Obama Selects Chief Of Staff And Muses Over Other Appointments, The Heartbreak Of Prop 8, And Palin Possibly Dumber Than You Thought
Hi everybody. Well, I suppose other issues would have to burst our Obama-victory bubble at some point. Tonight we begin with the BREAKING NEWS that the Dow took a plunge today; yesterday too actually. We've lost 900 points since the election. But can we bounce back? Yes we can! Sorry. You can cyber-slap me if you want. I deserve it. I think I just annoyed myself.
Moving away from all that unpleasant news, Anderson Cooper gives us the lowdown on what president-elect Barack Obama did today. President-elect Barack Obama. It still sounds surreal. But I can't hear it enough. The only thing better is when they get to drop the "elect." We then move into a Candy Crowley piece on Obama's first steps in the transition to becoming our commander in chief. He's now getting intelligence briefings and calls from world leaders. A meeting with Bush is scheduled for Monday and he's also set to gather with his economic advisers to start getting a handle on the news that lead the broadcast.
As for the new government Obama is building, Rahm Emanuel has been confirmed as the new chief of staff. Known for being extremely intense and abrasive, he's pretty much the opposite of Obama, which actually might make him perfect for the job. Other likely picks included campaign architect David Axelrod filling the position of senior White House advisor and Robert Gibbs for press secretary. I'll be interested to see if he speaks in real sentences or circles. Following Candy's piece, Anderson asks if Obama coordinates his meetings (like the one with his economic advisers) with the White House. Candy tells us no; those meetings involve planning for the next year, "And that's got nothing to do with George Bush." Music to my ears.
Next up, we have an Ed Henry piece that chronicles all the jockeying going on for a position in the Obama administration. Everybody wants a piece of the pie, people! This is obviously all just pure speculation, but it's so much more fun when the names being bandied about don't belong to corrupt and/or crazy people. So anyway, it seems Kerry wants secretary of state, but I think Bill Richardson would be a better choice. Howard Dean is apparently "hungry" for a cabinet position related to health care, which I guess would be secretary of health and human services. Obama might keep Gates on in defense for a bit, but the real big question mark is who will head up treasury. It's a mighty important job right now. No Sarah Palins allowed.
After Ed's piece, Anderson notes that people are expecting new and different, but all the names being mentioned sound like same old, same old. "Is this just about rewarding people who, you know, gave you an endorsement during the campaign?" he asks. Dude, he's got one pick confirmed so far. At least wait for the press release before you start second guessing.
We then move on to a Joe Johns piece on those poor conservatives who now have to live with a, gasp, Democrat in the White House. Apparently Rush Limbaugh is not happy. Boo hoo. I'm playing my tiny violin for him right now. Obama has made his first pick, so now the conservatives must of course oppose Emanuel like a hoard of pit bulls (some of them lip-sticked!). Yawn. Sorry guys. You just don't matter much anymore. And your only hope is a woman who quite possibly doesn't know that Africa is a continent. God bless America.
Transitioning now to our inevitable panel, which has been shrunk back down to normal size. We're got David Gergen, Paul Begala, and Joe Johns rocking the house. Like me, The Gerg doesn't think Obama needs to worry about Limbaugh. The majority of the country is riding high on the historicalness of the win, and with their own house in disarray, Republicans don't want to step in it anymore. Anderson then tells us that Paul once referred to Emanuel as, "a cross between a hemorrhoid and a toothache." Yowsa. But he said it with love, right?
Actually, joking aside, he kind of did. Paul deems Emanuel one of his best friends, but finds his persistence beyond annoying. Well, that's . . . good? Hey, if he can get things done, more power to him. Our panel also tackles some cabinet position speculation, as well as doles out some advice. I like The Gerg's the best: "Plan out your first few months in office. And, very importantly, get some rest." Obama needs to pencil in a nap.
Erica Hill then intros Ali Velshi at the big graphic wall, and if Ali's at the wall, you know things ain't pretty. All the haters are saying that the Dow plummeted because Obama won, but Ali tells us that it has more to do with the election being over and not who took the prize. But really, the Dow isn't even our biggest problem. There's a new jobs report set to come out tomorrow and it's supposed to be fairly devastating. The upcoming holidays are looking pretty bleak.
Next up, we have a Chris Lawrence piece on the heartbreaking passage of California's Proposition 8. This is actually a segment they're calling, "Nation Divided." I have to laugh at how they always create these new segments, never to use them again. Although to be fair, they have gotten kinda shockingly consistent with the whole "Crime and Punishment" thing. Anyway, it seems that one of the reasons Prop 8 passed was because a whopping 70 percent of blacks supported the ban. It's a rather bitter irony that one minority reached a milestone on the same night that they helped to set another minority back.
But blacks don't see gay marriage as a civil rights issue; for them it is about religion. Wasn't the ban on interracial marriage about religion too? Pick your bigotry--you can probably find support for it in the bible. "Love you neighbor as yourself." That's good enough for me. The Mormon church also had a huge role in passing the discrimination as well, with some estimating that they financed half of the Prop 8 campaign. Now gay rights supporters are fighting back with protests and legal challenges.
For discussion of what's unfolding in California, we're joined by Hilary Rosen, Jeffrey Toobin, and Roland Martin. If I'm understanding Jeffrey right, it's up in the air whether or not those already married get to stay that way. He thinks the decision will probably go to the California supreme court, but Prop 8 probably won't be overturned. Roland is unsurprised that blacks voted overwhelmingly for the ban because for them it is very much a religious issue.
For someone who's pretty outspoken, he's keeping his feelings on this one close to the vest. So obviously, now I'm curious. Anderson notes that Obama really did nothing to help fight the proposition. He's got him there. But as Hilary points out, that kind of involvement would be pretty hard. I guess the question is, would we have wanted Obama to stand up for gay marriage and risk his campaign, or hedge about it now and possibly help bring about the reality while in office? Tough choice.
Hilary also notes there was a huge deceptive campaign that implied Obama supported the ban. She then brings up the fact that this is a generational issue more than anything, with young adults being much more supportive of gay marriage than their older counterparts. As Jon Stewart once said, this fight is already over. Gay marriage will be legal in this country in time. But it's easy for a heterosexual like me to take solace in the fact that all we have to do is wait--I don't have to face the discrimination now. Like, according to Hilary, you can be fired in 30 states for being gay. WTF?! It's 2008, people!
Transitioning now to the continued mind-bogglement that is Sarah Palin. And ooh, our Gary Tuchman finally got to ask her a question, which we see in clip form. The question was regarding her relationship with McCain and she basically said it was hunky-dory. This moves us into a Dana Bash piece that details a free-for-all against the former VP hopeful. McCain aides aren't just throwing her under the proverbial bus; they're backing up and then driving over her three and four times.
The anonymously-sourced tidbits include the report that they were furious about the prank phone call, Palin was not allowed to address the crowd on election night, and she had not paid attention to a policy debate in 10 years. Wow. It should also be noted that this information wasn't just known by people in the campaign; some of it was known by various reporters as well. This woman was almost a heartbeat from the presidency. There are some things the electorate deserves to know, and sometimes that's more important than honoring a source.
Next up, we have a Randi Kaye piece on the Obama girls. Typing that automatically made me think of Obama girl, which totally destroys the innocent adorableness of my mental image. Perhaps I should just refer to them as Malia and Sasha. Anyhoo, the piece looks at what their lives will be like now. Basically, it seems like a mixed bag. They'll be in the spotlight all the time with every screw up chronicled, but then again, they get to live in the frickin White House, which has its own bowling ally, swimming pool, and movie theater. Not too shabby. I just hope people treat them better than they did Chelsea Clinton. Comedians and some conservatives were horrible to her.
On now to a clip of Oprah. 360 loves them the Oprah. This one's kinda funny though. The talk show queen attended Obama's historic speech on Tuesday and was so overcome that she leaned and cried on a total stranger. I actually remember seeing cut-aways of her and wondering who the hell that guy was. Apparently she's been wondering the same thing! Ha! But fear not, Mr. Man has been revealed to be Sam Perry and he'll be on the show on Friday. Of course he will.
In other news, it seems White House pooch Barney might be feeling a little stress over the upcoming move. Today he took a bite out of a Reuters reporter. We're shown the clip and if you listen closely, you can hear Bush in the background saying, "no, I said the New York Times guy!" Kidding. Reporter dude will live, though he did require a bandage and antibiotics. Anderson, dog-lover that he is, totally takes Barney's side. "It's not the dog's fault, though. You know, the guy just reached down. You don't do that to a dog," he tells us. And then, "You've got to let the dog smell you first." This is true. Reuters guy learned that lesson the hard way. Also? Anderson is totally cracking up over this, though notes that he shouldn't be. It's a little funny. Would've been funnier if the reporter worked for Fox News. I'm just saying.
The Shot tonight is Jay Leno mocking the extraordinary technology that is the CNN hologram. How dare he! It's kinda hilarious, actually. Instead of Jessica Yellin, Jay makes Wolf Blitzer beam in the predator monster, who then proceeds to knock the Wolfbot out of shot. Good times. Anderson and Erica then talk holograms and it turns out that they can't even see the person in the studio--they're just on a monitor. That is way less exciting. I guess I kinda don't get the point. Save the money and hire more reporters.
We had Ali chatting up Erica on the webcast tonight and then Toobin comes and, like, totally takes over. He's going rogue! "Whenever I see him, I know I lost money," he says, referring to Ali. Tis true. It's not been a good day when Ali is at the wall. Then Roland even comes to join the party, but can't stay long.
Erica actually gave us a little tease that tonight there would be a special guest and then teased further that it was someone close to Jack Gray. I immediately guessed Sammy, but I had forgotten that by broadcast time she's usually smashed. Instead, we are introduced to Jack's mom, Maria--or Momma Gray, if you will. Anyway, Momma Gray has not yet met Anderson, so Erica quickly moves to rectify this obvious oversight. After a slightly snarky meet-n-greet where Anderson talks to Momma Gray about her son John, Erica bemoans our anchor's ridiculous ego. I heard it needs its own office.
I'm not sure the reason for tonight's special guest, but hey, I say we meet all the mommas. Ooh and tell them to bring baby picture! Also, there's some staff we've yet to meet. Ted Fine, I know you exist; let's see that face. We've already seen Charlie Moore, but uh, I want to see him again. What?! No reason. Gabe Falcon, what about you? If you're wondering, no, I'm not going to go through every name I know. Unfortunately, when these people are there during show time they're usually, you know, busy. But seriously 360, you've got Floor Crew Friday, how about Meet the Staff Monday? That's all from me.
Moving away from all that unpleasant news, Anderson Cooper gives us the lowdown on what president-elect Barack Obama did today. President-elect Barack Obama. It still sounds surreal. But I can't hear it enough. The only thing better is when they get to drop the "elect." We then move into a Candy Crowley piece on Obama's first steps in the transition to becoming our commander in chief. He's now getting intelligence briefings and calls from world leaders. A meeting with Bush is scheduled for Monday and he's also set to gather with his economic advisers to start getting a handle on the news that lead the broadcast.
As for the new government Obama is building, Rahm Emanuel has been confirmed as the new chief of staff. Known for being extremely intense and abrasive, he's pretty much the opposite of Obama, which actually might make him perfect for the job. Other likely picks included campaign architect David Axelrod filling the position of senior White House advisor and Robert Gibbs for press secretary. I'll be interested to see if he speaks in real sentences or circles. Following Candy's piece, Anderson asks if Obama coordinates his meetings (like the one with his economic advisers) with the White House. Candy tells us no; those meetings involve planning for the next year, "And that's got nothing to do with George Bush." Music to my ears.
Next up, we have an Ed Henry piece that chronicles all the jockeying going on for a position in the Obama administration. Everybody wants a piece of the pie, people! This is obviously all just pure speculation, but it's so much more fun when the names being bandied about don't belong to corrupt and/or crazy people. So anyway, it seems Kerry wants secretary of state, but I think Bill Richardson would be a better choice. Howard Dean is apparently "hungry" for a cabinet position related to health care, which I guess would be secretary of health and human services. Obama might keep Gates on in defense for a bit, but the real big question mark is who will head up treasury. It's a mighty important job right now. No Sarah Palins allowed.
After Ed's piece, Anderson notes that people are expecting new and different, but all the names being mentioned sound like same old, same old. "Is this just about rewarding people who, you know, gave you an endorsement during the campaign?" he asks. Dude, he's got one pick confirmed so far. At least wait for the press release before you start second guessing.
We then move on to a Joe Johns piece on those poor conservatives who now have to live with a, gasp, Democrat in the White House. Apparently Rush Limbaugh is not happy. Boo hoo. I'm playing my tiny violin for him right now. Obama has made his first pick, so now the conservatives must of course oppose Emanuel like a hoard of pit bulls (some of them lip-sticked!). Yawn. Sorry guys. You just don't matter much anymore. And your only hope is a woman who quite possibly doesn't know that Africa is a continent. God bless America.
Transitioning now to our inevitable panel, which has been shrunk back down to normal size. We're got David Gergen, Paul Begala, and Joe Johns rocking the house. Like me, The Gerg doesn't think Obama needs to worry about Limbaugh. The majority of the country is riding high on the historicalness of the win, and with their own house in disarray, Republicans don't want to step in it anymore. Anderson then tells us that Paul once referred to Emanuel as, "a cross between a hemorrhoid and a toothache." Yowsa. But he said it with love, right?
Actually, joking aside, he kind of did. Paul deems Emanuel one of his best friends, but finds his persistence beyond annoying. Well, that's . . . good? Hey, if he can get things done, more power to him. Our panel also tackles some cabinet position speculation, as well as doles out some advice. I like The Gerg's the best: "Plan out your first few months in office. And, very importantly, get some rest." Obama needs to pencil in a nap.
Erica Hill then intros Ali Velshi at the big graphic wall, and if Ali's at the wall, you know things ain't pretty. All the haters are saying that the Dow plummeted because Obama won, but Ali tells us that it has more to do with the election being over and not who took the prize. But really, the Dow isn't even our biggest problem. There's a new jobs report set to come out tomorrow and it's supposed to be fairly devastating. The upcoming holidays are looking pretty bleak.
Next up, we have a Chris Lawrence piece on the heartbreaking passage of California's Proposition 8. This is actually a segment they're calling, "Nation Divided." I have to laugh at how they always create these new segments, never to use them again. Although to be fair, they have gotten kinda shockingly consistent with the whole "Crime and Punishment" thing. Anyway, it seems that one of the reasons Prop 8 passed was because a whopping 70 percent of blacks supported the ban. It's a rather bitter irony that one minority reached a milestone on the same night that they helped to set another minority back.
But blacks don't see gay marriage as a civil rights issue; for them it is about religion. Wasn't the ban on interracial marriage about religion too? Pick your bigotry--you can probably find support for it in the bible. "Love you neighbor as yourself." That's good enough for me. The Mormon church also had a huge role in passing the discrimination as well, with some estimating that they financed half of the Prop 8 campaign. Now gay rights supporters are fighting back with protests and legal challenges.
For discussion of what's unfolding in California, we're joined by Hilary Rosen, Jeffrey Toobin, and Roland Martin. If I'm understanding Jeffrey right, it's up in the air whether or not those already married get to stay that way. He thinks the decision will probably go to the California supreme court, but Prop 8 probably won't be overturned. Roland is unsurprised that blacks voted overwhelmingly for the ban because for them it is very much a religious issue.
For someone who's pretty outspoken, he's keeping his feelings on this one close to the vest. So obviously, now I'm curious. Anderson notes that Obama really did nothing to help fight the proposition. He's got him there. But as Hilary points out, that kind of involvement would be pretty hard. I guess the question is, would we have wanted Obama to stand up for gay marriage and risk his campaign, or hedge about it now and possibly help bring about the reality while in office? Tough choice.
Hilary also notes there was a huge deceptive campaign that implied Obama supported the ban. She then brings up the fact that this is a generational issue more than anything, with young adults being much more supportive of gay marriage than their older counterparts. As Jon Stewart once said, this fight is already over. Gay marriage will be legal in this country in time. But it's easy for a heterosexual like me to take solace in the fact that all we have to do is wait--I don't have to face the discrimination now. Like, according to Hilary, you can be fired in 30 states for being gay. WTF?! It's 2008, people!
Transitioning now to the continued mind-bogglement that is Sarah Palin. And ooh, our Gary Tuchman finally got to ask her a question, which we see in clip form. The question was regarding her relationship with McCain and she basically said it was hunky-dory. This moves us into a Dana Bash piece that details a free-for-all against the former VP hopeful. McCain aides aren't just throwing her under the proverbial bus; they're backing up and then driving over her three and four times.
The anonymously-sourced tidbits include the report that they were furious about the prank phone call, Palin was not allowed to address the crowd on election night, and she had not paid attention to a policy debate in 10 years. Wow. It should also be noted that this information wasn't just known by people in the campaign; some of it was known by various reporters as well. This woman was almost a heartbeat from the presidency. There are some things the electorate deserves to know, and sometimes that's more important than honoring a source.
Next up, we have a Randi Kaye piece on the Obama girls. Typing that automatically made me think of Obama girl, which totally destroys the innocent adorableness of my mental image. Perhaps I should just refer to them as Malia and Sasha. Anyhoo, the piece looks at what their lives will be like now. Basically, it seems like a mixed bag. They'll be in the spotlight all the time with every screw up chronicled, but then again, they get to live in the frickin White House, which has its own bowling ally, swimming pool, and movie theater. Not too shabby. I just hope people treat them better than they did Chelsea Clinton. Comedians and some conservatives were horrible to her.
On now to a clip of Oprah. 360 loves them the Oprah. This one's kinda funny though. The talk show queen attended Obama's historic speech on Tuesday and was so overcome that she leaned and cried on a total stranger. I actually remember seeing cut-aways of her and wondering who the hell that guy was. Apparently she's been wondering the same thing! Ha! But fear not, Mr. Man has been revealed to be Sam Perry and he'll be on the show on Friday. Of course he will.
In other news, it seems White House pooch Barney might be feeling a little stress over the upcoming move. Today he took a bite out of a Reuters reporter. We're shown the clip and if you listen closely, you can hear Bush in the background saying, "no, I said the New York Times guy!" Kidding. Reporter dude will live, though he did require a bandage and antibiotics. Anderson, dog-lover that he is, totally takes Barney's side. "It's not the dog's fault, though. You know, the guy just reached down. You don't do that to a dog," he tells us. And then, "You've got to let the dog smell you first." This is true. Reuters guy learned that lesson the hard way. Also? Anderson is totally cracking up over this, though notes that he shouldn't be. It's a little funny. Would've been funnier if the reporter worked for Fox News. I'm just saying.
The Shot tonight is Jay Leno mocking the extraordinary technology that is the CNN hologram. How dare he! It's kinda hilarious, actually. Instead of Jessica Yellin, Jay makes Wolf Blitzer beam in the predator monster, who then proceeds to knock the Wolfbot out of shot. Good times. Anderson and Erica then talk holograms and it turns out that they can't even see the person in the studio--they're just on a monitor. That is way less exciting. I guess I kinda don't get the point. Save the money and hire more reporters.
We had Ali chatting up Erica on the webcast tonight and then Toobin comes and, like, totally takes over. He's going rogue! "Whenever I see him, I know I lost money," he says, referring to Ali. Tis true. It's not been a good day when Ali is at the wall. Then Roland even comes to join the party, but can't stay long.
Erica actually gave us a little tease that tonight there would be a special guest and then teased further that it was someone close to Jack Gray. I immediately guessed Sammy, but I had forgotten that by broadcast time she's usually smashed. Instead, we are introduced to Jack's mom, Maria--or Momma Gray, if you will. Anyway, Momma Gray has not yet met Anderson, so Erica quickly moves to rectify this obvious oversight. After a slightly snarky meet-n-greet where Anderson talks to Momma Gray about her son John, Erica bemoans our anchor's ridiculous ego. I heard it needs its own office.
I'm not sure the reason for tonight's special guest, but hey, I say we meet all the mommas. Ooh and tell them to bring baby picture! Also, there's some staff we've yet to meet. Ted Fine, I know you exist; let's see that face. We've already seen Charlie Moore, but uh, I want to see him again. What?! No reason. Gabe Falcon, what about you? If you're wondering, no, I'm not going to go through every name I know. Unfortunately, when these people are there during show time they're usually, you know, busy. But seriously 360, you've got Floor Crew Friday, how about Meet the Staff Monday? That's all from me.
posted by eliza at 11:59 PM
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