “The decision that Washington has to make,” Time said, “is whether we pay for GM’s survival or for its funeral.”
“President Bush had a private meeting, in the Oval Office, with President-elect Barack Obama. Then afterwards, Obama met with Dick Cheney to see how things really work.” – Conan O’Brien
“There was a little confusion at the meeting there at the White House when President Bush was told that Obama was coming. He said, ‘Oh, you mean we caught him?’” – David Letterman
“At one point, Barack opened a closet. Bush said, ‘Oh, don’t open that,’ and a huge stack of unread intelligence memos fell out.” – Jay Leno
“Obama said his favorite part of the tour was when the president showed him the secret dial under his desk that he uses to control the price of gasoline.” – Jimmy Kimmel
Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen urges President-elect Obama to choose Al Gore as secretary of state: “Can you imagine a bolder statement about a new direction when it comes to global warming and the general care of our abused planet? Gore has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in this area (and an Oscar, to boot), and his appointment would signal a dramatic shift from the indifference of the Bush era with its cold shoulder to the Kyoto treaty. In one stroke, the United States would emerge as the leader of nations in the effort to save the planet from ourselves – and could prepare for the consequences of a changed world.”
