Barack and Michelle Obama’s "first dance" at the Neighborhood Ball on Inauguration Day – January 20th, 2009. Aired exclusively on ABC TV.

President-Elect Barack Obama is expected to announce his picks for head of the Department of Energy and US Environmental Protection Agency as well as a Climate Czar.

Obama’s transition team said in a statement Sunday that he would hold a press conference "to discuss the nation’s energy and environmental future."

News reports said the president-elect was likely to announce that Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu has been chosen to take the helm of the Department of Energy.

Lisa Jackson, 46, chief of staff for the governor of the northeastern state of New Jersey and the state’s former top environmental official, is expected to be named to head the US Environmental Protection Agency, news reports said.

Obama was also expected to announce that Carol Browner, who served as EPA administrator under president Bill Clinton and who leads the Obama transition team’s working group on energy and environmental issues, will become the White House "climate czar," a post could include some of the responsibilities previously under EPA.

In this edition of President-Elect Obama’s Weekly Address, Obama names New York City’s Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development, Shaun Donovan, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development:

(transcript below)

Change.gov has added a feature to their site in which users can submit questions to the transition team and vote for, or against, other submitted questions. The transition team will respond to the questions that receive the most votes.

Some of the top questions so far:

• "Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?"
• "What will you do as President to restore the Constitutional protections that have been subverted by the Bush Administration and how will you ensure that our system of checks and balances is renewed?"
• "What will you do to establish transparency and safeguards against waste with the rest of the Wall Street bailout money?"
• "Will you lift the ban on Stem Cell research in your first 100 days in office?"
• "What will you do to promote science and mathematics education to Elementary and Middle School students?"
• "Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor – ideally Patrick Fitzgerald – to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"
• "What will you do to end the use of mercenary forces (ie Blackwater) by our military?"

Read the rest of this entry →

President-Elect Barack Obama’s weekly YouTube address for November 22nd, 2008.

President-elect Barack Obama announces he has directed his economic team to assemble an Economic Recovery Plan that will save or create 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011.

President-Elect Barack Obama’s thank you letter to the people of Illinois:

Today, I am ending one journey to begin another. After serving the people of Illinois in the United States Senate — one of the highest honors and privileges of my life — I am stepping down as senator to prepare for the responsibilities I will assume as our nation’s next president. But I will never forget, and will forever be grateful, to the men and women of this great state who made my life in public service possible.

More than two decades ago, I arrived in Illinois as a young man eager to do my part in building a better America. On the South Side of Chicago, I worked with families who had lost jobs and lost hope when the local steel plant closed. It wasn’t easy, but we slowly rebuilt those neighborhoods one block at a time, and in the process I received the best education I ever had. It’s an education that led me to organize a voter registration project in Chicago, stand up for the rights of Illinois families as an attorney and eventually run for the Illinois state Senate. Read the rest of this entry →

I had heard from a friend that searching on Amazon.com for "terrorist costume" would yield but one costume — a Barack Obama mask.

Figuring it was a joke, I had to try it for myself. After entering "terrorist costume" in to the "Apparel & Accessories" search box at Amazon, however, the search results were less than funny. Sure enough, there was but one result, a Barack Obama mask selling for $49.95.

One commenter on the mask’s product page notes:

OMG when submitting this review, here are the Amazon Tag Suggestions they provided for me: "Tag Suggestions (click to add): obama, barack, liar, socialist, costume, dignity, terrorist, creep, marxist"

Stay classy amazon.com. I hope you have a lousy holiday season.

UPDATE: Since this story has been making a buzz on teh internets, Amazon.com has fixed the "terrorist" listing. I wonder if they will issue an apology?

On Meet The Press, Former Sec. of State Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama as President of the United States, citing Obama’s "ability to inspire" and the "inclusive nature of his campaign."

"He has both style and substance. I think he is a transformational figure," Powell said on NBC’s "Meet the Press."

"Obama displayed a steadiness. Showed intellectual vigor. He has a definitive way of doing business that will do us well," Powell said.

Powell also slammed the McCain campaign for their negative attacks on Obama and does not believe Sarah Palin is ready to be President.

Powell still wants to be friends with McSame — you know, just in case.
Read the rest of this entry →