Candy Crowley
CNN Senior Political Correspondent
From Obama Transition source:
"Administration reached out to us a few days ago about next installment. Wanted to know what we thought. We encouraged them to convene a meeting with bipartisan Hill leaders to talk it through, make the case, lay out their plan etc., and we would participate if they thought it would be helpful. But their biggest task is to engage the Hill – because the Hill doesn't see this coming, and GAO report isn't going to help. They were anxious to get the meeting with us done before Paulson left for China. The only substantive issue we raised was housing – the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) needs to include a program on housing, which is what Obama has been calling for since last September at the start of this process.
So, we aren't creating uncertainty – we're telling them to talk to the Hill, since the Hill has to ok this.
There could be more bad news for the big three automakers. The night before they plead their case to lawmakers .. there are reports there is not enough support from lawmakers for the lifeline they want. Can the automakers survive without a taxpayer bailout?
Also tonight, an exclusive interview with Bill Clinton. He reveals how he plans to support his wife in her new role as Secretary of State. How involved do you think he will really be?
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Michael Moore
The Daily Beast
I drive an American car. It's a Chrysler. That's not an endorsement. It's more like a cry for pity. And now for a decades-old story, retold ad infinitum by tens of millions of Americans, half of whom have had to desert their country to simply find a damn way to get to work in something that won't break down:
My Chrysler is four years old. I bought it because of its smooth and comfortable ride. Daimler-Benz owned the company then and had the good grace to place the Chrysler chassis on a Mercedes axle and, man, was that a sweet ride!
When it would start.
Ready for today's Beat 360°?
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Here is the 'Beat 360°' pic:
First lady Laura Bush introduces the 2008 holiday decorations in the East Room of the White House during a media preview today in Washington, DC.
Have fun with it. We're looking forward to your captions!
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Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer
We’re following breaking news on the auto bailout. We’re getting reports that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid says the Big Three bailout is in jeopardy. Democrats apparently don’t have enough votes to give the Big Three the money they want from the $700 billion rescue plan pot. We’ll have more details by air time.
According to new CNN polling, the bailout is already a bust among Americans. Six in 10 oppose rescuing the Big Three with taxpayer money. In early November, nearly half the public supported federal help for Detroit. So what’s changed? We’d love to hear your take.
Some more baffling math from the poll: Three-quarters of respondents said they think they’ll personally feel the impact if the auto makers go bankrupt. We’re intrigued that so many Americans support letting the auto makers go belly up, while admitting their families will suffer from the consequences. Again, we’d love your input.
Jami Floyd
AC360° Contributor
In Session Anchor
Today we take a moment to remember Odetta. Odetta's voice was beautiful but she was more than just a singer. She brought the tradition of American folk music to the Civil Rights Movement.
Editor’s Note: You can read more Jami Floyd blogs on “In Session”
Ken McLaughlin
San Jose Mercury News
In a move bound to create political tension between Latinos and Asian-Americans, a group of Chinese-American activists in Silicon Valley has launched a nationwide grass-roots movement to fight President-elect Barack Obama's nomination today of Bill Richardson as commerce secretary.
The group is upset at the New Mexico governor for his handling of the nearly decade-old case of Taiwanese-American Wen Ho Lee, a former nuclear scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. U.S. officials once suspected Lee of giving nuclear secrets to China when Richardson was President Clinton's energy secretary.
The Chinese-Americans say they realize that challenging the nomination of Richardson, 61, the nation's most high-profile Hispanic politician, will ruffle the Latino community, many of whose leaders felt he should have been named secretary of state instead of Sen. Hillary Clinton.
But the Chinese-American group insists that Richardson's refusal to acknowledge making serious errors in the case makes it a moral imperative to oppose his nomination to Obama's Cabinet. They say their criticism of Richardson has nothing to do with him being Latino but everything to do with his lack of judgment in the case.
Gary Tuchman | BIO
AC360 Correspondent
Now that the Georgia U.S. Senate race is over and voters are finally done casting their ballots in the 2008 elections, it seems an appropriate time to bring up something that we in the news media need to do something about. And that is, to stop being propagandized by campaign spokespeople about the size of crowds at campaign rallies.
These people believe, and perhaps rightfully so, that the bigger the crowd is, the more successful the event is. Back in 1995, the organizers of the Million Man March told reporters they had over two million participants. When the United States Park Police estimated the crowd at 400,000, the organizers of the event threatened to sue the National Park Service.
Well, I've been very conscious since then of the very active "spinners" at many big events trying to get their estimates of the crowd to the news media. Both major parties do this.
During this presidential campaign, I covered rallies of virtually every major Democratic and Republican candidate in the race. At some rallies, a political operative would come by reporters and authoritatively say his or her estimate of the number of people in the crowd. At other rallies, we would get an e-mail. In many instances, what they told us was nothing but wishful guesses. And the reason I know that is because it is not hard to actually count some of these crowds and have a good mathematical estimate when you are done.
Some raw politics on Romanian TV leaves a woman all wet.
Jack Gray
AC360 Associate Producer
Well, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Try not to go too wild. But yes, it’s true. President-elect Obama is today announcing Bill Richardson as his nominee for Secretary of Commerce. Which, while not an unimportant post, was not Richardson’s first choice. Secretary of State was what Richardson really wanted. Commerce was further down on his list, right below U.S. Ambassador to Dairy Queen.
Meanwhile, we’re still tying up loose ends from the fall elections. You may have noticed there was a big run-off in Georgia last night. Republican Saxby “Vote for me and Sarah Palin will show you how to kill a moose with your bare hands” Chambliss ended up holding onto his senate seat. That means that the Democrats will not have a filibuster-proof supermajority.
I don’t know about you but I kind of like the name Saxby. It has a nice ring to it. I think I’m going to suggest to Anderson that he name his new iguana Saxby. Oh, you didn’t know Anderson is big into iguanas? Yeah, he walks around with one on his shoulder at all times: “I’m sorry, I love your story pitch but my iguana Daisy Duke thinks it’s terrible.”
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