Subject: press release and TPs
From: "Chris Lu" <[email-masked]>
To: "Chris Lu" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], "Valerie Jarrett" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], "Pete Rouse" <[email-masked]>, "Melody Barnes" <[email-masked]>, "Bob Bauer (Perkins Coie)" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], "Sarah Feinberg" <[email-masked]>
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked], "Jayne Thomisee" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 13:45:10 -0600

Release just went out.  Talking points for dealing with the press are below:

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President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden Today Announced its Leadership For the Transition of Administrations

Chicago - For the past several months, a board of advisors has been informally planning for a possible presidential transition.  Among the many projects undertaken by the transition board have been detailed analyses of previous transition efforts, policy statements made during the campaign, and the workings of federal government agencies, and priority positions that must be filled by the incoming administration.  

With Barack Obama and Joe Biden's election, this planning process will be now be formally organized as the Obama-Biden Transition Project, a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure a smooth transition from one administration to the next.  The work of this entity will be overseen by three co-chairs:  John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse.

The co-chairs will be assisted by an advisory board comprised of individuals with significant private and public sector experience:  Carol Browner, William Daley, Christopher Edley, Michael Froman, Julius Genachowski, Donald Gips, Governor Janet Napolitano, Federico Peña, Susan Rice, Sonal Shah, Mark Gitenstein, and Ted Kaufman.  Gitenstein and Kaufman will serve as co-chairs of Vice President-elect Biden's transition team.  

Supervising the day-to-day activities of the transition will be:

Transition Senior Staff:

Chris Lu - Executive Director

Dan Pfeiffer - Communications Director

Stephanie Cutter - Chief Spokesperson

Cassandra Butts - General Counsel

Jim Messina - Personnel Director

Patrick Gaspard - Associate Personnel Director

Christine Varney - Personnel Counsel

Melody Barnes - Co-Director of Agency Review

Lisa Brown - Co-Director of Agency Review

Phil Schiliro - Director of Congressional Relations

Michael Strautmanis - Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs

Katy Kale - Director of Operations

Brad Kiley - Director of Operations

The phone number for the transition headquarters is 202-540-3000.  The official website for the transition is www.change.gov <https://webmail.barackobama.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.change.gov/>  and it will be live later today.

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Transition Talking Points: 

The Obama-Biden transition will be the next step in the movement to bring real change to Washington. 

Under President Elect Obama and Vice President Elect Biden, the American people will see a transition of government that is efficient, organized, bipartisan, and more open and transparent than others before.  

First and foremost, however, we recognize and respect that America has one President at a time.  

While we make preparations for transferring the responsibilities of governing, we will maintain an appropriate and cooperative relationship with President Bush and his Administration throughout the coming weeks. We have shared challenges and mutual goals, and we will strive to seek a balance that best serves the interests of the American people in the weeks ahead. 

Our first priority will be laying the groundwork to stabilize the economy and put America back to work. 

We will be also, of course, be engaged as is required and necessary in the national security issues that remain constant throughout the transition.  

No inter-party transition in more than 50 yrs (post-Eisenhower) has ever named a Cabinet nominee prior to December 1.  Obama has broken other records in this campaign.  He is not afraid to be the first. 

National security and economic teams will be the priority given the financial crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we will be working hard on all appointments to ensure a seamless government for the American people. 

100 people have been submitted for security clearance prior to the election to be able to work with the Administration on homeland security and national security matters. 

We expect that White House Chief of Staff to be one of the first announcements

This week the White House and the Obama-Biden Transition will sign a prenegotiated Memorandum of Understanding that will permit agency review teams to begin their work.   Agency review teams, which have already been formed, will start working with agencies on November 10.  

Senator Obama is committed to having a government that is diverse in terms of gender, race, regional background, political views and experience in and outside of government.  That commitment will be reflected in transition as well.

Since the beginning of his campaign, Senator Obama has been committed to transparency and inclusion of all Americans.  He and his transition team will carry those commitments throughout the transition and into government.  

Today, we will launch a website called Change.gov which will allow for the public to share their stories and ideas, and gain important information about the transition of their government.