Subject: more transition articles today
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Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:02:54 -0500

From ThinkProgress.org

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/25/obama-speech/

New York Times Refuses To Believe Obama Will Draft His Own Inaugural
Address

 In an article about the upcoming White House transition, the New York
Times' Peter Baker and Jackie Calmes note that John Podesta "has been
preparing for the task at the research organization he runs, the Center
for American Progress." The article proceeds to offer this sensational
claim: "Mr. Podesta has been mapping out the transition so
systematically that he has already written a draft Inaugural Address for
Mr. Obama, which he published this summer in a book called 'The Power of
Progress.'"

While this claim makes for an interesting story, it's not true. A couple
key facts:

- The book, which was in the works for over a year and was written with
the help of CAP's in-house progressive historian John Halpin, traces the
history and successes of progressive politics in the 20th Century, draws
lessons from that history, and then applies those lessons to the big
challenges facing the country - the global economy, global warming, and
global security. At the end, there is a sample inaugural address written
not "for Mr. Obama," but rather, clearly offered as a literary device to
summarize the main arguments in the book.

- The inaugural address was written and submitted to the publisher in
March 2008, during a time when Podesta was supporting Sen. Hillary
Clinton's presidential campaign. Podesta re-did the introduction to the
book - but not the inaugural address - in June when it became clear that
Obama would emerge as the nominee.

Apparently, Baker and Calmes have a hard time believing that Sen. Obama,
who has authored two best-selling autobiographies, could manage to draft
his own Inaugural Address if he is elected President.

Baker and Calmes should know better. Obama has been intimately involved
in writing many of the most important speeches over the course of his
career:

- Prior to his 2004 Democratic Convention speech, Obama "made it clear
to his staff that he wanted to create this speech on his own."

- Obama's address on race in America in March of this year "wasn't a
speech by committee...Obama wrote the speech himself, working on it for
two days and nights," and staying up until 2 am the night before to
finish it.

- For his 2008 Democratic convention speech, Obama also "wrote much of
the speech himself," staying alone in a hotel room "for 20 hours, until
past midnight each day" to draft it.

And yet, despite the record, the New York Times would have the public
believe that Obama has already outsourced the most important speech of
his career.

From Politico

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=36601495-18FE-70B2-A89B9D96D
7B039DD

POLITICO: Obama denies having inaugural address

By: Mike Allen 

October 25, 2008 07:43 PM EST 

The Obama campaign, anxious to prevent an image of overconfidence,
formally and insistently denied a report - seized on by the McCain
campaign - that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) already has a draft of an
inaugural address. 

In remarks in New Mexico on Saturday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) accused
his opponent of taking a "victory lap." 

"Well, my friends, when I pull this thing off I have a request for my
opponent," McCain said, according to Reuters. "I want him to save that
manuscript of his inaugural address and donate it to the Smithsonian and
put it right next to the Chicago paper that said 'Dewey defeats
Truman.'" 

"NBC Nightly News" repeated the notion that Obama has a draft inaugural
address ready. 

Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton issued an "Obama Campaign Response to
McCain's False Inaugural Address Attack": 

"While this charge is completely false and there is no draft of an
inaugural address for Senator Obama, the last thing we need is a
candidate like John McCain who just plans on re-reading George Bush's." 

The idea surfaced Saturday in a New York Times article about Obama
transition plans, which are led by John Podesta, White House chief of
staff under President Bill Clinton and now president and chief executive
officer of the Center for American Progress. 

The Times reported: "Mr. Podesta has been mapping out the transition so
systematically that he has already written a draft Inaugural Address for
Mr. Obama, which he published this summer in a book called 'The Power of
Progress.' The speech calls for rebuilding a 'grand alliance' with the
rest of the world, bringing troops home from Iraq, recommitting to the
war in Afghanistan, cutting poverty in half in 10 years and reducing
greenhouse gases 80 percent by 2050." 

Asked if there is any truth to the report, an Obama aide said: "No." 

Oops: The book was written when Podesta was advising Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.) in her race against one Barack Obama. 

The center's blog, ThinkProgress.org, dismissed the idea Saturday with a
post cheekily headlined, "New York Times Refuses To Believe Obama Will
Draft His Own Inaugural Address." 

The post by Faiz Shakir, filed under the category "Braindead Media,"
notes that "Obama has been intimately involved in writing many of the
most important speeches over the course of his career."

The post says it is therefore unlikely that the senator "has already
outsourced the most important speech of his career." 

"The book, which was in the works for over a year and was written with
the help of CAP's in-house progressive historian John Halpin, traces the
history and successes of progressive politics in the 20th Century, draws
lessons from that history, and then applies those lessons to the big
challenges facing the country - the global economy, global warming, and
global security," the post says. "At the end, there is a sample
inaugural address written not 'for Mr. Obama,' but rather, clearly
offered as a literary device to summarize the main arguments in the
book. 

"The inaugural address was written and submitted to the publisher in
March 2008, during a time when Podesta was supporting Sen. Hillary
Clinton's presidential campaign. Podesta re-did the introduction to the
book - but not the inaugural address - in June when it became clear that
Obama would emerge as the nominee."

From the Atlantic blog:

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/obamas_transition_o
rderly_quie.php 

Obama's Transition: Orderly, Quiet, With A Few Early Decisions Made

If secret-keeping is a sign of success, the Obama campaign is well on
its way to a solid presidential transition. Only a few details about
Obama's extensive transition planning have leaked out, and even the more
talkative Obama aides and advisers are keeping mum. They have an
election to win.

As has previously been reported,  former Clinton chief of staff John
Podesta and Obama friend Cassandra Butts at the Center for American
Progress are overseeing large parts of the enterprise.

Several key aides have been tasked with supervising the filling of
what's known in Washington vernacular as the "top 100" political
positions in the new administration.

Michael Froman, a Harvard Law classmate of Obama's who served in the
Treasury Dept. as Robert Rubin's chief of staff, is a key member of the
team, as is Chris Lu, who most recently served as Obama's legislative
director in the Senate.

Other aides are liaising with the FBI, which has begun background checks
on potential White House and national security appointees from both
campaigns, and the General Services Administration, which will landlord
some prime DC real estate -- the location is unknown -- for the
transition team to move in.

About a dozen Obama campaign aides and advisers declined to comment on
the transition planning. Many senior political aides have asked not to
be put into the loop in order to focus on their day jobs.

Obama is expected announce a few key decisions within a week or two of
being elected.

The identity of his nominee for  Secretary of the Treasury will be
disclosed in short order.  Former Harvard President Larry Summers and
New York Federal Reserve Board president

Timothy F. Geithner  are possibilities.

The foreign policy establishment expects Obama to announce that Defense
Secretary Robert Gates will stay at his post for an extended but
definite period of time to manage the transition into Afghanistan and
out of Iraq, but it's not clear whether Obama has accepted this
collective recommendation.

Obama will also name his national security adviser; the identity of this
person is not known, although Washington national security hands believe
that Gregory Craig, a former senior national security lawyer in the
Clinton administration is the frontrunner, although others point to
Susan Rice, a former Clinton NSC staffer, as a possibility.