RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events President Barack Obama

– U.S. President-elect Barack Obama failed to give a straight answer when asked on a U.S. talkshow on Sunday whether he had managed to quit smoking.

In a country where cigarettes are responsible for one in five deaths and smoking costs tens of billions of dollars in health care, Obama has been under pressure to set an example by giving up his reported two-decade-old habit.

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, interviewer Tom Brokaw told Obama he had ducked answering the question during an interview last month with ABC's Barbara Walters.

Noting that the White House was a no-smoking zone, Brokaw asked Obama, "Have you stopped smoking?"

"I have," Obama replied, smiling broadly. "What I said was that there are times where I have fallen off the wagon."

"Wait a minute," Brokaw interjected, "that means you haven't stopped."

"Fair enough," Obama said. "What I would say is that I have done a terrific job under the circumstances of making myself much healthier. You will not see any violations of these rules in the White House."

Obama was often observed on the presidential campaign trail chewing Nicorette gum, which helps ease the craving for nicotine. He has tried several times to quit.

The 47-year-old president-elect, who takes office on January 20, works out daily at the gym and sometimes plays basketball. His doctor said in May he was in excellent health, often jogged 3 miles a day and was fit to serve as U.S. president.

Website http://www.cigaraficionado.com says Gerald Ford, who served from 1974-77, was the last U.S. president to use tobacco on a regular basis. The White House no-smoking rule was imposed by former First Lady Hillary Clinton, now Obama's nominee for secretary of state.

Then what am I here for?

Sad thing is, Obama's smoking habit is about the most that the media has pressed (no pun intended) him on any issue.

His lungs are only half black.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been taken into federal custody at his home, the Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday citing unnamed sources.

The newspaper said on its website that the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago would not confirm the information.

Blagojevich was the subject of a federal corruption probe.

WASHINGTON -- Aretha Franklin will sing, the Rev. Rick Warren will pray and more than 11,000 U.S. troops will be watching over inauguration ceremonies in case of an attack during President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in on Jan. 20.

But not everyone is pleased with the president-elect's selection of Rev. Warren.

Joe Solomnese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, sent a blistering letter to the president-elect, accusing him of delivering a "genuine blow" to the gay community in choosing the reverend to give the formal invocation at next month's inauguration.

"[W]e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination," he wrote.

Andrew Sullivan wrote on the Atlantic Web site, "[It's] shrewd politics, but if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now."

Liberal groups criticized the inclusion of Warren, whose "Purpose Driven Life" books and lectures have made his church among the largest in the country. People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert said Warren's support for California Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, should have blocked his invitation.

"It's a huge mistake," said California gay rights activist Rick Jacobs, who chairs the state's Courage Campaign. "He's really the wrong person to lead the president into office."

Washington Blade editor, Kevin Naff, called the selection "Obama's first big mistake."

A popular figure among evangelicals, Warren remained publicly neutral during the presidential campaign. He invited both Obama and his Republican rival John McCain to his Saddleback Church in Orange County for a forum on faith and public service.

As many as 4 million visitors are expected to be on hand when Obama takes the noontime oath from Chief Justice John Roberts on the steps of the Capitol.

Some 4,000 local police, 4,000 police from around the country and security agents from other government agencies will be on hand, taking direction from the Secret Service. About 7,500 active duty military and 4,000 National Guard troops also will participate. That includes a contingent on alert to respond to a chemical attack.

A "big chunk" of active and guard units will perform ceremonial work involving parades, reviews and honor guards, the U.S. commander in charge of domestic defense said Wednesday.

Planners are working under the assumption a terrorist or rogue element might try to interrupt the event, said Gen. Gene Renuart, head of the U.S. Northern Command. "So it's prudent for us to plan for the possibility of that kind of event, and to be prepared either to deter it or to respond to it," he said in a session with defense writers.

Also Wednesday, officials announced the list of participants for the inauguration.

The program is to feature poet Elizabeth Alexander; the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a veteran civil rights leader; the U.S. Marine and Navy bands; and the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

"So it's prudent for us to plan for the possibility of that kind of event, and to be prepared either to deter it or to respond to it," he said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, said the day would be "an event of historic proportion."

"It is appropriate that the program will include some of the world's most gifted artists from a wide range of backgrounds and genres," she said.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill will perform a new work composed by John Williams, who also provided music for Obama's election night rally in Chicago's Grant Park. The committee did not release a title for the work by Williams, who is best known for his film scores such as "Star Wars" and "Jaws."

Vice President-elect Joe Biden will take his oath from Justice John Paul Stevens.

Others on the schedule were a nod to Obama's election as the country's first black president.

Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King, Jr., was scheduled to offer the event's benediction.

Franklin, a living legend with 21 Grammies, performed for President Bill Clinton in 1993, but this would be her first Inauguration. During a Labor Day weekend rally in Detroit, Obama sang a bit of Franklin's "Chain of Fools" to her.

Alexander, a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist and Yale University professor, centers her poems and essays on race relations and social movements.

She is only the fourth poet to have a speaking role at a presidential Inauguration. Robert Frost, who was 86 at the time, wrote a poem for Kennedy's inaugural in 1961 but couldn't make out the words of the poem in the sun's glare. Instead, he recited an earlier work. Clinton chose Maya Angelou to write a poem for his first inaugural in 1993, and Miller Williams read "Of History and Hope" at his second inaugural.

Changes.


For you guys!

Obama Dazzles Dems and GOP with Cabinet Picks

How DARE Gregg reject the hive mind

There. Fixed it for you.

...I can't think ...

It's valid to ask how Sen. Judd Gregg dropping out is in anyway Obama's fault.

It's valid to ask...

Of course, the article MEM is "responding" to didn't allege it was Obama's fault as much as it was the fault of his chief of staff.

But, for the sake of argument, it should be noted that part of the "vetting" process is giving a potential job candidate a full and fair picture of the duties of the position and what the President/employer expects. It seems as if that didn't happen here, resulting in Gregg deciding to turn the job down as it became clear the President and he didn't see eye to eye on the issues facing the department and/or the the positions to be taken by it.

Why am I mot surprised that you're trying to obscure the overriding issue by focusing on a single republican in the mix?

However, again for the sake of argument, let's say that the Gregg problem was neither Obama's fault nor his chief of staff's. That still leaves the problems with Richardson, Geitner, Daschale, etc. Who's at fault for those vetting problems?

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has withdrawn his name from consideration for surgeon general, the network and the White House announced Thursday afternoon.

The announcement comes after FOXNews.com reported that Gupta had misgivings about the offer from President Obama and was expected to refuse the position.

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said on air Thursday afternoon that Gupta decided that he wants to continue with his medical career and his job at the news network.

"He is a practicing neurosurgeon. He also wants to spend more time with his family -- his wife is expecting another child right now and, of course, he does want to continue as our chief medical correspondent here at CNN," Blitzer said.

The head of the group that represents the surgeon general's health team earlier told FOXNews.com that Gupta was known to have withdrawn his name.

Jerry Farrell, who heads the Commissioned Officers Association, said hopeful candidates have been calling his organization's office since last week expressing their interest in the post after word got out that "the bidding process was open again."

Farrell's group represents the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, which the surgeon general oversees.

Farrell said he's been told Gupta had misgivings about both the pay-cut he would have to take and the fact that he might be reporting to two high-level bosses.

Gupta's name surfaced after Obama had tapped former Sen. Tom Daschle to be health secretary and the head of the new White House Office of Health Reform. Farrell said Gupta was apparently offered a dual position in the White House health reform office as well -- and would have been serving under Daschle in both cases.

But after Daschle withdrew his name because of tax problems, Obama subsequently nominated separate candidates for health secretary and health reform office director -- meaning Gupta could have had two different bosses with different sets of priorities.

"The parameters of the job were no longer clear and perhaps not as appealing," Farrell said. "I just think the ground shifted underneath Dr. Gupta."

Then there was the pay cut.

As surgeon general, Gupta would make about $153,000, according to public information on federal salaries. It's unclear what Gupta's contracts are currently worth, but the surgeon general salary would be considerably less.

Gupta has established a lucrative brand in the niche field of health media -- he hosts "House Call" on CNN, and contributes to CBS News and Time magazine. He is also on the staff at Emory University's School of Medicine in Atlanta and is associate chief of neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital.

"It would be an enormous pay cut," said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

Though Gupta is a high-profile TV personality and was expected to elevate the Office of the Surgeon General much as C. Everett Koop did under President Reagan, some had concerns about his credentials.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich, urged colleagues to oppose the nomination because Gupta lacks the "requisite experience" for the job. But the surgeon general comes for confirmation before the Senate, not the House, and Farrell said Conyers' objections probably did not have much bearing on the process.

WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's top pick to be his deputy withdrew from consideration Thursday, a setback for the agency as it confronts the worst financial crisis in decades.

Annette Nazareth, a former senior staffer and commissioner with the Securities and Exchange Commission, withdrew after several interviews and vetting of her financial history, a person familiar with Nazareth's decision said.

But this person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Geithner never publicly named Nazareth as his choice, said no problems with her taxes or other issues arose.

Nazareth, a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, could not be reached for comment. Treasury and White House officials would not comment on the matter.

Nazareth's withdrawal from consideration comes as critics say Geithner's lacks the senior staff he needs to make critical decisions about the financial crisis. Not one of his top 17 deputies has been named, let alone confirmed.

Without senior leadership, lower-level Treasury employees can't make decisions or represent the government in crucial conversations with banks and others.

At a Senate hearing Thursday about failed insurance giant American International Group Inc. -- which has received four separate bailouts totaling more than $170 billion -- Sen. Chris Dodd said he had asked Treasury for someone to appear, but that no one was available.

"I am not pleased that we don't have someone here from Treasury to explain what their role in this is," Dodd said.

H. Rodgin Cohen, chairman of the New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, has withdrawn his name from consideration for deputy Treasury secretary, becoming the fourth pick for a prominent Treasury Department post to pull out in recent weeks.

A prominent attorney who has advised many of the top Wall Street firms, Cohen dropped out after the White House found an issue during his vetting process, two sources familiar with the matter said. The sources declined to identify the reason. Cohen did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Though the Treasury is filling its lower-level positions, the thin ranks on the senior levels are taking a toll on the department's ability to deal with a financial crisis that continues to deepen in scope and complexity, government and industry officials say.

Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary for the British government, was quoted this week in British news reports saying it has been "unbelievably difficult" to talk to people at the U.S. Treasury: "There is nobody there."

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Wednesday during a briefing with reporters that he was "a little surprised" when told of the comments. He added that he has been working closely with British officials and had not heard of any communication problems.

Treasury officials say the staffing shortage has not hindered their ability to address the financial crisis. In just over a month, the department has announced a "stress test" to capitalize banks in case the economy worsens, a plan to aid homeowners and an initiative to restart the consumer lending markets. Treasury officials also played a key role on the federal budget announced last month and are working on a plan to tackle the toxic assets clogging the books of banks as well as a plan to overhaul financial regulation.

Others who removed themselves from consideration in recent weeks include Annette Nazareth, an attorney who was being considered for the deputy post; Lee Sachs, a former Treasury official in the Clinton administration, who was expected to be the under secretary for domestic finance; and International Monetary Fund official Caroline Atkinson, who was in line for under secretary for international affairs.

Usama bin Laden threatened Americans in a new audio tape Wednesday, saying President Barack Obama inflamed hatred toward the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in Swat Valley and block Islamic law there.

Bin Laden claimed U.S. pressure led to a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" that prompted the exodus of a million Muslims from Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan.

The message was broadcast for the first time on pan-Arab Al-Jazeera Television around the same time Obama touched down in Saudi Arabia at the start of a Mideast visit. He is trying repair relations with the Muslim world frayed under the previous Bush administration.

"Elderly people, children and women fled their homes and lived in tents as refugees after they have lived in dignity in their homes," bin Laden said. "Let the American people be ready to reap what the White House leaders have sown," he added.

"Obama and his administration have sown new seeds to increase hatred and revenge on America," bin Laden said. "The number of these seeds is equal to the number of displaced people from Swat Valley."

Click here for the latest stories and videos on Usama bin Laden from FOX News.

Pakistan's military offensive to expel the Taliban from Swat Valley was launched in late April after the militants abandoned a peace deal with the government that gave them control of the region.

The offensive, strongly backed by Washington, is seen as a test of Pakistan's resolve against militants in the northwestern border region near Afghanistan. Pakistanis tired of militant attacks in the country that have killed hundreds of civilians have also supported the campaign. But the fighting has uprooted some 3 million people.

Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard C. Holbrooke will visit Pakistan from June 3 to June 5, and will be leading the delegation of U.S. officials from the U.S. Department of State, USAID, and Department of Defense.

He is traveling at the request of Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to assess the welfare of the people displaced by the security operations being carried out by Pakistani authorities against insurgent extremists.

House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor said the recording is a reminder of the dangers U.S. troops face.

"Obvioulsy that underscores the threat that continues to fester out there against our troops that are in the region," he said. "And frankly the threats that our allies face every day. Again we want to support the effort of this administration to secure our troops."

Bin Laden focused entirely on Pakistan, claiming President Asif Ali Zardari was paid by the White House to start the crackdown.

Al-Jazeera aired excerpts of the tape and did not say how it was obtained.

FBI officials say that — while the tape may appear real — investigators are reviewing the recording for authenticity and any other information that may help them.

While there has never been a fake Usama bin Laden tape, officials will still be checking it for authenticiy. The timing of this tape is not a coincidence given the timing of the president's Mideast trip.

Bin Laden, whose last message was released in mid-March, has been sparing in his criticism of Obama in the past. In January, he said only that the U.S. president had received a "heavy inheritance" from his predecessor.

However, his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri has repeatedly condemned Obama, even using racial slurs.

Bin Laden's message followed just hours after al-Zawahri criticized Obama's upcoming speech on Thursday to the Islamic world in Cairo, saying it will not change the "bloody messages" the U.S. military is sending Muslims in American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.