2004 Presidential Transition
President Bush has nominated EPA Director Mike Leavitt to head up Health and Human Services, according to the Denver Post [December 14, 2004, "Bush has chance to restore EPA mission"]. From the editorial, "Mike Leavitt's move from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Health and Human Services is a sensible promotion for a solid public official, and it gives President Bush an opportunity to show his environmental colors. Much greener would be much better."
Colorado's nine electoral votes were cast for President Bush on Monday, according to the Denver Post [December 14, 2004, "No surprise: State's votes go to Bush"]. From the article, "Colorado cast its nine electoral votes for President Bush on Monday after an election season that saw a failed campaign to split those votes proportionally among the candidates. In November, Coloradans defeated Amendment 36, which would have done away with the state's winner-take-all system and awarded the nine votes as a ratio based on the popular vote. Had it passed, Bush probably would have received five votes and Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry would have received four."
Taegan Goddard: "'Ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist indicated he has no immediate plans to leave the Supreme Court,' the Wall Street Journal reports. 'The announcement appears to counter widespread speculation that the chief justice has a very aggressive form of thyroid cancer and might not return to the bench at all.'"
Josh Marshall: "Two names now getting a lot of play for the Secretary of DHS (ed. Department of Homeland Security) are Fran Townsend, White House homeland security adviser and Joe Allbaugh, Bush right-hand-man and former Director of FEMA."
Wired: "NASA's top administrator Sean O'Keefe, who in the past three years has presided over some of the U.S. space agency's greatest failures and accomplishments, submitted his resignation to the White House on Monday, claiming a need to provide his children with the opportunity to go to college 'without the crushing burden of debt thereafter.'"
Update: 5280 Weblog: "Webb's early endorsement of Howard Dean in the 2004 presidential election might prove to be his ace in the hole. Dean has a hard core of devoted supporters, but there are many in the DNC who for various reasons don't want him in the top spot. Webb might win as a compromise candidate, because as a Dean supporter himself he ought to be acceptable to Dean's fervent backers."
6:20:50 AM
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