Risbyn wrote:btw Palin destroyed McCain's campaign imo.
And Katie Couric assassinated Sara Palin's career with simple questions^^
Risbyn wrote:btw Palin destroyed McCain's campaign imo.
I hate this linkshell with a fiery passion.
At a Washington, D.C., news conference that's now underway, Obama-Biden transition team co-chairman John Podesta just announced that ethics rules have been put in place that bar federal lobbyists from contributing to the effort or raising money on its behalf. Also, anyone who has lobbied the federal government in the past 12 months is barred from "working on the fields of policy" for the transition team, Podesta said. And, anyone who works on the transition is barred from lobbying the federal government for 12 months after Inauguration Day.
Podesta also said the transition effort has a budget of $12 million and is expected to employ up to 450 people. He said "review teams" will be announced by the end of this week and by next Monday will be at work in federal agencies. Their missions will be to gather data for President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and the people they select for their Cabinet about what changes they might want to focus on as they take over the federal government.
We'll have more from the briefing later.
Update at 2:40 p.m. ET. Diversity -- political and otherwise:
Podesta said the first criteria for filling positions in Obama's government will be "excellence." But he's confident, Podesta added, that the incoming administration will also be diverse -- ethnically, racially and by gender.
Also, Podesta said, Obama is committed to more than just "token" representation of Republicans and independents in his cabinet and government. "He wants to see not just Democrats in office ... but that we reach out to Republicans and independents ... the commitment is to deepen that and to look beyond the cabinet."