Obama '08?

And he'll be walking across the water for an encore, no doubt.

Hopeful signs on health care
This is very big news. One of the key questions about the new Democratic majority was whether Congress would try to play it safe, backing down on big ideas about reform, especially on health care. You can view the whole chorus about how we’re still a “center-right nation” as an attempt by the usual suspects to scare Democrats into scaling back their ambitions.

But now Max Baucus " Max Baucus! " is leading the charge on a health care plan that, at least at first read, is more like Hillary Clinton’s than Barack Obama’s; that is, it looks like an attempt at full universality. (The word I hear, by the way, is that Obama’s opposition to mandates was tactical politics, not conviction " so he may well be prepared to do the right thing now that the election is won.)

So this looks very good for the reformers. There’s now a reasonable chance that universal health care will be enacted next year!

Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday that she would be honored to help President-elect Barack Obama in his new administration, even if he did hang around with an "unrepentant domestic terrorist."

link

"the only thing they understand or honor is force and a winner" (as in the Islamic discourse).

God damn!

Quote:

D.C.'s big Obama dilemma: What to do with the crowds?
By William Douglas | McClatchy Newspapers
As many as 1.5 million people may come to Washington for Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20, according to official estimates. That's five times the number that showed up for President Bush's two inaugurations.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/

Dear MYBO volunteers,

This is to let you know that a core organizing committee has formed and has been working round the clock since Friday to get our Grassroots Ball 2009 off the ground .

We have chosen a URL for the event, the website is being developed and will be ready to go soon, we are negotiating with venues and are working to solicit sponsors and underwriters to help keep the ticket price as low as we can make it.

This last is an urgent need, and anyone interested in sponsoring, purchasing advertising in the program, underwriting, or investing to help us raise the down payment on the venue should get in touch with one of us right away.

We need to rasie $40,000 before the end of next week to secure our venue big enough for a couple of thousand Obama-supporter volunteers to celebrate the fruits of our hard work, and, for many, finally meet face to face. That may sond like a lot, but remember, it was all our little donations that put Barack over the top!

If you are a fundraiser or have experience as a volunteer doing fundraising for a charitable organization, have the time right now and want to take this on, please let us hear from you! We can help put together a team to assist you.

We have been approached by a promoter who wants to take the event on with total control and financial backing, but our concern was that the event be divested of it "grassroots" significance. Like we have said throughout the campaign, we can do it, Yes.We.Can!

Reponse for this event has been staggering. Our goal is to accommodate as many wishing to attend as possible, but we can see that demand will outstrip the capacity of any facility we can find. There are as many wishing to come as worked so hard throughout the year, and we have replies from all over the country.


A group is organizing satellite The People's Balls throughout the United States. They seem to be organizing from Maryland for Obama on MYBO, for anyone interested in checking that out and organizing something in your area. We will try to get an AV set-up to watch simutanous events in DC and elsewhere from our own, and broadcast ours on live streaming video.

Anyone who has specific skills to volunteer -- particularly people in the DC area -- who can be "on the ground" and has the time, grit and flexibilty to jump on this, please be in touch. We need to move very, very quickly to make this happen. Make it clear in your subject line that you are offering help and with what.

Once the website is up, we will put the word out so you can check it for information and the announce date for ticket sales. We can no longer accept any requests for reservations by email.

Please contact one of us if you are a volunteer field organizer for the campaign.

* Federal Lobbyists cannot contribute financially to the transition.
* Federal lobbyists are prohibited from any lobbying during their work with the transition.
* If someone has lobbied in the last 12 months, they are prohibited from working in the fields of policy on which they lobbied.
* If someone becomes a lobbyist after working on the Transition, they are prohibited from lobbying the Administration for 12 months on matters on which they worked.
* A gift ban that is aggressive in reducing the influence of special interests.

In addition, in 1988, Podesta founded with his brother Tony, Podesta Associates, Inc., a Washington, D.C. government relations and public affairs firm.

The Podesta Group is a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John Podesta and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMattoon.[1][2][3] The firm most recently reorganized in January 2007 after current Chairman Tony Podesta split with former business partner Dan Mattoon.[4]

Podesta Group represents U.S. corporations, as well as non-profits, associations and governments.[5] In 2007, the firm reported $11.02 million in lobbying income.[6] In the same year, Chairman Tony Podesta was ranked by his peers as the third most influential lobbyist in Washington.[7]