It may come as a huge surprise for everyone that ex-President Bill Clinton thinks that ex-First Lady Hillary Clinton would be a "really great" secretary of state in the new administration.
His reaction comes amid unsourced reports that President-elect Barack Obama is considering his former Democratic primary rival for the post of chief U.S. diplomat. She's said she just wants to be the best possible New York senator, which is what you're supposed to say until accepting the next job.
She's been noncommittal herself about the State Department assignment, but added coyly that she wants to do everything to ensure the Obama administration is a success.
H. Clinton would bring instant overseas name recognition to the post and being in the cabinet would foreclose any public second-guessing from the peanut gallery on Capitol Hill.
With a Democrat in Albany as New York governor ready to appoint a Democrat replacement, a sudden Senate vacancy there would not threaten the party's newly-enlarged majority in Washington.
And having his wife as secretary of state wouldn't exactly hinder B. Clinton's access to officials and potential donors overseas either. Not that that would ever cross anyone's mind.
Obama came under some fairly strong intra-party criticism last....
Rahm Emanuel, the newly named White House chief of staff for President-elect Barack Obama, is known from Chicago's Loop to Washington's K Street as a mild-mannered, hilarious, exceptionally genial man for whom foul language is as rare as a Democratic victory in Cook County.
So it was shocking to come upon archival footage of a roast of Emanuel from three years ago to benefit research to cure epilepsy, which afflicts one of the children of David Axelrod, Obama's chief political strategist, who will also be entering the White House come Jan. 20.
There were a series of speakers that night, emceed by onetime Democrat strategist Paul Begala, another self-described laugh riot. And there on tape -- and presented here for loyal Ticket readers -- is another side to Obama who, if he didn't exactly write his own bitingly humorous remarks, at least delivered them expertly.
Now, for instance, we know where he learned about using that middle finger. So laugh along with the man who would be king before most of us realized that.
Amazing what can happen in just three years' time.
But since it's only Monday and we're already sick of Rahm Emanuel's prizefighter puss, The Ticket needs to write about something else right now. AndScarlett is our favorite stand-in.
She was, as you may recall, a fervent fan, outspoken supporter, surrogate speaker and a self-described intimate e-mail buddy of Barack Obama's during the campaign.
Until, that is, the married Democrat candidate purposely let it be known that she did not actually have his e-mail address, but had sent one message one time through an aide. (Got that, Michelle?)
So Scarlett is putting that political disappointment aside for the moment and appears to be trying to move on, as they say, attempting to rebuild her life.
She's on the cover of the new issue of Allure and in what passes for an in-depth interview she clearly is still feeling the pain as she can't bear to talk about politics.
She says she doesn't understand any feud with Lindsay Lohan, which many of us were unaware of in the first place and anyway Scarlett's only seen LL a few times.
Scarlett says her new sunrise tattoo makes her happy to look at, but it's so personal she can't discuss it, even though it's on her forearm for anyone to see. (No doubt, something about a new day dawning in Washington and change you can believe in.)
She can't discuss how she met husband Ryan Reynolds either; also too personal. And she doesn't believe she's a muse to Woody Allen, even though he says so. (To see photographic proof of her inspiration of the one-time comic and movie director, click on the "Read more" line below.)
--Andrew Malcolm
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Well, we know John McCain is unlikely to be named Barack Obama's White House chief of staff since Rahm Emanuel is already there, talking nice and cutting throats in true Chicago style.
But the meeting of the recent rivals in the Windy City did seem to go well today, at least in public. Which is what really matters in all this symbolic hoo-haa of a new administration's formation.
This meeting was briefly public, very public, with a trio of U.S. flags to prove it in Obama's downtown Chicago transition office. As opposed to the president-elect's more recent secretive meetings with Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson as he seeks under the guidance of John Podesta to rebuild the Clinton administration as part of all the promised Obama change to believe in.
Both former Obama rivals are rumored to be candidates for secretary of State. (We've not yet heard what post Madeline Albright could get.)
Asked during a photo op on the 38th floor of a downtown federal skyscraper in the city that invented skyscrapers if he was willing to help make the new Democrat administration a success, McCain replied, "Obviously."
Obama said the talk was more about a bid to "fix up the country" and thanking McCain for his long "outstanding service" to the nation, which could have been done on the telephone but no TV footage for the 24-hour news cycle out of that. (See video report on the meeting by clicking on the "Read more" line below.)
No aides on either side think the Arizona senator will join an Obama administration.
Even with the enlarged Democratic Senate majority and smiling Harry Reid attempting to herd them, Obama is gonna need some Republican help with his ambitious program there. And who better to work with than the ex-Republican presidential candidate untrusted and abandoned by so many of his own party's base?
As Karl Rove pointed out in his Wall Street Journal column last week, 4.1 million fewer Republicans bothered to vote for their party's presidential candidate Nov. 4 than in 2004, 2.7 million fewer veterans (even for a fellow vet) and 4.1 million fewer regular church-goers.
Even in Ohio, without which Republicans do not win the White House, Obama got 32,000 less votes than John Kerry did in 2004. But McCain did worse, getting 360,000 fewer Republican votes there than George W. Bush, thus losing the crucial state by a decisive 206,000 ballots.
Such internal numbers have quietly and quickly created a GOP cadre of believers that the Nov. 4 results were less an Obama win, despite his modest but cumulatively decisive gains in numerous voter sectors, and more a McCain loss among true GOP believers. They switched sides this time or, worse, stayed home, despite the initially explosively successful gesture toward conservatives of picking Sarah Palin as his VP.
Obama may seek McCain's help on such issues as global warming, where they differ marginally, and with an economic stimulus package, which many Republican legislators are resisting.
However, McCain's stumbling attempts at influencing fellow GOP congressional members during the first stimulus package flap would not augur well.
In a joint statement afterward the two men said: "We had a productive conversation today about the need to launch a new era of reform where we take on government waste and bitter partisanship in Washington.
"We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy and protecting our nation's security." (To view the video, click on the "Read more" line below.)
(UPDATE: Obama left his transition headquarters in Chicago's Loop at 5:46 p.m. and arrived at his Hyde Park home at 6:02. Sixteen minutes from downtown to Hyde Park at rush hour. It's good to be king.)
John McCainwill meet privately with Barack Obama at his transition headquarters in Chicago today.
Our forecast for the Windy City: icy on the inside.
Presidential elections are rarely friendly, but in this one, McCain seemed to harbor a particularly strong disdain for his rival.
Remember the first presidential debate, when McCain refused to look at Obama?
Or the second debate, when the Arizona senator raised some eyebrows for referring to his opponent as "that one?"
Even in his otherwise-eloquent concession speech, McCain was dismissive of Obama. He lauded Obama's win as a historical milestone, but said little of his character.
At today's session, the pair will be joined by their attack dogs -- err, aides -- Congressman Rahm Emanuel(Obama's newly anointed chief of staff) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (McCain's close friend and campaign surrogate).
Oh, to be a fly on the wall . . .
-- Kate Linthicum
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Photo credit: Barack Obama and John McCain at the Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University's Curb Event Center on Oct. 7. (Anthony Jacobs / Getty Images)
Maybe you remember him. Newt Gingrich, the ex-Georgia congressman who took advantage of some serious Bill Clinton first-term mistakes to lead the historic Republican Revolution of 1994, was always brimming with ideas, some of them interesting.
He still is.
Apparently to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his resignation as House speaker after helping lead his party into serious off-year election losses, Gingrich is still offering more advice to viewers of "Face the Nation" about future Republican leaders.
Last year without much public prompting Gingrich toyed with the idea of offering himself as a presidential candidate.
It kept him in the news for a couple of weeks. And now the party's stark leadership vacuum offers another opportunity for publicity, especially if you say the magic words: "Sarah Palin."
Sunday, after the Alaskan governor completed an intense week of media appearances despite her ticket's decisive defeat, Gingrich was trying to play her down some.
"I think that she will be a significant player," Gingrich says, "But she is going to be one of 20 or 30 signficant players. She's not going to be the party's de facto leader."
Gingrich's incomplete list of potential party leaders may be somewhat inflated. But it is interesting that the former House member agrees with many GOP backers that the desperately needed new leadership will come from the ranks of the 21 surviving Republican governors that have produced two of the last three GOP presidents.
Gingrich added: "She's going to be a much bigger story in the short run. But, I think, as she goes back to being governor and as she works in Alaska, you're going to see a group of governors emerge, not just Sarah Palin."
Among those other governors he has in mind are Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, who was also on the CBS program. He's the 37-year-old son of Indian immigrants, a former House member who was mentioned as a possible VP partner on this fall's ticket with John McCain; Also, Indiana's Gov. Mitch Daniels and Utah's Jon Huntsman.
We'll publish a copy of the program's complete transcript on the jump if you want to pursue this. Just click on the "Read more" line.
--Andrew Malcolm
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For years, people have been saying that radio is dead.
But yesterday, Barack Obama may have put another nail in the coffin when he posted his second weekly address to the nation on YouTube. The tradition of the weekly radio address (which dates back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt) has gone viral.
The president-elect plans to continue the practice once he is sworn in, his transition team says. In fact, it intends to create a White House YouTube channel.
It's no surprise, of course. Obama built much of his campaign on the Internet, and YouTube is a fast (and free) forum to speak to anyone online. As L.A. Times technology writer Jessica Guynn points out, it could become a powerful platform to generate support for his policies.
-- Kate Linthicum
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Political reporters all over the nation are experiencing election postpartum depression. If you're reading this blog, you might suffer from it, too.
It works like this: After months of mounting intrigue and 24/7 media coverage, voters go to the polls and declare a winner. And then, after that thrilling dénouement . . . comes a lull.
Suddenly, your Electoral College map is irrelevant. And your RSS feeds don't call no more.
But don't worry, there is still plenty of interesting political news being churned out, and we at the Ticket vow to supply you with a steady fix. Once a week, beginning today, we'll post a roundup of some of the most interesting stories from around the web.
A secret meeting between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton yesterday has set rumors swirling that the president-elect might tap his former rival to be his secretary of State.
The pair met Thursday afternoon at Obama's office in downtown Chicago, Times staff writers confirm. Neither politician has spoken publicly about the meeting, but unidentified aides have told media outlets like CNN that Obama offered Clinton the role.
E-mails sent to Clinton's aides and to Obama's transition team were not immediately returned Friday.
Although Clinton has said in the past that she would not be interested in a Cabinet position, she seemed to indicate that she is open to the possibility in an interview on Monday at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.
When asked what role she might play in an Obama administration, Clinton answered:
"I am happy being a senator from New York; I love this state and this city. I am looking at the long list of things I have to catch up on and do. But I want to be a good partner and I want to do everything I can to make sure his agenda is going to be successful."
Clinton campaigned hard for Obama in the months leading up to the election, putting to rest rumors that she was bitter after her loss in the Democratic primary. Even her husband, former President Bill Clinton, rallied voters for Obama eventually.
Since winning, Obama has surrounded himself with several former staffers from Clinton's Presidency. Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served as a top advisor in Clinton's White House.
Obama was rumored to also be considering Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska for Secretary of State.
-- Kate Linthicum
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Photo credit: Sen. Clinton greets Democratic supporters Barbara Douglass, left, of Long Beach and Lillian Verducci of Fortuna, Calif., at a fundraiser in downtown Los Angeles. Clinton swung through California to try to convince her supporters to support Obama (Mel Melcon / LA Times).
John McCain hit the campaign trail in Georgia on Thursday.
No, this is isn't Groundhog Day. McCain was stumping for somebody else.
He was in Cobb, Ga. to rally support for Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is locked in a tough runoff battle with Democrat Jim Martin.
Chambliss beat Martin 49.8% to 46.8% on election day, but since he didn't win 50% of the vote, a runoff is set for Dec. 2.
It was McCain’s first political appearance since he lost the presidential election to Barack Obama, and he was in good humor.
He told a crowd of about 1,500 Georgians that someone recently asked him how he's doing since his defeat.
“I told him I sleep like a baby,” McCain said. “I wake up every two hours and cry.” An ancient joke used by politicians after an election loss, most recently by McCain himself the other night on national TV with Jay Leno.
-- Kate Linthicum
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Here’s one about the Swift Boat that didn’t happen, related by Republican adman Larry McCarthy at a California Chamber of Commerce post-election gathering this week at Torrey Pines in La Jolla.
As the Democratic National Convention was beginning, a newly formed group, American Issues Project, launched an ad that sought to tie Barack Obamato his Chicago acquaintance, Weather Underground founder Bill Ayers.
Texas billionaire Harold Simmons, who helped pay for the devastating Swift Boat attacks on John Kerryin 2004, paid almost $3 million to air the spot in battleground states.
American Issues Project was intended to serve the function in 2008 that Swift Boat and a few other groups filled four years ago -- that is, to derail the Democratic nominee.
McCarthy, one of the Republicans’ most skillful ad producers, put the spot together, and was prepared to do many more.
As it turned out, however, American Issues Project raised about $7 million, a tenth of what was raised by independent groups in 2004 against Kerry and for President Bush.
"There simply wasn’t the donor base to support it," McCarthy said.
For months, William Ayers was one of the most talked-about men in America.
Ayers, who was a radical antiwar protester in the 1960s and who now teaches at the University of Illinois-Chicago, was ridiculed as a "washed-up terrorist" by Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
And McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists" because he worked with on civic boards with Ayers and attended a reception at Ayers' home when he was running forIllinois state legislature.
But while the controversy churned, the man at the center of it remained silent.
That changed on election day. As soon as the polls closed on Nov. 4, Ayers opened up. In an interview with the Washington Post, Ayers complained that the Republicans had turned him into "a cartoon character." He also called the media's handling of the affair "kind of shameful."
Today, Ayers talked to the media again, this time in an interview with ABC's “Good Morning America." In the interview, which you can watch below, Ayers said that his relationship with Obama was exaggerated and insisted that the two never talked about Ayers' antiwar activities.
He complained that the whole controversy was a “dishonest narrative” used by Republicans to “demonize” him. And he defended his actions during the Vietnam war.
“Let's remember that what you call a violent past that was at a time when thousands of people were being murdered by our government every month, and those of us who fought to end the war were actually on the right side. I never hurt or killed anyone."
(UPDATE: Ayers also made an appearance today on Democracy Now! In the interview Ayers tells host Amy Goodman that his radical past "was raised up in an attempt to replay the culture wars."
(He also recounts his experience at Obama's acceptance speech on election night. "It was an extraordinary feeling," he said. "I've been in a lot of large crowds in my life, but I've never been in one that didn't either have an edge of anger or a lot of drunkenness or kind of performance. This was all unity, all love.")
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Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000.
A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
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A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.