Obama nominates Tom Daschle for Secretary of HHS in Chicago
••
Obama pegs Daschle for Sec of Health and Human Services
President-elect Barack Obama today reasserted his pledge to overhaul the nation's healthcare system when he takes office, signaling that despite the economic downturn he would attempt a major reworking of the sector that has eluded presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"The time is now to solve this problem," Obama said at a Chicago press conference, where he formally announced that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle would head his healthcare team.
"It's not something that we can sort of put off because we're in an emergency," Obama said. "This is part of the emergency."
Obama said Daschle would be his nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services. News of the nomination leaked late last month. But Obama said today that he also plans for Daschle to head a new White House Office of Health Reform.
Obama provided few details about what his healthcare reform proposal would include. And he declined to outline how his administration would pay for an overhaul that some estimate could cost more than $100 billion a year.
But the president-elect's words today, coupled with his selection of Daschle, were seen by some interest groups as an indication that Obama would not back away from his campaign promises to expand insurance coverage, hold down skyrocketing costs and improve the quality of care. continue
Transcript
••
Very Grim Unemployment Numbers
I don't care how you write it or how you say it, the unemployment numbers are bad and should worry everyone with a job. Seriously, it should.
New claims for jobless benefits surged last week and came in worse than expectations that were already gloomy — and economists say the figures would get even worse without an auto industry bailout.
Initial applications for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was nearly 50,000 more than economists were expecting and up from a revised 515,000 the week before.
The last time so many Americans filed new jobless claims in a single week was in 1982, although the labor force has grown by about half since then.
Adding more damage to the already ravaged labor market, Bank of America said it expected to cut as many as 35,000 jobs over the next three years, including some from investment bank Merrill Lynch, which it agreed to buy in September.
More layoffs, Bank of America, laying off 35,000 over the next three years. Just as George W. Bush have tainted or corrupted much in this country, he has not done JACK in controlling this economy. Another check mark on his list for failure.
Trading in this country is in a seven-month low.
The export slump, caused by recessions spreading through U.S. trading partners, spurred a widening in the trade deficit to $57.2 billion in October, a Commerce Department report showed in Washington today. Initial jobless claims rose more than forecast to 573,000 in the week ended Dec. 6, the Labor Department said.
Rising joblessness will deepen the pull-back in spending by consumers, and the worsening trade balance removes what had been a source of support for an economy that’s been in a recession for a year. The Bush administration said the Labor report shows why U.S. senators should approve an emergency loan for automakers, to prevent a bigger hit to jobs from that industry’s collapse.
“We’ve yet to see the deepest monthly loss of jobs for the current recession, and that’s somewhat frightening,” John Lonski, chief economist at Moody’s Capital Markets Group in New York, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Payrolls may fall a combined 1.1 million in December and January, on top of the 533,000 drop in November, he said.
••
Blago-Gate Continues
There is no doubt the man or IL Governor Blagojevich is clinging onto any power that he can. The pressure is on for him to not only leave office but to runaway as fast as he can. But, anyone who has read the Criminal Complaint, you now have come to terms that this man is delusional and I am being kind.
Illinois need to clean this up and quick. This is an albatross on this state's back and it is quite shameful. But I will go further, this scandal is constantly trying to pull Barack Obama into it, though the US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has said, Obama has nothing to do with this. Man, talk about guilty by association.
All the vultures are out for Obama's Senate Seat, but whoever gets it, must HOLD IT. The Democrats do not want a special election, though the cost is high, the real reason is they are afraid that a Republican will win in this toxic environment. They are right.
Lastly, as I thought, Obama's Team is going over every contact with Blagojevich with a fine tune comb. For anyone to think or believe that Obama's Transition Team did not have any contact with the Governor's Office, think again. There was a liason, there was some kind of communication, just like Obama's Transition Team more than likely have contact with Mayor Daley's Office. There is nothing wrong with this, but just put all the swirling allegations to bed, as Obama indicated he would do today, until then the press will continue to fly around like vultures.
••
and..........
IL First Lady Patti Blagojevich is not your sweet First Lady as Laura Bush
Presidential Inauguration Website
Auto Bailout Stalls in the Senate
Obama confident staff not involved in senate seat deal
Michelle Obama favorability is on the rise
Chasing Michelle Obama's Wardrobe
Obama already picked his tuxedo
And Want a Good Laugh, Listen to the Diatribe of Cenk Uygur on Blago
Home Page
Share
