Thanks for the commentary; that's a much more useful analysis than what I've been getting from the major news sources all day.

=

Has anyone else visited Obama's transition website yet over at ChangeDotGov?

Mikell Hagood

I like Durbin's performance.

This post moves you to second spot in my blogs, right after Digby. I've read dozens of articles and posts on the Emanual appointment and none nailed the dynamics and big picture as yours did. Another plus is that you didn't try to give the president elect any advice. The other commentators haven't seemed to catch on to the fact that, whatever mistakes Obama is likely to make, he's at least ten moves ahead of any move they're likely to anticipate. My own thought is that everything Obama is doing points to opening negotiations with Iran as one of his first orders of business, and nothing has more promise to stabilize the middle east than these two powers coming to terms.

I am sitting here smiling after reading this post.

It takes me back to a point early in the primaries when I first came to The Field hungry for details about how our Primary system worked and insight into the candidates' strategies.  By the end of the season, I couldn't believe that I was actually able to have relatively complex discussions with interested friends and neighbors about caucuses, congressional districts, delegate math, etc.

Today, two days after the election,  I find myself hungry for details about how the transition will work?  Who Obama will appoint to any number of positions to help him run the country? What the significance and potential repercussions of these appintments might be?   Honestly, I don't remember really caring about these things that much before!  Not this way, at least.

Moving into the next chapter now -- makes me smile with hope and anticipation.  Thanks, Al.

*****************

On a separate note, is Latina for Obama out there (maybe under  a different name)?   

I'd love to hear how it all went for Latina for Obama too and the 'road' you travelled.

BondiBeachViews

It really is too bad that Barack has such a "Jewish problem."

US Presidential campaigns seem to grant the media every imaginal license to generalize. and then throw up some poll to justify it.

crazy, but that is the way it goes.

Thanks for the secret-decoder ring.

As usual, nice analysis.  Hope you stay permanently engaged with US politics for a while--though I do understand the benefits of lurking under the radar in other parts of our Americas.

Good wishes for Sean and Nate.  Nate has done such a wonderful job in his polling work, and it is nice to see him become a semi-famous nerdlinger.

And, Al, I am so happy that your conservative predictions did not materialize.  I really had a hunch that all these states would swing blue.  Missouri needs work, and it was damned close.  It hasn't been called yet so there is still hope.

Be safe, and thank you for trying to help take this to a higher level.   I respect that--and we need it.

Yes, my thoughts go out to Latina, and I miss her being an integral part of this blog.  Her support during the primaries was vital--and it carried us through to a great ending.

I effing love this guy

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-rahm-emanuel,0,7573633.s...

Well-stated -- agreed, Barack remains a few steps ahead.

Watching for RFK, Jr. and an alternative to Summers.

And if you think Barack was not prepped check out the spanking new change.gov

You know I just didn't know that much about Emanuel before now - not having been interested in the insider-baseball of politics until recently.  The one incident that stuck out for me in this campaign was that it was he and Kennedy who apparently called Bill Clinton and told him to tone it down in SC.

I think Al's analysis sounds right and it's also interesting that Emanuel is apparently best friends with Axelrod, and has apparently also calmed down a bit since his White House days (maybe having kids did it to him).

This Rolling Stone profile is worth reading - the guy has an interesting biography, including the fact that he won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet . . .

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/8091986/the_enforcer/

KD

p.s. I was also wondering if latina for obama was still on this site but under her real name - i've managed to identify most of the other users of the old site, from initials and so on

The interesting thing about the White House chief of staff position, to me, is that, in recent history, the person holding the post has almost always used it as a stepping-stone to more power – though not always with success.

There have been a total of 25 chiefs of staff dating back to the Truman administration [including Emanuel and those serving under variant titles, and a total count of 12 presidents over that period, including Obama]. Among some of the names you’d recognize, but at least I didn’t recall off hand, that have served as chiefs of staff, are the following: former Lompoc Federal Prison inmate H.R. Haldeman and "I am in control here" Alexander Haig, under Nixon; Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, under Gerald Ford; Hamilton Jordan, under Carter; James Baker and Kenneth Duberstein [who?], under Reagan; John Sununu and James Baker, again, under Bush I; John Podesta [now head of Obama's transition team, but paired in power with long-time Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett], Erskine Bowles and Mack McLarty [who?], under Clinton; and of course we remember the most recent ones under Bush II, Card and Bolten – but where will they be five or six years from now?

So, from that read, I take it that Emanuel took the job figuring he would be one of the names people would remember down the road — maybe the next Democratic version of Rumsfeld, Cheney or the more affable yet astutely calculating Baker; yet likely in his mind someone with the cache of a Podesta in being a party philosopher kingmaker behind the scenes — because, in Emanuel's mind, he will step up to higher things from the rung of Chief of Staff.

But it’s almost certain he won’t survive an entire Obama administration, particularly if it runs to two terms. The odds work against him, given that over the past four administrations [Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush], there have been a total of 13 chiefs of staff.

From all that, I have to conclude that Al makes a cogent point in his analysis. Chief of Staff seems to be a real good position for a person with a lot of ambition to extend his personal empire if so inclined, but one always limited, as in most employee/employer relationships, by the scope of the vision as well as the contemporary exigencies confronting the boss.

... On a more inspiring note, if it comes to pass, one individual supposedly on the short list for the nod for Secretary of Education is Obama advisor Linda Darling-Hammond, a former public high-school teacher and now an education prof at Stanford, who is very progressive, into things such as educational equity and no great fan of No Child Left Behind -- which narrows curriculum, creates disincentives for learning and punishes the neediest schools, among other drawbacks, she notes. Her appointment, should it happen, based on what people in the educational field whom I trust tell me, would rock.

Check out her views.

Now, who's to say what will happen, but the fact that Darling-Hammond is already onboard with the Obama team tells me he has a deep bench -- even if some of them, like Emanuel, are better adapted to playing positions similar to enforcers in the game of hockey.

Obama knows that he is not going to dowell if he acts like a heavy, particularly since he is still relatively new to the Wshington scene.  Rahm is an old hand at playing the DC games an doesn't back down to anybody.

Plus, he is extremely loyal.  I wouldn't be surprised if he and Obama have an agreement that this is only a 2 year or at most 3 year stint to get the basics pshed up on the hill and to send a message that Obama is not kidding around.  He won't play political games openly, but he is too smart not to realize they still have to be used.

The biggest mistake both Carter and Clinton made when they first got to DC was to think they could just bring in the home state people and everything would be fine.

And anybody who is questioning Obama's judgement only has to look at the last 21 months.  I don't know of a senior member of the campaign that left or was kicked out because they weren't doing th job.  Obama knows how to judge people.

I note on Obama's victory speech.  A message to anybody who thinks he doesn't realize how serious and difficult the oad ahead is.  Go back and watch him greeting Michele whn the wives come out.  Up to then he was the typical smiling Obama.  But his face got serious and he whispered something in her ear.  It looked like she said "I know" and patted him on the back.  Trust me, he didn't say "Boy this is fun."  My guess is he said something like "Now the real work starts."

That was really helpful insight Al. Thank you! I didn't know much about him and it's nice to have this analysis in my head as I read more.

I loved Durbin in the video clip too!

@ JHN - I went over there this afternoon after seeing the comment about it in one of the other threads. I'm really pleased to see that they have it up and running.

It is a bit quiet around the Field (I guess we're exhaling and wrapping our minds around the reality of "this is the end of a chapter, not the whole book")!  It would be great to hear from all you familiar and not-so-familiar Fieldhands who haven't commented for a while, like Latina.

Am very interested in translating my new awareness of the power of community organizing to the state of politics in my own city, province and country--Canada--getting informed, getting involved, and getting effective on the issues that will give us the change that we need.

Actually, I think that a lot of people where I live do care, they just don't believe that they can effectively take action, or are afraid to do so, or feel overwhelmed by the problems we face.

So I plan to share this site's insights from tonight with some people in my community not familiar with the Field to see what ideas we come up with.

Thanks to you, Al and all the Fieldhands and commenters here for creating this blog, ongoing discussions and the Ning site, it's a continuing education and challenge...to be the change we want, and not just want it.

Loved the video. Thanks, Al.

Can't imagine a better person for COS. When he says "I've got your back" - you KNOW he's got your back!!

Fascinating to hear the names being floated for different places. I like Volker for Treasury, Amory Lovins or someone from RMI at Energy, RFKJr. at EPA.

But now Rahm is going to be kept very busy with other things.

Keep your friends close . . . 

I had a gut feeling that the Rahm pick was the right choice, but you've spelled out in detail all my inchoate feelings.

I really knew nothing about him until he was picked for COS.  He sounds like a knee cap breaking SOB.

I think I'm in love.

Great analysis. Most insightful thing I've seen. I also had a brief CL spell based on the news, went and did some research and felt better about it. I kinda thought Daschle was gonna be his chief of staff originally. But, I like that with Emanuel he gets someone who he has a long-term, trusting relationship with (like bringing one of his own people), AND he knows Capitol Hill. When I saw he's such a good friend of Axelrod I also felt better. Having Axelrod around too, who seems so steadying reassures me.

But the main point is that here's a guy (Obama) who made like 20,000 good decisions in a row with nary a bad one, and I believe he **may** have earned the benefit of doubt on a few decisions regardless.

Al's analysis reveals a whole added layer I hadn't even remotely thought of. My lord I hope you keep this going! This is light years better than anything else I read today. If you need to come up with a name for the effort and tip jar for donations, do it, because we need this kind of reporting.

As for Linda Darling-Hammond, that's the word on the street up here at UW-Madison as well. She's been involved every step of the way. She's incredibly sharp, astute, pragmatic, and probably able with work at this. In my mind, shes not that progressive; someone progressive would be... umm.... well like a Bill Ayers. Or a Gloria Ladson Billings (my department chair). I don't expect to see either. Linda strikes me as very level-headed and able to get things done in Washington.

I'll probably write an extended diary on this for Kos, because I don't want to threadjack, but take this as an instructive example for how I think Obama will govern. Obama's education policy is actually pretty unusual. I happen to like it in that he's taking on Orthodoxy all over the place. Paying teachers based on merit is a conservative idea, linked to a lot of bad things like No Child Left Behind. However, we all know LOTS of teachers waiting it out for retirement, and super talented teachers who retire after 3 years because they can't support a family on a teacher's salary. It's a REALLY savvy and interesting area to try and innovate; the kind of thing that I'd love to see a *good* conservative (in an Andrew Sullivan kind of way) try out. Similarly, school choice could kill public education, and usually works out badly for poor people, but clearly we need experimentation and innovation in education and this is probably the only way to get it. Finally, there are  faith-based reforms. Faith-based reforms work because they tie together home-school-afterschool settings (crucial to identity development) and deal with morals and values. They create a context for teaching the whole child, as progressives say.

What I love about Obama is that I disagree with all of these policies in principle. But, what I'd like to see happen will never happen; he's not running the USA of Kurt and people like him. IN fact,  there just isn't the political will to do the changes **I** want, such as overhauling our school funding system, making rich and poor people live next door to one another and go to school together, throwing away the assessment system, providing ubiquitous early education (well he might do that), and pouring serious reach dollars into new modes of instruction and so on. It will never happen. However, he's willing to look for leverage points where you actually could get some work done and plant seeds which could become real change. The teacher pay could lead to real professionalization of the profession. Meanwhile, you won't create changes so fast that they disrupt everything (think of Clinton's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" fiasco), but they create inroads for real change, AND give conservatives some things to bring back to their constituencies. It's absolutely problem-solving oriented governing rather than orthodoxy,

Sorry to be soapboxy; it's intended to be instructive into how I think Obama thinks about these things and how he might govern. He definitely will break orthodoxy, but I for one, am bored of the same old tired non-solutions.

Someone mentioned the silver lining (if you're looking hard) at where things stand with Prop 8.  For me, I can say that the silver lining is a new personal cause.  I never knew I would feel so strongly about this but I do.  I'm just sick that we are instiutionalizing disrimination in this country.  So if it losing helps others like me realize their true feelings on this and gets us to get up and do something about it, then that's good.

Some others I've missed - Ron and Brazilian for Obama.

Al, was there a Fieldhand of the Month for October or did I miss it?  Also, noticed that we're now up to 594 members of Fieldhands--who will be #600?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1106/p08s01-comv.html

Belated thanks for your incredible work this year ... and for this post.  I hope it gets widely disseminated to those who need to see it!

Martin Sieff: Barack's Enforcer

J Post's Emanuel to be Obama's chief of staff

I enjoyed your analysis, Al, and unsurprisingly, I agree with you totally on chosing Rahm as COS. COS's job is to make the trains run on time, and Rahm sure as hell can do that. I like the fact that Obama is already people who aren't clones of him and that bring different styles to the table. I think we're in for a fascinating few weeks as the Obama administration starts to come together.

I'm not a fan of Emanuel's politics. But I think his personal style is perfect for the COS job. And, as you say Al, I'd much rather have him in a position where he's selling someone else's policy than pursuing his own.

Another silver lining here: I had heard that, had he not gotten the COS post, Emanuel might have been appointed to replace Obama in the Senate.  Now the inside track belongs to Jesse Jackson, Jr.  And my guess is that Emanuel's slot in the House will be filled by a more progressive Democrat (wouldn't be hard to find one in Chicago).

If Jackson gets the Senate nod, any chance that Alice Palmer might be available for Jackson's seat in the House?  It would be a nice coda to the Illinois phase of President Elect Obama's career!

More good stuff on this hell raising task master. He's the man. 

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1857368,00.html

A lot of people look at the 'Team of Rivals" concept that Obama embraces via his love for Lincoln and miss the point: the rivals, in this case, are mainly Democrats. That Obama has zero fear of naming Clinton folks to his team is a sign of supreme strength.

Look, the few moderate Republicans will be easier out of the gate. They're no the "rivals." This Democratic congress has been a disaster. This is a clear sign that Obama means to take a 2x4 to the heads of Reid and Pelosi and all the myriad sub-camps that have flourished sans tough, united leadership. It's the Chicago way - and if he wants a great 100 days (and man, do I want them!) it is the only way to go.

"Change" means a disciplined Democratic caucus, folks. It means policy.

Education is the one topic where I see myself diverging from a lot of traditional "progressives." I myself homeschool my two young children, basically because I hate the idea of standardized tests, I think the school day is too long, classes too big, children do not get enough time with their primary family unit, and that traditional school structure stifles a lot of creativity and potential in our children (see John Holt, John Taylor Gatto, etc.) However, as you said I certainly don't expect Obama to satisfy any/all my desires on that front.  And I realize the biggest impediment to a lot of folks is economic necessity - in American culture many families are forced to have two parents working long days - hence the need for long school days, etc.  But if Obama can encourage some kind of experimentation and diversity in the school system, and encourage excellent teachers (by new pay structures) and give them more automony in respecting and responding to children as INDIVIDUALS, and somehow lessen the importance of standardized that would be an excellent first step.

I also think it's interesting that he sends his daughters to private school and that he also went to private school. I hope that that influences how he sees some aspects of why these schools work - one of the main reasons is that they are SMALL. If only every public school could be divided into three schools (hey build some new schools - there's an infrastructure/economic stimulus for you), that would be amazing.

I hope you write a diary for Kos - let us know if you put one up.

KD

I had a conversation with a lefty-peace movement friend who was decrying the Rahm pick. I think I made a little face and then he said, "Oh, well, you're a pragmatist," implying that it was a negative to be a pragmatist.

Personally, I want to get things done and although I am very progressive, it's more important to me to make positive moves that improve people's lives and not hold out for perfection -- which would probably mean that NOTHING much gets done.  Given the struggles people are having with no health insurance and jobs and education costs, etc., I can't see how purism is a path worth pursuing.

Maybe this another kind of Chicken Littleism to guard against now -- the cries that the sky is falling from the lefties who would rather be pure than get things done.  My hope is that there will be an extended honeymoon from the left, including the left blogosphere.  Of course we need to stay organized and have our voices be heard, but let's be smart about this.

Check out this brand-new website for young Republicans who want to rebuild the GOP:

http://www.rebuildtheparty.com/

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

I would use caution with the labels ("lefty-peace movement, purist, pragmatist...")  I am potentially a "lefty, peace movement" person in greater NYC but I don't know enough about Emmanuel to conclude whether he is good, bad or otherwise for the peace movement.  What gives me hope is that if his job is to help execute the agenda that the administration sets forth, and if he is good at that, then he could be good for the peace movement or other movements if / or when they become a priority for this administration.  In the spirit of the "community organizing" theme of this blog, my guess is that we all have different causes that are important to us.  Making progress in those areas may be  as much, if not more, about how well we organize than it is about who Obama names to certain staff positions.  I suggest that your friend's "purist aspirations" may not be as much the issue as much as his pre-judgement of R. Emmanuel's direct significance to them.  Just my opinion.

Lisa - Thanks for your point. My concern is with a cohort for whom incremental progress is no progress. That said, it's absolutely essential to have people who think that incremental progress is not enough and who push to get greater progress.

But pragmatism is not a net negative in my book.  I want people who are practical and can get movement. The US system is remarkably resistent to change, by and large, and this is a moment to give it a big, big push. I want lots of someones who will keep pushing.

hey,

I tried to post something last night, but it hasnt appeared.

it was about prop8 and the protests that are going on right now. I wanted to say that I would like you to follow it, as you aksed for what people would like ot organise on and you would show it to the world. well to me this is a big issue and thousands are in on it and organising. i don't expect everyone on here to agree with me, but I think that its something thats big enough it should be getting attention.

thanks for your website through the last year.

celia

My political passion is sustainability issues.  I've been somewhat involved on the local, non-electoral level, trying to build up the alternatives--gardens, transportation, permaculture.  What this election has done is inspired me to channel some energy into bringing

these ideas to the governmental level.  So yesterday I stopped into the office of the Western Environmental Law Center and had a conversation with a lawyer there about best ways to do this.  What I'll probably be doing is working on the campaign to end field burning in Oregon.  Something I knew was an issue, but only this past summer when I and all my friends were coughing did I realize was really a serious health issue.  I talked to the organizer there about how to connect to the Obama campaign volunteers.  Then I went to the mybarackobama website and saw all the folks in my town who had pages.  (Some of whom I know, 'cause of the size of the town).  My question is: is there a way I can directly email these folks?  For this or any other organizing purpose? Perhaps you can post something, as you can here, but is there a way to send out an email to folks?

The lawyer at WELC was familiar with Waxman, agreed that he would be a better person for the job.  Off to educate myself on that one....

I think it funny that among the people sponsoring that site are some who are trying to root out all of the McCain staffers that have criticized Palin so they can be blackballed.  Hell of a way to grow the party.

But to say that they need to be more "conservative" or anything like that (which they actually do on that site) and then to say "grow the party" seems an oxymoron to me.  I'm a former Republican (now Indy) that watched in horror as the party morphed into something I no longer recognized.  Glitzy strategies go so far; until they make the GOP more inclusive again they will have a hard time attracting new support.

I'm hoping they do become more inclusive.  But the guys on that site don't have the recipe.  Sullivan is much closer.

Yeah yeah.  I know.

I'm supposed to gaze up in wonder at the wisdom of this choice. There's so many good reasons for choosing him, how could I help but cry out, like every other comment here, "Yet another genius move, oh how genius!"

I don't buy this as a slam-dunk. Let me tell you why.

This guy Rahm is the epitome of a hard worker - no one's denying that. However, he's also the epitome of a partisan. He stood against the fifty-state strategy at every point. He's a battle-ground state believer. He's a nasty bastard with a penchant for being offensive - not just aggressive, but terrible.

Tell me this one - how is it that Obama was able to swim upstream against the Clinton machine without hiring someone like this to run the show? How was he able to go such long odds while maintaining so much class? Once you've got your answer in hand for that, please tell me this - what is the problem that Obama can not handle that would drive him to get this guy on-board now at the highest level of his office?

Mind you, I voted for Obama because I wanted the constitutional scholar to choose the next three SCOTUS justices. Barring everything else, this is what drove my choice. I get the partisan side of our reality. However, I donated to Obama and convinced by coworkers and friends to vote for Obama because he was more than a constitutional scholar - he was a good man with a just, self-possessed, and kind temperment. I'm left wondering why this extremely talented and almost perversely even-keeled man would need to bring such a divisive and angry individual into the shop.

Very nice write-up, Al… thanks.

My big concern in the last couple days is that, with everyone so excited about Obama and the future of our country, there’s going to be a LOT of CLing and generalized second guessing. As Kurt (and maybe others, sorry, I skimmed) pointed out, Obama has made a lot of Good Decisions lately, and we can cut him some slack. This is, after all, why we elected him, isn’t it? Because fundamentally, we trust him to get *at least* the little things right.

On the other hand, we want to stay involved and help shape the presidency and our country. So it seems that we should focus on the BIG things — an economic recovery, sorting out the multiple messes around the world that we’re in (and that we helped cause), taking care of ALL of our citizens, etc. Let’s direct all this positive, organized energy into meaningful activity on these BIG issues.

So who’s ready to let the President-Elect and his family pick their own damn kind of puppy without our help?!?  ;-)  Oh, and his chief of staff.

I hope the first thing Obama has Rahm do is stiffen the spine of the marshmallow Dems in the Senate who seem on the verge of letting Joe Lieberman get away with opposing the party's stand on Iraq; failing to investigate Bush Administration corruption and law breaking; endorsing John McCain; speaking at the GOP Convention; and actively campaigning against Barack Obama (after Obama helped pull Lieberman's balls out of the fire by making appearances for him during the Connecticut senate campaign). I would hope Obama would have Rahm let Harry Reid know the President-elect would be EXTREMELY unhappy should Joe not be punished.

@celia re: Prop 8...I was just devastated. Here in MI, things are almost as bad as far as ultraconservative props being passed; although this time our two on medical marijuana and stem cell did pass. Mayor Newsome hit the nail on the head today: taking rights AWAY is just wrong.

@ Karen re: education...another one of my pet causes. One of the main reasons why I am a former teacher is not because of the kids, but because of the bureacracy. If I had been able to homeschool my ADD son, things would have been so much better all around. At the time, I was a single parent and didn't know about self-employment like I do now.

I agree with most of "O's" policies, but I really trust him and his judgment.

Al's discourse on Emmanuel was spot on; I knew a little bit, but Al's take was even more enlightening. When I heard he was being considered, my thought was that any appointment that makes the R's mad is a good appointment. John Boehner couldn't wait to attack; he obviously hasn't gotten the memo that it's Obama's party now.

Romney also chimed in with what he said Obama must do; 'cuse me, but who asked you? You're not the President-elect; like Keith O said the other day, Mitt, you don't matter any more!

OK, I'll try to be nice...

waterprise2 AKA Pam

Liberal with a Capital L!

Hubby noticed that at the press conference, the first reporter O called on was Nedra from HuffPo! Take that, MSM!!

But I can't wait to see native Detroiter Helen Thomas in her red dress in the front row...

Did you see my governor, Jenny Granholm (D-MI) up front on the transition team?  "O" called her out especially, too!

Meech-i-gan! Jenny for Supreme Court!

waterprise2 AKA Pam

Liberal with a Capital L!

NE-2 (Omaha and area) is called by the Omaha World-Herald for Obama. It's like a little cherry perched on top.

Of course readers here believed my prediction completely last month so we all knew ahead of time.  ;-)

Hey you'all!

Happy to come back and celebrate with you all this fantastic fantastic win. Sorry to have been so absent from here, lots of family and work complications which kept me away from posting but I read you all, all the time, and as always you were the island of sanity when things seemed to be going slower than some wanted.

And way to go Al and all the fieldhands. And  as Al says, no chicken littleing about every little move Obama makes.

Abrazos for you all!

So happy to see your post! I've missed you.

Yes, we did.

Lisa (NY)

Welcome back to your other home, Al. Thanks for EVERYTHING!!

thanks Lisa! and all of those who asked about me. too much on the plate you know? But I am back and the fight only begins now ah?

I wouldn't get too excited about his appointment yet. We haven't seen what he is going to do. I am waaay more than willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt at this point, but only if America's interests come first.

Read "Rahm Emanuel is no Reason for Hope or Celebration" by Rabbi Michael Lerner

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/06/rahm_emanuel_is_no_likud...

In Big Shift, Latino Vote Was Heavily for Obama

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/us/politics/07latino.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

In a year when turnout among many groups surged nationwide, the number of Latinos who went to the polls increased by nearly 25 percent over 2004, with sharp rises among naturalized immigrants and young, first-time voters, according to a study by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Hispanic support for the Democratic nominee increased by 14 points over all compared with 2004, the biggest shift toward the Democrats by any voter group.

The campaign also visited about 10 Christian colleges in swing states.....

The payoff was both generational and geographic. Mr. Obama doubled his support among young white evangelicals (those ages 18 to 29) compared with Mr. Kerry. The increase was almost the same for white evangelicals ages 30 to 44.....

Mr. Obama improved his standing by 10 points among white evangelicals in Colorado. The state is home to what many consider to be the capitol of evangelical America, Colorado Springs, where dozens of conservative megaministries like Focus on the Family have their headquarters and employ tens of thousands of people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/us/politics/07religion.html

Don't get too excited about passing a medical marijuana law.  In WA we've passed those laws twice and they're still not enforcible because of the Federal laws prohibiting the sale.  Tricky business.

Mark outlines many reasons why the measure passed, among them the abysmal organization of the anti forces whom he accuses of taking the voters for granted.  The essay ends on an upbeat note.

It's God's fault

The cruel success of Prop. 8? Not Newsom, not gays. Blame You Know Who

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/11/07/notes110708.DTL 

and want to freak out about someone like Summers getting sent back to Treasury.

I know Obama had Bonoir at his meeting today, but I wish he had sent a stronger signal by having union leaders present.

I'm really not willing to blindly trust Obama.  Or to naively believe someone like Rahm Emanuel isn't going to have undue influence on policy.

But that is why I read your blog, to stop myself from collpasing in panic.

And, I hope and believe grassroots organizing can act as a counterweight to the corporatists.

That last throw away line about appointments not making policy is not quite right. Obama is not going to be reviewing every single administrative decision and policy from all of the federal agencies. Thats why he has those people in the first place. Rahm wont be making policy but the person he selects for energy, epa, etc will be.

But this race did not

Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert has won re-election in Washington's 8th Congressional District, defeating two-time Democratic challenger Darcy Burner in a close race.

With almost 80 percent of the expected vote counted from Tuesday's election, Reichert's lead was nearing 8,000 votes Friday. Roughly 270,000 votes have been tallied.

It's not my district but the neighboring one and I did help out.  This, Prop 8 and Michelle Bachman winning are the only big ones for me so far that didn't go the way I wanted.  There's always more to do, eh?

I guess things look decent enough still for the MN and Alaska senate races.  Who knows what will happen in GA.  I've not done extensive research but what I hear doesn't give me warm fuzzies about the voting process there.

Nice to hear from you again, Latina!  You and Cheryl both moved in to lurker mode. : ))

There's a leap of faith here that Emanuel won't have an impact on policy. That'd be great, but every indication is that Emanuel will do everything he can to have an impact on policy within the White House and he will have success to that end. Ted Sorenson said that when he was COS, aides were afraid to contradict him in the presence of the President -- that's just chilling, thinking that Emanuel, who would brag about making eye contact with Clinton when other aides were talking -- will have similar pull.

It's hard to say by Obama's signals what he's going to do about Iraq but when you consider that Emanuel used his congressional election chairmanship to pad the house with pro-war freshmen, this is a clear signal of a longer engagement. Welfare reform, Nafta... Obama is a wonk who micromanages himself but Emanuel will be controlling the content and voices of foreign policy breifings. Bonior - responsible for Edwards' traction this year - would have made a great COS. If Obama wasn't afraid of the Democratic Leadership Council he could bring in his own team, but it is the DLC strategy that lost the congress in the 90s that Obama's appeal to change had reversed. Having someone so single-mindedly ideological and partisan, and specifically a partisan who appropriates Republican positions, is a good way to counteract one's own lofty campaign rhetoric of inclusion.

to manual.

amk

Someone told me several months ago that Rahm was the inspiration for the character of Ari Gold in Entourage played by Jeremy Pivens.  It  appears to be correct as I just saw a roast that Obama did of Rahm back in 2005 and he mentions it as well.

Here's a clip of some of Ari's best from Entourage.  Excellent and the X is for language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGTJSorTQvw

@ Catherine,

Rahm's brother is the inspiration for Entourage, not Rahm.

Hey Al,

Good to see you in Chicago Thursday.  Chris Hedges at My.BarackObama posted yesterday that the campaign intends to keep that site up for the forseeable future.  I wrote a long piece at Daily Kos about that news and some of the new policy proposals concerning the internet on the new administration's transition site change.gov.  It appears that this new administration is providing forums for us to advocate, at least for this crucial transition period.  Now it is up to us to use this opportunity to lobby the president and congress about our desires for reform.

Cool.

I'll always treasure your 'conversion' from chicken-little-dom to passionate advocate for the rational cause.

BondiBeachViews

amk - the video was changed to manual on Thursday. If your browser is still on auto-play you need to delete the cache and restart your browser.

Ian - I disagree with the premise that removing Emanuel from his very powerful position in the House of Representatives (as well as taking him out of play from the DCCC and the DLC) is somehow "bad for peace."

The suggestion that he would be able to work in a no-drama Obama White House the same way he did in drama-junky Clinton administration is dark fantasy at best.

Check out Jeffrey Goldberg's take in The Atlantic:

Peace-processors take heart: Rahm, precisely because he's a lover of Israel, will not have much patience with Israeli excuse-making, so when the next Prime Minister tells President Obama that as much as he'd love to, he can't dismantle the Neve Manyak settlement outpost, or whichever outpost needs dismantling, because of a) domestic politics; b) security concerns, or c) the Bible, Rahm will call out such nonsense, and it will be very hard for right-wing Israelis to come back and accuse him of being a self-hating Jew. This is not to say that he's unaware of Palestinian dysfunction, or Iranian extremism, but that he has a good grasp of some of Israel's foibles as well.

Again, anybody that thinks the chief of staff is going to be the tail wagging the dog didn't experience the same 2008 campaign that I did.

A colleague who follows these things closer than I (and has been saying "Emanuel in '16) sent this email:

Two things on the Obama horizon that I see.  His experience as an organizer, I think, drew him to the success of the Harlem Childrens Zone (see this speech).  This is Geoffrey Canada's new book on his experience in the HCZ - its pretty impressive work.  I wouldnt be surprised to see the Obama administration take up these kinds of comprehensive approaches to community, business and school reform.

Another good read.

Does Emanuel Appointment Signal Obama Pro-Israel Tilt?

kurt - that's interesting stuff.  And thanks for the link to Obama's speech - very interesting coming from 2007 - I really hope he can push through some of this progressive agenda - projects in 20 cities - that would be amazing.

KD