Timothy Geithner: Dead Secretary Walking
A few weeks ago on OTB Radio, Dave Schuler predicted that Timothy Geithner would be out as Treasury Secretary by the end of the year. At the rate he's going, he might not last to summer. It's bad enough his every public appearance causes the Dow to plummet. Now, he's been openly contradicted by his boss on the AIG creating what ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 19, 2009 07:12
Political Appointment Process Broken
H. Rodgin Cohen, "the leading candidate for Deputy Treasury Secretary, has withdrawn from consideration," George Stephanoupoulous reports. He adds, "Cohen had risen to the top after the withdrawal last week of expected deputy treasury secretary pick Annette Nazareth." Something's wrong with this picture. To be sure, Cohen wasn't technically an appointee. Still, as Glenn Reynolds pointed out yesterday, the list of failed ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 12, 2009 14:25
The Mommy Slur
Hilary Bok is rather bent out of shape at a Washington Whispers poll which asks "If you had a choice of four daycare centers run separately by Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi, which would you choose for your kids?" She suggests some alternative poll questions: If you needed some yard work done, would you hire Mel Martinez, Henry ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on February 22, 2009 09:16
Judd Gregg: Commerce Secretary?
President Obama is considering Republican Senator Judd Gregg for the Commerce Secretary post, Sam Stein reports for HuffPo. There is a strong possibility that Barack Obama will ask Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) to serve as his Secretary of Commerce, Democratic Senate aides tell the Huffington Post. The move would fill a vacancy that has lingered since Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 30, 2009 08:58
Bill Richardson Withdraws From Commerce Post
Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from consideration for the position of Secretary of Commerce due to a pay for play investigation.New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract. Richardson's ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 4, 2009 20:08
Bill Richardson Under Investigation in Pay-For-Play Probe
Bill Richardson is under investigation for allegedly steering state funds to a major contributor. It seems that Illinois' legally challenged Gov. Rod Blagojevich is not the only close Barack Obama associate and Democratic governor being investigated by the feds for possibly selling government business in return for campaign contributions. New Mexico's Gov. Bill Richardson, who is the newly named Secretary of Commerce ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 27, 2008 08:43
Geither at Treasury, Richardson at Commerce
It appears that Barack Obama's economic team is set, with Timothy Geithner at Treasury and Bill Richardson at Commerce. President-elect Barack Obama has selected Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, charging the respected head of the New York Federal Reserve with pulling the United States out of an economic nosedive, NBC news reported on Friday. Geithner, 47, had been seen as one ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 21, 2008 16:53
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State?!
The big political news this morning is the buzz surrounding speculation that Hillary Clinton could be tabbed as Secretary of State. Politico's Mike Allen: Several Obama transition advisers are strongly advocating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for secretary of state, a move that would create the ultimate “Team of Rivals” Cabinet, according to officials involved in the discussions. President-elect Obama has narrowed the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 14, 2008 08:48
Why Not Hillary?
The GOP has come up with a clever yet bizarre line of attack on Barack Obama: How dare he pass over Hillary Clinton for Joe Biden as his running mate? As WSJ's Amy Chozick reported last night, Team McCain debuted a new spot, "Passed Over," at 3 a.m.: The timing is a reference to Hillary Clinton’s national security ad during the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 24, 2008 08:32
Obama’s VP: Biden or Bayh?
Barack Obama's vice president may have a last name that starts with "Bye," CNN's Alexander Mooney reports. The two senators widely believed to be at the top of Barack Obama's shortlist for VP have been given prime-time speaking slots at the Democratic convention Wednesday night — the very same night the vice presidential candidate is slated to speak. According to the Democratic ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 15, 2008 08:06
John McCain: Shadow President?
John McCain is taking advantage of Barack Obama's "foreign vacation" in Hawaii and using the crisis in Georgia to showcase his foreign policy prowess. He's dispatched his minions, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, to Georgia. TPM's Greg Sargent figures, The idea is to showcase himself as a man of action during a time of international crisis and to remind people that the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 14, 2008 08:47
Those Awful Polls
Beldar, commenting on my recent analysis of Fred Thompson's chances in tomorrow's South Carolina's primary, observed, "you have far more faith in polls than I do, or than their results (especially recently) would merit." There's certainly reason to suspect the polls, given Hillary Clinton's surprise win in New Hampshire and Mitt Romney's larger-than-projected win in Michigan. But let's look at ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 18, 2008 08:45
The Uncommitted Vote (Updated)
One thing worth noting about the results of the Michigan primary was the extremely large Democratic vote for "Uncommitted". Clinton took 55% of the total vote, while "Uncommitted" took 40%. This is actually out of whack with the most recent polls in Michigan, which showed an average of about 53% for Clinton and only about 29% for "Uncommitted". ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 16, 2008 00:08
Bill Richardson Drops Out of Presidential Race
As widely anticipated, Bill Richardson is ending his quest for the presidency. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico is pulling out of the presidential race, after coming in fourth in both the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses. Mr. Richardson made the decision after returning to New Mexico yesterday and meeting with his top advisers. He is expected to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 10, 2008 08:05
Politics and Evolution
Ronald Bailey has a helpful article over at Reason Online that describes each candidates stance on evolution. The Democrats all believe in evolution. The Republicans...well you have quite a selection there. You have guys like Mike Huckabee who think the world was literally made in a week. To more sophisticated views like those held by Romney ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 9, 2008 09:51
