Gavin's Blog

Leon Panetta is to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

Coverage from:
Politico
Steve Clemons gives his take
Talking Points Memo
Red State
Andrew Sullivan
Danger Room has a good round up

Yes, for my sins, I am going to Washington to see Barack Obama become POTUS. I will be spending a week there, and I expect it to be damn cold. Irish Examiner colleague Conor Ryan (who will soon dip his toe into the world of blogging himself) will be coming with, as will one of my fellow subs.

We have booked tickets for at least one ball (the Lincoln 2.0 one), and are keeping an eye out for others (The Purple one looks interesting, if expensive).

Hopefully lots of photos and some video. And yes more writing, following complaints from Joe that my writing has become lazy of late.

Anyone else going?

Barack Obama has picked his energy team. Says Bloomberg:

Obama named Nobel laureate Steven Chu as his choice as secretary of the Energy Department and Lisa Jackson as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He also named former EPA chief Carol Browner to fill a new position as head of the National Energy Council and Nancy Sutley to serve as head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

While lawmakers and presidents in the past have repeatedly promised to find alternative sources of energy, “our dependence on foreign oil has only grown,” the president-elect said today at a Chicago press conference where he announced his picks. “This time has to be different.”

The newly named members of his administration will help push Obama’s goal of having mandatory limits on U.S. greenhouse gases, as well as a proposal to create a $150 billion clean- energy fund to boost renewable technologies.

Jim Fallows reckons Chu is a superb pick, and points to a very interesting interview with him from a few years back. It’s worth a look. As Jim says, scientists who can explain complex concepts easily and without being condescending are always good to have. Chu strikes me as an incredibly smart guy, but not alone that, a very with it guy too.

Interesting stuff as ever from Politico:

Here’s how you can tell the campaign is over and the transition has begun: Barack Obama’s aides now wear suits and ties, their desks are in the Federal Building on 6th Street in Washington — and Clintonites are everywhere.

Obama’s victory in the general election produced what his primary campaign couldn’t: A swift merger of the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party with the Illinois Senator’s self-styled insurgency. The merger began, during the campaign, in the policy apparatus — which is now rapidly becoming the governing apparatus.

And Obama wants to use the power of YouTube for his weekly ‘radio’ address.

So we were hanging around the food area in the press section, and Oprah walks by with her minder. Into the port-a-loo (I guess even the richest woman in America has to go). She comes back out and I take a quick photo:

She actually hung around for a while, which meant a media scrum. I have a video about this also. More once I recover. Here was the view from the main press area:

I’m using some free wifi at the corner of Lake and Michigan here in Chicago. If you know any free wireless near Grant Park gimme a shout.

It’s turrning into a gorgeous evening…

It’s on to Chicago for the final day of the campaign. I expect the atmosphere there to be… interesting.

I am in the Heroes Bar and Grill here in Cleveland, the Obama event is due to start in a couple of hours. It’s been a fantastic drive from Washington, the weather has been warm all the way, and traffic was non-existent. It’s also a beautiful day here on the shores of Lake Eerie, and it looks as if the crowds gatherng to see Obama and The Boss will be far larger than the rally in Virgina Beach last week.

I will update on Twitter, and upload some photos almost as soon as the event is over… hopefully.

Update: You can look at my photos and videos of the event over here.

Tomorrow we hit the road again, on an ambitious schedule. We leave DC for Cleveland, Ohio, where Barack Obama is rallying the troops with his wife Michelle, and where Bruce Springsteen makes a guest appearance.

If we time it right we might make it to Indianapolis for a McCain rally, before making directly for Chicago. Chicago is where the Obama camp is hosting an “historic watching party” for the results. It should be an interesting night.