Saturday, Nov 23rd
Last update08:57:41 AM GMT
Political Glance
Details about more than three dozen secret memoranda written by Bush Administration officials now sit atop a chart created by a public interest reporting group. The memos track new details about dozens of secret Bush Administration legal positions on torture, detention and warrantless wiretapping.
The chart lists 40 memos that remain secret, along with identifying the 12 that have been made public.
President-elect Barack Obama appointed a defense contractor's lobbyist Thursday to become the No. 2 official at the Defense Department, a choice that appeared to break with his self-imposed rules to keep lobbyists at arm's length.
William J. Lynn III, Obama's choice for deputy defense secretary, is a former Pentagon official who now is senior vice president for government operations at Raytheon Co. Lynn hasn't been a registered lobbyist since July, meaning he can't personally lobby Congress or the White House.
In the first three months of 2008, his lobbying team reported spending $1.15 million to influence issues including missiles, sensors and radar, advanced technology programs and intelligence funding.
TVNL Comment: Well that didn't take long. Welcome back to reality.
It's the sight many Americans had long been waiting for.
Boarding a helicopter yesterday, George Bush and his wife Laura waved goodbye to a small crowd, a simple gesture closing a controversial eight years in office.
Mr Bush had been greeted with some boos from the two-million strong crowd at the inauguration of new U.S. President Barack Obama - a strong indication of the bitterness with which some, though not all, Americans view the former leader of the free world.
For once-powerful Republicans, there were two ways to get through today's inauguration -- and neither was entirely without pain.
Some, like former White House aide Suhail Khan, opted to stay in town and witness first-hand the historic transition, even though it meant hearing rebukes from the incoming president and sometimes worse from the inaugural crowd.
"The one sorry note were the boos for President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Justice Roberts," said Khan, who was among a group of former Bush aides standing just a short distance from Obama as he was sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
"And singing the goodbye song," Khan said. "That was uncalled for."
A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.
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