Secretary of State - I'm all for Hillary Clinton for this post. Main reason is that she would be very good at it. There may be a bit of conflict but I'm sure No Drama Obama can handle it. Politically, her appointment would increase his support among women. Economically, Obama should ask Doris Kearns Goodwin for a share of the royalties from increased book sales.

Treasury Secretary - Larry Summers has been the front runner but many are worried that the Harvard thing will be a big problem. I'm inclined to believe that this problem will fade away, leaving us with the complaint that Summers is too abraive. I think that Obama can convince him to tone down. And, whenever he wants abrasive, Summers can visit Raul Emanuel in the White house.

The Puppy - A major White House decision. Once selected, there will be a question of name. If
it's a girl puppy, I would name it Hillary. Then, there's a chance that a Hillary will do as Obama says. If a boy puppy, I would expect it to grow into an attack dog and name it Raul.

homer   www.altara.blogspot.com

Cross posted at www.21stdems.org/blog

This month we won a historic electoral victory. But our work didn't end on election day - it only started.

As President-elect Obama said on election night:

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were."

The time to make real, lasting change is upon us.

Now we must repair the damage inflicted by eight years of Republican misrule, and put our country back on track. As progressives, we must fight to ensure that the Democrats in control of our government respect the voters and enact policies that put the American people first.

It's hard to overstate the transformative moment that we're in as a nation and, particularly, as progressives. In just a few years, we've gone from the high point of conservative power to a stunning rejection of conservative federal leadership and the historic election of a progressive African-American president.

But the electoral sea change is just part of the extraordinary national moment. The financial meltdown and slide toward deep recession have crystallized Americans' anger over deteriorating economic security, stagnant mobility, growing inequality, and policies of isolation instead of connection. Americans are ready for a new social compact and a transformed relationship between the people and our government. They are calling for a new era of big ideas and different values than we've seen over most of the past three decades.

The electorate has shown an unprecedented willingness to overcome racial and ethnic barriers to take on daunting shared challenges. Young people, people of color, and low-income people turned out to register and vote in unprecedented numbers that bode well for a far more participatory and egalitarian democracy going forward.

Even before this year's remarkable events, opinion research showed a historic, progressive shift in Americans' views on issues that (not coincidentally) were barely mentioned in the election. Perhaps most striking is the shift on criminal justice and problems of addiction, where the U.S. public has moved broadly to support rehabilitation and treatment over incarceration and retribution, as well as assistance and integration for people emerging from prison.

But an unprecedented opportunity for progressive values and ideas is not the same as victory for a progressive social and policy vision. The stark challenges of rising inequality, faltering security, and broken systems of health care, immigration, and criminal justice are the same on November 5 as they were on November 4. What's changed is only the chance for transformative change.

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to a new installment of Manufacturing Monday.  Now I would like to do something a tad different this week. You see today we get two important economic indicators released. So, instead of waiting a whole week for me to reprise them here, I would go ahead and write about then today!  I will still go over last week's indicators, but figured you deserve to get something more up to date as well.  The numbers get released around 9:30 Eastern, so they will be covered first, then last week's stuff.

Beyond the Numbers section, this week we'll be covering Green Manufacturing again.  We haven't touched this in a while, what with all the GM related business.  Yet there have been some very interesting developments in the green collar world.  So before you, for your pleasure, is some stuff that may or may not put a smile on your face.  Either way, it looks as if, thankfully, we are turning a new leaf (sorry, couldn't help it) on manufacturing!

General Motors has come to Washington, begging for a $25 billion bailout to keep it and its ailing Detroit counterparts going next year. But nobody seems too thrilled about the prospect. Liberals dwell on the companies' gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles. Conservatives obsess over all the well-paid union members with gold-plated benefits. And people of all ideological backgrounds remember how they used to buy domestic cars, years ago, but stopped because the cars were so damn lousy. "The downfall of the American auto industry is indeed a tragedy," the Washington Post editorial board sermonized recently, "but the automakers and the United Auto Workers have only themselves to blame for much of it."

According to Kennedy's aides, the Senator from Massachusetts will be back at his second home in Washington this afternoon in "a sign that his treatments have been progressing well." It's also a positive sign that Senator Kennedy intends to keep the promise he made to the country in Denver two months ago.

His spokesperson, Melissa Wagoner, announced that "His doctors are very pleased with his progress..." We are very pleased as well. Barack Obama has his work cut out for him cleaning up after Bush, but his load just got a little lighter with this news.

Senator Kennedy's treatments will continue in DC. This will be the first time he's been in the Senate since July, when he cast a tiebreaking vote on Medicare legislation.

Youtube video courtesy of TPM:

Video from Boston.com:

Click here for the Huffington Post video of his return.

His historic promise in Denver follows.

From today's Beyond Chron.

I didn't join the street protests against Proposition 8 right after it passed.  My gut reaction was: "where were all these people when we had the chance to defeat it?"  But "No on 8" ran a terrible campaign that would not have effectively used more volunteers, and it's possible that many had tried to get involved.  Now the state Supreme Court will decide what to do about Prop 8, and City Attorney Dennis Herrera has put on a strong case to have it overruled.  But that doesn't mean the Court will do the right thing; even the best legal arguments can lose.  A mass movement of peaceful protest is crucial at building the political momentum to attain marriage equality - which can convince the Court it's okay to overturn the "will of the voters."  Social movements rely too much on lawyers and politicians to make progress - without effectively using the masses of people who want to help.  Now people are angry, and this weekend we saw mass protests across the country.  It's now time for everyday people to get involved.

Democrat Jim Martin continues to break out the big bats as he seeks to unseat Republican U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss in the December 2nd run-off election.

Monday morning, prominent Democratic strategist Donna Brazille penned an email to supporters of Jim Martin letting them know that she's coming to Georgia.

"I'm on my way to Georgia, and I wanted to send you a quick message," the email reads.  "When I heard Jim Martin was in a runoff, I cleared my calendar because I knew I needed to do whatever I could to ensure a big win for Jim in the 15 short days we have until the election."

Brazille asked supporters of the Georgia Democratic U.S. Senate candidate to "dig deep for Jim Martin and make an immediate contribution of $35, $75, or $150 today."

"I wouldn't be on my way to Georgia to help Jim if I didn't know that we can win this race, Brazille wrote.  "Georgians are ready for change, and they're ready for a U.S. Senator who will work with President-elect Obama - not someone who is dead-set on blocking his ambitious agenda."

Brazille is a member of the Democratic National Committee and made history in 2000 as the first African-American to manage a major presidential campaign when she served as Al Gore's campaign manager.  Brazille is frequently seen on CNN and the ABC News Sunday morning public affairs program "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."