Just when she thought she was out, they pulled her back in.
Ready to start fresh after her stint as supporter-in-chief of waterboarding, subterfuge and a domestic policy of complete disregard for the law, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did a speaking gig at Stanford University, her alma mater. While there, she ran into a couple of enterprising student journalists who pinned her against the lecture hall bulletin board and peppered her with questions about Guantanamo. Ultimately Condi sent the newbies back to the stacks, looking the whole time like the estranged relative who didn’t want to have to defend, yet again, the unsavory family history.
During his round of morning talk shows, untouchable Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich revealed that, next to Roland Burris, he had given serious consideration to one other candidate for the vacant Senate seat of Barack Obama. None other than the other famous “O” — Oprah.
Finally solved is the big mystery around who trumped the Obama’s in taking up residence in Blair House. Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard will be in DC to accept from Bush the Presidential Medal of Freedom – ironic given that Howard, roundly defeated in his home turf election, refused, for years, to apologize to the Aboriginal people for the Australian government’s practice of forcibly taking children from their families in an effort to “breed out the color.”
So, the President-elect of the United States of America was told “Sorry, no room,” at the residence traditionally occupied by the President-elect before the Inauguration. Further, he and his family were given the boot for a guy who tacitly approved of his home country’s racist policies. A Medal of Freedom. Seriously?
Barack Obama announced his National Security Team today, which included Eric Holder as AG, Susan Rice as UN Ambassador, and his most high profile selection, Hillary Clinton at Secretary of State. Obama has famously said he wants a “team of rivals” to serve on his cabinet, and he and Clinton walked off stage looking chummy, but check this photo: looks like they are arm wrestling, not shaking hands. A portend of things to come?
When President Obama gets that 3am call, he’s likely to still be awake! The candidate who never sleeps just released a video message to the European Olympic Committee on behalf of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid. Obama has been a longtime supporter of bringing the Olympic and Paralympic games to his adopted state. His prime time appearance on behalf of the Chicago delegation, making their case before the committee gathering in Istanbul, Turkey will go a long way. When did he have time to shoot the video? Between transition sessions, no doubt.
While the celebration of a new world order went on around the globe, certain “interested parties” were already jockeying to get their issues before the Prez. In stunningly swift order:
Russia (2 hours after election results) - Medvedev declared Russia’s intention to move missiles along their border with Poland, in response to U.S. warheads positioned there. Oh, and reneiged on the promise to remove ballistic missiles from western Russia by 2010. Call me.
Amnesty International (@7 hours after election results) - Address the whole human-rights-violations-especially-as-it-pertains-to-torture-and-Guantanamo Bay issue. Within your first 100 days, please.
Kenya (approximately 12 hours after election results) - “What do we want? Visas! When do we want ‘em? Now!” After cautioning his countrymen not to expect Obama to “immediately start handing out visas to come to the United States,” President Mwai Kibaki declared a national holiday in honor of Obama’s victory.
And in a show of political clout worthy of Chicago-style politics, within hours of the results, a crew from the Kenyan power company was dispatched to the Obama family village of Kogelo to install electric street lights in time for the holiday.
On the eve of Election Day, CodeBlack Interactive is offering users a first viewing of “The Inspiration of Barack Obama.” The critically-acclaimed dramatic short series is being offered as a complimentary streaming download on its exclusive on-demand broadband network, Codeblack TV.
The collection, directed by award-winning filmmaker Qasim Basir, chronicles the difficulties of seven Americans who have ultimately been uplifted by the message of Senator Barack Obama.” The series will be available for free streaming until 1AM EST, Tuesday, November 4.
An observation sent in by a friend. Subject line: Things change in an instant…
Just yesterday I walked by Obama’s house two blocks from me and there wasn’t much going on expect for the usual black Secret Service mini-van parked outside.
I passed by it today just 20 minutes ago and the street is now blocked off with those big concrete barriers to prevent cars from driving by, fences and signs warning Don’t Enter. Now the only people allowed through now are people who live on the block.
Things change in a hurry but at least I live on the safest neighborhood in the city now.
