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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cirrus who wrote (150721)	10/31/2008 11:19:20 PM
From: Asymmetric	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361561

Bush Administration Alumni Find Job Climate Chilly By JOANN S. LUBLIN / WSJ / Nov 1, 2008 Many of the roughly 3,000 political appointees of President George W. Bush are beating the bushes harder than expected for post-election employment. The unusually tough job hunt reflects the depressed market for senior management talent, with some Bush administration officials bracing for lower-paying jobs than they anticipated, say recruiters. Compared with their Clinton administration counterparts eight years ago, Bush appointees face worse prospects because of the weak economy, said Paul Light, a presidential-transition scholar and New York University professor of public service. Administration officials who stay until the Jan. 20 inauguration "will be looking for work until the economy recovers," he predicted. A few cabinet officers have lined up good employment. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will resume her Stanford University roles as a political science professor and senior fellow at its Hoover Institution think tank. Ms. Rice also may take seats on nonprofit boards, write a book and make speeches, said Sean McCormack, her spokesman. Top businessmen like Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez will have little trouble returning to their discipline. Formerly chief executive of cereal maker Kellogg Co., Mr. Gutierrez hopes to run a company again, according to people familiar with the situation. "He will eventually return to the private sector," where he spent 30 years, said Ann Marie Hauser, a Commerce spokeswoman. But other senior Bush appointees "are finding it more difficult than they expected to make the transition into the corporate world," said Nels B. Olson, of search firm Korn/Ferry International. Eric Vautour, a Washington recruiter for 22 years at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc., estimated there are nearly 25% fewer corporate management spots available now, compared with the end of previous presidential administrations. Some officials "may take something a level or two lower" than preferred, he said. Mr. Vautour is helping a financial-services company to woo a sub-cabinet official for a staff executive vice presidency; the official had preferred a more powerful role. One high-level Bush appointee who has yet to launch his job search said colleagues are alarmed by the weak job market. "They are getting a lot less than they expected," he said. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, for example, has signaled possible interest in leading a business, one knowledgeable person says. But a mid-sized industrial business seeking a CEO recently declined to consider her because of her lack of corporate experience, as well as her close ties to the president, that person says. Ms. Spellings has been advising President Bush on education issues since he was governor of Texas. A spokeswoman says Ms. Spellings intends to remain in education. In 2001, Mr. Light said, officials departing the Clinton administration generally landed well. He cited Jacob "Jack" Lew, former head of the Office of Management and Budget, who is at Citigroup Inc.; Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who became president at University of Miami; and Strobe Talbott, deputy secretary of state, and now president of the Brookings Institution. Some Bush officials took senior business posts earlier this year. But not all lasted long. In July, Wachovia Corp. tapped Treasury Undersecretary Robert K. Steel as chief executive. But he has said he will have no "operating role" after Wells Fargo & Co. completes its acquisition of Wachovia. Daniel Kaniewski, a special assistant to President Bush for homeland security who quit in August, said he spurned feelers from defense contractors, lobbying firms and management consultancies, because "few offer the ability to return to a 'normal' life." Instead, he rejoined a George Washington University think tank. Other Bush appointees are encountering fewer well-compensated vacancies at think tanks, charities and trade associations, usually fertile ground for post-administration jobs. Many of these groups are now financially strapped, said Wendy S. Pangburn, a Washington partner for recruiters Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. Such groups increasingly demand previous nonprofit experience. "The full résumé is more important than it has been in previous transitions," she said.

To: cirrus who wrote (150721)	11/2/2008 4:52:37 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361561

Democrats See Path to 60 in Senate: Campaign Notebook (Update1) By Joe Sobczyk Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Democrats see a path to a 60-vote Senate majority that would make it harder for Republicans to thwart their agenda. Democrats say the conviction of Alaska's Ted Stevens on seven felony counts this week adds another solid Republican turnover opportunity to the list that already includes the open seats in New Mexico, Colorado and Virginia. In four other races with Republican incumbents, in Oregon, New Hampshire, Minnesota and North Carolina, the Democratic challenger has a lead in polls. The party's candidates also have shots at upsets in Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi. While Democrats claim the majority now with 51 seats, a net gain of nine won't make them filibuster-proof. One member of their majority is Democrat-turned-independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. He has angered party leaders by endorsing Republican presidential candidate John McCain and they are eager to oust him from his committee chairmanship. It's also no sure thing that even 60 Democratic senators will agree with their leaders on every issue. Moderate Democrats including Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Tom Carper of Delaware and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana may be wary of backing every initiative of the party's liberal wing. ``It is way too simplistic to say that if the Democrats get 60 seats, it's open season,'' said Anne Mathias, director of policy research at the Stanford Group Co. * * * McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, even as they are focusing on the final campaign push, are gearing up for the transition. Obama's transition planning is being led by former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Podesta. His team is preparing to have some top appointments ready to announce within a couple of weeks if he wins the election. Feelers have gone out to some people to gauge interest in administration jobs. Neither campaign will publicly discuss the transition; McCain has been criticizing Obama on the stump for ``measuring the drapes'' for the White House. Like Obama, McCain has a team to deal with the mechanics and work with the transition infrastructure set up by the Bush administration. McCain adviser and confidante Charlie Black said the candidate is keeping a tight lid on his own preferences for top appointments. McCain has said his Cabinet would include Democrats as well as Republicans. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, one of McCain's closest allies, said the Arizona senator is prepared to make ``a bold move'' on Nov. 5. ``We need to heal the nation,'' he said. ``there's a lot of bitterness out there.'' Two big questions: will the winner attend President George W. Bush's international summit on financial markets and the world economy being held Nov. 15 in Washington, and will he encourage a lame-duck session of Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill? * * * Crossover voters: Obama has a growing collection of endorsements attached to prominent Republican names. The biggest name on the list is former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Ken Duberstein, former chief of staff to Ronald Reagan, said Powell's decision to endorse Obama ``was the Good Housekeeping seal of approval on Barack Obama.'' He said he may vote for Obama. Among the other high-profile switchers are: Charles Fried, the solicitor general in the Reagan administration and a onetime McCain supporter; former Bush administration spokesman Scott McClellan; former Massachusetts Governor William Weld; former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson and Charles McC. Mathias, a former senator from Maryland. He has also snagged a couple of granddaughters of big-name Republicans in Susan Eisenhower and C.C. Goldwater. The ranks of prominent Democrats for McCain is quite a bit thinner. He has Connecticut Senator Lieberman, the independent who still caucuses with his former party, and onetime Hillary Clinton supporter Lynn Forester de Rothschild. * * * Obama noted the bit of history being made earlier this week when he went to the Shenandoah Valley town of Harrisonburg, Virginia. The last Democratic presidential candidate to hit town was another Illinois politician, Stephen Douglas, during the 1860 campaign. Douglas was running against fellow Illinoisan Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln never bothered with Harrisonburg; he wasn't on the ballot there because Virginia was a slave state. The visit didn't do Douglas much good: he got 9.7 percent of the vote in Virginia and came in third. * * * Republican Representative Dean Heller thought he had the perfect song to use in his Nevada re-election race against Democrat Jill Derby: the Broadway classic ``Big Spender.'' Instead, he found himself the target of a lawsuit. Notable Music Company Inc., which owns the copyrights to the song and its lyrics, sued Heller and his political advertising consultant in Reno's federal court. The suit says composer Cy Coleman never intended to allow his works to become politicized and that Heller's campaign went ahead and used the melody even after being denied permission. The race in the Republican-leaning district is a top target of House Democratic leaders. Derby's campaign was quick to jump on the opportunity. The situation ``raises serious questions about his judgment and ethics,'' said Kristen Cullen, a spokeswoman for Derby's campaign. * * * Pumpkin patch politics: Obama, 47, pulled his entourage off the road to browse pumpkins at a roadside stand while in Sarasota, Florida, this week. Obama hoisted one of the biggest pumpkins in the lot and perused another gnarled by bumps and other imperfections. In the end he chose a modest-sized pumpkin for $6. * * * McCain, 72, isn't ceding the support of the country's young people to Obama. He's covered more than 500 miles of Ohio in two days, hitting mostly smaller towns along the way. At several stops the crowds were filled with boisterous young people. Unfortunately for McCain, in several cases they were high school students, many of whom aren't old enough to vote. To contact the reporters on this story: Joe Sobczyk in Washington at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net Last Updated: November 1, 2008 09:56 EDT

To: cirrus who wrote (150721)	11/2/2008 11:49:37 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361561

Obama's Birth Certificate Verified By State wmtw.com 7:50 pm EDT November 1, 2008 HONOLULU -- The state's Department of Health director on Friday released a statement verifying the legitimacy of Sen. Barack Obama birth certificate. The state has received multiple requests for a copy of Obama's birth certificate. State law does not allow officials to release the birth certificate of a person to someone outside of the family. There were rumors that Obama was born in Kenya, where his father is from. The Constitution requires that the president be a natural born citizen of the U.S. While many sites and news organizations have released copies provided by the Obama campaign, the rumors have persisted. "There have been numerous requests for Sen. Barack Hussein Obama's official birth certificate. State law (Hawaii Revised Statutes 338-18) prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record," DOH Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said. Fukino said she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate. "Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawaii, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures," Fukino said. Fukino said that no state official, including Gov. Linda Lingle, ever instructed that Obama's certificate be handled differently from any other. Some Obama critics claim he was not born in the United States. Multiple lawsuits were filed to try and force Obama to provide proof of citizenship. Earlier Friday, a southwest Ohio magistrate rejected a challenge to Obama's U.S. citizenship. Judges in Seattle and Philadelphia recently dismissed similar suits. Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report.