The First Draft: Tuesday, Nov. 18
Chief executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, along with the head of the United Autoworkers union, will testify to Congress today about the need for a bailout of their struggling companies.
“It’s going to be really neat to be able to explain and talk about the progress we’ve made,” Ford CEO Alan Mullaly said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” But Mullaly and his fellow auto-industry bigwigs could be in for a bumpy ride. Detroit’s clout on Capitol Hill has diminished in recent years as automakers have closed plants across the country and lobbied heavily against increases in fuel efficiency, the New York Times reports. Cushy union contracts and multimillion-dollar paychecks for executives probably won’t help win over public support, either. Testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee begins at 3 p.m. EST. Speaking of bailouts, what’s happening to that $700 billion earmarked for the financial services industry? Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. And it’s reckoning time for Connecticut Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman. The 2000 Democratic vice-presidential nominee could lose control of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee as payback for supporting Republican John McCain in the presidential race when Senate Democrats hold leadership elections. President-elect Barack Obama holds no public events today as he continues to assemble his administration from Chicago. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will name baseball slugger Ken Griffey Jr. as a “public diplomacy envoy” who will travel the world to help improve the U.S. image abroad. Junior’s been hobbled by injuries over the past decade, but he’s been untainted by the steroids scandal that has snared more productive stars like Barry Bonds. Stocks are expected to open lower on fears that the economic slump is worsening. The National Association of Realtors releases home-sale data at 10 a.m., and the Labor Department should provide a snapshot of inflation when it releases the Producer Price Index at 8:30 a.m. And if you want to see Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rub elbows with professional wrestler Bret Hart, head on over to the National Press Club’s book fair at 5:30 p.m.
McCain’s Veep? The clear favorite is … nobody
WASHINGTON — Speculation about who would make a good vice presidential running mate for Republican John McCain ranges all the way from party also-rans Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney to Democrat Bill Richardson. But a new Gallup survey shows the largest bloc of rank-and-file Republicans — 31 percent — are those who cannot name a candidate for the job.
The next biggest group, 21 percent, prefer the choice marked “other.”
Huckabee and Romney, who were both defeated by McCain in the Republican presidential primary race, led the pack of named choices with 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in the telephone survey conducted March 24-27.
Some 8 percent of 453 Republicans and Republican-leaning voters polled would like to see Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as vice president.
She was followed by the “no opinion” category which drew 5 percentage points.
Then came three other former Republican hopefuls: Fred Thompson with 4 percent; and Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani with 2 percent apiece.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who has appeared at campaign events with McCain, also got 2 percent.
You’ve got to be kidding me! Sarah Palin is the least qualified politician in the USA to be McCain’s running mate.
She’s a mother of 5 with a downed-syndrome baby and her husband races snowmobiles when not employed as a oil pipeline worker.
Who’s going to take care of her normal and challanged children while she is VP? What kind of experience both domestic and foreign does she have in fact. She’s only just now beginning to understand her newest job, being the Alaskan Governor.
And all Rush Limbaugh can say is: “We have the Babe!!” As usual he’s deep into “right field denial”.
What has happened to the Grand Old Party? This is not the party who elected great people to be President: Eisenhower and Ford etc.
Will Schmidt | 08.31.08 – 7:27 am | #
Is anyone watching Citibank? After having a fixed rate credit card for nearly 12 years at 7.99% FIXED, they are raising interest rates to 7.99% PLUS prime VARIABLE for those who have never had a late payment, been over the limit and with excellent credit rating. Did they not receive their portion of the bailout? It is time that we “little people” rise up against the bailout and the banks who change the contracts with their credit card holders without warning or reason. What did Citibank do with the money they received? We need to get answers.