Rahm Emanuel previews the inauguration theme of “leading by example” and talks about cutting spending. Also, the political roundtable talks about the stimulus. Thoughts?

Some encouraging numbers for Obama today because they signal that folks realize how awful things are right now and that it won’t change overnight. From NY Times: While hopes for the new president are extraordinarily high, the poll found, expectations for what Mr. Obama will actually be able to accomplish appear to have been tempered [...]

They say that they’ve achieved their goals, but with nearly 1,200 Palestinians dead and the cease fire not actually involving Hamas, I can’t help but think that this is a tenuous peace at best. From BBC: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel had achieved its goals and Hamas – which has been firing rockets at [...]

President-elect Obama and McCain meet in Chicago Wth his Inauguration three days away, Barack Obama continues to talk, plan and act as if he’s every one’s President and intends to govern from the center — with respect to both domestic and foreign affairs.  He has been aggressively courting Republicans and conservatives, inviting their input and working [...]

You’d think that Ron Paul, CEO of Eagle Bank, would be thrilled to receive $38 million dollars in TARP funds. But, it turns out, he’s pretty frustrated. This is Danielle Ivory from the American News Project. As another $350 billion goes out the door, ANP looks at one small bailed-out bank. Eagle Bank is having [...]

I’m sure this hits too close to home for many Americans. (h/t: The Big Picture)

But there are still some problems… From AFP: Obama did not divulge just how he will overcome legal constraints, given the requirement of the post-Watergate Presidential Records Act of 1978 to keep a record of every White House communication. Nor did he say how he would persuade his Secret Service protectors that the Blackberry does [...]

Not that he really cares, but nonetheless… From NY Times: Americans’ historically negative assessment of the administration is not limited to the president. Vice President Dick Cheney’s favorability rating in the new poll is 13 percent, the lowest of his time in office. So will he stay off the national stage? Maybe… In an interview [...]

As we’ve heard from nearly every circle, including Obama’s, is that it’ll get worse before it gets better. This news seems to bear that out. From Bloomberg… More than 20 companies said they were cutting jobs, ranging from Amonil SA, Romania’s second-biggest fertilizer maker, to Fiat SpA’s Magneti Marelli auto-parts division. Hertz, the second-largest U.S. [...]

Coleman is suing to challenge Franken’s lead. The saga continues… Republican Norm Coleman’s trial challenging DFLer Al Franken’s lead in the U.S. Senate recount will begin Jan. 26, according to an order issued this afternoon by the three-judge panel that will hear the case. The order did not map out when specific issues would be [...]

I think it’s pretty clear by now that the economy will define Obama’s first year. But will it define his entire first term? Hardball discusses… A bit of good news? Credit seems to be unfreezing. More as it develops…

No doubt this will change, but just a quick snapshot of what’s proposed in the stimulus bill. Courtesy of the NY Times.

In a sign of the times, electronics retailer Circuit City has failed to find a buyer for its business and will close all 567 remaining U.S. stores. 30,000 people will lose their jobs. In a bid to remain viable, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy last year, but a dismal holiday shopping season sealed the chain’s [...]

This one is sure to ruffle some feathers, but Obama is signaling that he’s more than willing to find common ground on this issue and I have to say it’s a relief to hear. Especially since this seems to be the last thing we should be focusing on right now. From Ambinder: Wash Post: The [...]

During the campaign season he said he’d go through the federal budget line by line, and this sends a pretty clear message that he intends to make some tough cuts. From Wash Post: President-elect Barack Obama will convene a “fiscal responsibility summit” in February designed to bring together a variety of voices on solving the [...]

Presented here in full… What will we say about Bush in 20 years? Not that he cares all that much, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be the exact same thing we’re saying now. The man was, for all intents and purposes, completely unready for the job he was elected to do and he allowed himself [...]

Call it TARP Part Deux. Today, Congress authorized the release of the second $350 billion intended to prop up the American credit markets. While some hoped to thwart the release of monies for the controversial plan, the Democratic Leadership succeeded in rustling up the necessary votes, buoyed by President-elect Barack Obama’s explicit request for quick [...]

Prince Andrew Cuomo in a contemplative moment “A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.”   -Niccolo Machiavelli Within a few days, New York Governor David Paterson will appoint a successor to Hillary Clinton in the United States Senate. I’m going out [...]

It’s been said before that “the point of torture is torture,” but I don’t think we fully understand the extent to which this is true, nor the extent to which the moral and utilitarian arguments against torture are intertwined. The easiest way to explain what I’m getting at here is through a hypothetical. In this [...]

And it’s set to get worst before it gets better. From WSJ: WASHINGTON — More than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81% increase from 2007, with the worst yet to come as consumers grapple with layoffs, shrinking investment portfolios and falling home prices. Nationwide, more than 860,000 properties were actually [...]