(CNN) - Barack Obama will have nearly named his entire Cabinet by Christmas, a top aide to the President-elect's transition team said.
John Podesta, a former chief of staff for President Clinton, told Bloomberg News' Al Hunt "virtually the whole Cabinet" will be in place by the end of the year.
Earlier this week President-elect Obama announced he was nominating New York Fed chairman Timothy Geithner to be his Treasury Secretary. He has also reportedly settled on Sen. Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for Commerce Secretary, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano for Homeland Security Secretary, former Sen. Tom Daschle for Heath and Human Services Secretary, and Eric Holder for Attorney General. Obama also reportedly favors keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his current position.
Though Gates currently appears to be the only Republican set to hold a leading cabinet post under Obama, Podesta said there will be "multiple Republicans" in the administration.
(CNN) - President-elect Barack Obama is drawing early praise from former top Bush-aide Karl Rove.
Rove, widely credited with orchestrating President Bush's two successful presidential campaigns, writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that Obama has assembled a "first rate" economic team that has "provided surprisingly positive clarity."
Specifically, Rove praises Obama's choice of New York Fed Chairman Timothy Geithner for Treasury Secretary and Obama's pick of Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary and President of Harvard University, as chief of the National Economic Council.
"Monday's announcement of Mr. Obama's economic team was reassuring," Rove writes. "He's generally surrounded himself with intelligent, mainstream advisers. Investors, workers and business owners can only hope that, over time, this new administration's economic policies bear more of their market-oriented imprint."
Rove also offers praise of Berkley Economics Professor Christina Romer as Obama's choice to head up his team of economics advisers. But Rove criticizes the choice of Melody Barnes, a former aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy, as Domestic Policy Council Director.
"Putting a former aide to Ted Kennedy in charge of health policy after tapping universal health-care advocate Tom Daschle to be Health and Human Services secretary sends a clear signal that Mr. Obama didn't mean it when his campaign ads said he wouldn't run to the "extremes" with government-run health care," Rove writes.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Congressional Democrats have a bigger majority than they've enjoyed in decades, but that doesn't necessarily mean there will be unity on Capitol Hill.
A new battle may be brewing as Democrats fighting Democrats show evidence of a party divide.
The growing Democratic majority could be in deadlock from within on issues ranging from climate change and energy to health care and social security.
"We're not just talking ideology here. The broader your majority, the more you've got different regions of the country that have different economic and social interests that you have to take into account," said Norman Ornstein, a scholar with the American Enterprise Institute.
Full story
(CNN) – Paul Volcker, former chairman of Federal Reserve and an economic adviser to President-elect Barack Obama, knows a thing or two about turning out a tasty Thanksgiving turkey.
Volcker shared his tips with CNN on Thursday and said his secrets include port wine and strips of bacon.
Obama mentioned Volcker’s turkey prowess at a news conference Wednesday when the President-elect told reporters that Volcker and fellow Obama economic aide Austan Goolsbee both have “special turkey cooking recipes if anyone needs some advice on how to make the ideal turkey.”
Volcker and Goolsbee were named Wednesday to head up a new economic recovery board Obama is creating as part of his incoming administration’s effort to turn around the economy which has been in crisis since mid-September when the nation’s credit markets and financial system seized up.
CNN: Commentary: What I'm thankful for
Let's rejoice today and get ready to work hard to rebuild our country's future.
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays.
USA TODAY: Bush consoles Indian leader on terrorist attacks
The White House says President Bush has expressed condolences to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the terrorist attacks in India's financial capital.
Press secretary Dana Perino said Thursday the president had the conversation with the Indian leader while spending the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday with his family at the Camp David mountaintop retreat in Maryland.
CNN: Obama economic aide shares turkey tips
Paul Volcker, former chairman of Federal Reserve and an economic adviser to President-elect Barack Obama, knows a thing or two about turning out a tasty Thanksgiving turkey.
CNN: Obama: 'a new and brighter day is yet to come'
As the nation enters the traditional holiday shopping season in the midst of a financial crisis and is reminded of its own potential vulnerability by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, President-elect Barack Obama called on Americans to come together for the sake of the country’s future.
CNN: Bush calls troops on Thanksgiving
In keeping with what has become a holiday tradition, President Bush called 11 U.S. troops stationed around the globe to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and thank them for their service, the White House said Thursday.
CNN: First White House Chrismukkah cards accidentally sent
Whoops! A picture of a Christmas tree is not the first thing you would expect to see on an invitation to an event celebrating Hanukkah, but that is exactly what recipients of invitations to this year's White House Hanukkah reception initially got in the mail.
FULL POST
(CNN) - Former first lady Barbara Bush was moved out of the intensive care unit of a Houston, Texas, hospital and into a regular room Thursday after surgery to repair and seal a perforated ulcer, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Bush, 83, was in good spirits and was joking with hospital staffers, the Methodist Hospital spokeswoman said. She was being fed intravenously. Her doctor earlier said she will be allowed no food by mouth for about a week, to avoid possibly stretching her abdominal area.
(CNN) – As the nation enters the traditional holiday shopping season in the midst of a financial crisis and is reminded of its own potential vulnerability by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, President-elect Barack Obama called on Americans to come together for the sake of the country’s future.
Watch: Obama reflects on the meaning of Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving “takes place at a time of great trial for our people,” Obama says in his weekly Saturday radio address which his transition team released Thursday morning.
Listen: Obama's weekly radio address
“Across the country, there were empty seats at the table, as brave Americans continue to serve in harm’s way from the mountains of Afghanistan to the deserts of Iraq s. “At home, we have an economic crisis of historic proportions,” he says.
“But this Thanksgiving, we are reminded that the renewal of our economy won’t come from policies and plans alone – it will take the hard work, innovation, service, and strength of the American people,” Obama says.
“So this weekend – with one heart, and one voice, the American people can give thanks that a new and brighter day is yet to come.”
Obama will spend Thanksgiving in Chicago with his wife and daughters, according to his transition team, and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will spend the holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts with family.
(full text of Obama’s weekly address after the jump)
WASHINGTON (CNN) – In keeping with what has become a holiday tradition, President Bush called 11 U.S. troops stationed around the globe to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and thank them for their service, the White House said Thursday.
Bush is spending Thanksgiving at Camp David and will have holiday dinner at the presidential retreat.
Here’s the menu for Thanksgiving dinner at Camp David, according to the White House:
THANKSGIVING MENU AT CAMP DAVID
Free-Range Roast Turkey
Cornbread Dressing
Cranberry Sauce
Sautéed Green Beans
Morelia Style Gazpacho with Spinach Salad
Zucchini Gratin
Whipped Maple Sweet Potatoes
Buttered Mashed Potatoes
Giblet Gravy
Fresh Clover Rolls with Honey Butter
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Topping
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Mousse Trifle
Fresh Fruit Platter
WHITE HOUSE (CNN) – Whoops! A picture of a Christmas tree is not the first thing you would expect to see on an invitation to an event celebrating Hanukkah, but that is exactly what recipients of invitations to this year's White House Hanukkah reception initially got in the mail.
The invitation sent to American Jewish leaders on behalf of the President and First Lady, requesting "the pleasure of your company at a Hanukkah reception," bore an image of a Clydesdale horse-drawn cart, carrying the White House Christmas tree, with a Christmas wreath-adorned White House in the background.
Mrs. Bush's press secretary, Sally McDonough, attributed the snafu to a "staff mistake" in not printing separate cards for the different White House holiday events, as has been the custom in years past. "Mrs. Bush is apologetic, It is just something that fell through the cracks," she said, referring to the role of the First Lady's office in sending out the invitations.
The card as originally intended featured a menorah given to the White House during Harry Truman's presidency. That mailing was to have gone out today, according to Mrs. McDonough.
McDonough added that the White House had received "dozens" of calls of support from members of the Jewish community to express their appreciation for what President and Mrs. Bush had done for them through the course of Mr. Bush's presidency.
(CNN) - November 27 may be Turkey Day in America, but in the world of politics, every day is turkey day.
Watch: The top 5 political turkeys of '08
Turkeys are foolish creatures - overstuffed, noisy and self-important. A lot like the politicians on our list of Turkeys of the Year.
Turkey No. 10: Rudy Giuliani puts all his eggs in one basket - Florida.
"We are going to win in Florida, and then we will be talking about exactly who made the right decisions," Giuliani says on CNN's "The Situation Room" a week before the primary.
Giuliani ends up third in Florida, with 15 percent of the vote.
The former New York City mayor was relying on the many former New Yorkers who have moved or retired to Florida. There's just one problem: most of them are Democrats, and Democrats can't vote in Florida's Republican primaries.
From CNN Politics
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