Obama marks NAACP's 100th anniversary
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/07/16/obama.naacp/art.obama.gi.jpg caption=" President Obama will address the NAACP at its annual convention Thursday night."](CNN) - One hundred years after the birth of the NAACP, the civil rights group welcomed the first African-American president.
President Obama spoke before the annual convention Thursday night in New York, the city where the organization was founded.
"What we celebrate tonight is not simply the journey the NAACP has traveled, but the journey that we, as Americans, have traveled over the past 100 years," Obama told the crowd.
The excitement over Obama was in stark contrast to the reception of former President Bush, who had a strained relationship with the NAACP and declined the group's invitations for five years.
Bush spoke before the NAACP in 2000, during his first run for the presidency, but he did not make another appearance until 2006.
Bill Clinton will not appear at Obama announcement
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/01/art.ap.bill.clinton.jpg caption="Bill Clinton will be absent when his wife is formally nominated as Secretary of State."]
(CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton won’t be on hand this morning when President-elect Barack Obama officially nominates Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, according to sources familiar with the transition.
Obama will unveil the full team at a press conference at the Chicago Hilton at 10:40 a.m. ET
Obama is also expected to finally confirm that he is keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his current post, and plans to name retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones as his National Security Adviser at the White House.
Watch: Ed Henry discusses the security team rollout
Also, two sources close to the transition said Obama will nominate Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security secretary and Eric Holder as Attorney General.
Some unfinished business from the primary season is heading toward a resolution as the former rivals take the stage this morning: Hillary Clinton has been assured by the Obama team that they will help her fundraise in the next 60 days to help clear her remaining campaign debt of roughly $6.5 million.
The status of another open question with roots in the contentious Democratic primary contest remains unresolved: the future status of Samatha Power. The Obama advisor who had to resign after calling Hillary Clinton "a monster" is currently on the transition team's "agency review team" for the State Department. She has apologized twice to Clinton, according to two Democratic sources, who say Clinton accepted the apology. But it is still unclear whether Power will have a job at the State Department with Clinton in charge.
Update: Bill Clinton praised his wife's nomination Monday. "As an American, I am thankful that President-elect Barack Obama has asked Hillary to be Secretary of State and that she has accepted. As her husband, I am deeply proud," the former president said in a statement.
"She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America's image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities.
Volcker to head Obama economic advisory group
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/26/art.volcker1.gi.jpg caption="Volcker will head a new Obama economic team."](CNN) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker will head a new Obama administration economic advisory team, two sources close to the transition confirm.
Obama senior advisor Austan Goolsbee will be the chief economist on board. The group is expected to exist for two years, but could be extended beyond that point. The 8-16 people involved will meet roughly once a month.
Obama poised to name another economic advisor
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/24/art.romer24.cnn.jpg caption="Romer was named to Obama’s economic team Monday."](CNN) - CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) - Sources close to the Obama transition team say Berkeley Economics Professor Christina Romer will be the Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.
What makes this selection more interesting than some of the other Obama picks is she's a female, a California academic, and a Washington outsider.
An important distinction is that this is different than the job Lawrence Summers is expected to get as director of the National Economic Council.
The Council of Economic Advisers is a group of economists, including three who are appointed by the president and need Senate confirmation, who advise the president on economic policy.
Obama, Clinton meet in Chicago
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/04/art.clinton.unity.gi.jpg caption="Sen. Hillary Clinton met with President-elect Barack Obama Thursday in Chicago sources tell CNN."]CHICAGO (CNN) - President-elect Barack Obama met with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton late Thursday afternoon in Chicago, two sources confirm to CNN.
The meeting was held at the request of Obama.
One of the sources says Clinton went to the meeting because "she knew Obama wanted to talk about whether she would have a role in the administration."
UPDATE:An Obama transition source says the meeting came about through Sen Lindsey Graham, a McCain supporter, and Rahm Emanuel, Obama's new chief of staff. Both men have had a "longstanding relationship," according to the source and worked out the meeting.
The View from Spin Alley
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - A sampling of the way campaign surrogates were spinning Thursday night's VP debate:
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds:
"She was very deliberate, she was very concise."
"She exceeded expectations that were too low created by people who don't know her record or her abilities."
"She benefited from the media's quick judgment they made of her after a few interviews."
"She really stuck it to him."
"This is all about the middle class."
***
Obama surrogate Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz:
"That was the pinnacle of the debate" when Biden got emotional talking about his family.
"She [Palin] was so cold, so insensitive that she didn't respond... A first response would be to acknowledge someone's loss. Instead she just pressed on with her talking points. She couldn't get out of her box, which shows how she has so little command of the subject matter."
Clinton message: She'll do what it takes in November
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/06/02/art.clinton.sd.cnn.jpg caption="Obama insiders believe Clinton is sending signals she would be willing to join the ticket."] NEW YORK (CNN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton is poised to deliver a message Tuesday "that she will do whatever it takes" to put a Democrat in the White House - a message that Barack Obama insiders say indicates she would accept an offer to be Obama's running mate if asked.
"In her speech tomorrow night, she will convey the message that first and foremost she is committed to Democrats winning in November and will do whatever she's asked to do," a close friend and adviser of the former first lady, who speaks with her regularly and is privy to her deliberations, told CNN Monday.
"She will do whatever it takes to bring the party together to win and whatever is asked of her to make sure the Republicans are defeated."
That message has been conveyed to the Obama campaign via informal channels, according to Obama insiders who said the message is a signal that she would be willing to serve as his vice president.
Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns told CNN that there have been no formal discussions between the campaigns.
Obama insiders are split over whether considering Clinton to be on the ticket is a good idea.
Clyburn to endorse Obama
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/06/02/art.clyburnmay.gi.jpg caption="Clyburn has been critical of former President Bill Clinton."] WASHINGTON (CNN) - Several sources tell CNN that House Majority Whip and superdelegate James Clyburn of South Carolina will endorse Senator Barack Obama Tuesday.
Clyburn, whose congressional district went overwhelmingly for Obama in the state's January primary, had said that he would wait to weigh in on the presidential race until the last nominating contest had been held. Earlier this spring, he had made remarks critical of Bill Clinton, calling his conduct on the trail "bizarre," and telling interviewers that some of the former president's actions had deeply upset African-Americans.
"There are African-Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that [Hillary Clinton] can’t win this," he told Reuters. "But they’re hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win.”
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