Reminder: Obama to speak at 2 pm Eastern

By GottaLaff

President-elect Obama will announce his choice for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, General Eric Shinseki, at 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern, on the Big Tee Vee Machine for all to see.

What's in a name: The biblical Barak

By GottaLaff

A letter from my morning L.A. Times:

So much has been made out of Barack Obama's Muslim middle name, "Hussein," but little or nothing has been said about his first name. Biblical Israel's famed Deborah, a charismatic woman respected for her wisdom and prophetic gifts, commanded Barak, the nation's military commander.

The name "Barak" was used by Leon Uris in his book "Exodus," about the beginnings of modern Israel. In the movie, the character of Paul Newman's father, played by Lee J. Cobb, was named Barak. Certainly no one, to my knowledge, has yet claimed that Barack Obama is Jewish.

No, because then, that whole Muslim terrorist thing that so many desperate bigots cling to would be null and void. And we couldn't have that, now, could we?

And they said it wouldn't last...

By GottaLaff

Bff:

"The press announcement ended at about 10:30am central time and Obama walked out of the room arm in arm with Clinton.

Obama's a uniter, not a divider.

Bill Clinton, Chuck Hagel react to nominations

Wonder if Hagel's jealous? And as Jeff noted, to the MSNBC yabbermouths it's as if he nominated only Clinton.

CHUCK HAGEL:
"The national security team President-Elect Obama has assembled is a serious, experienced and widely respected group of leaders. They are all seasoned professionals. This team gives President-Elect Obama a strong foundation to build a new bipartisan consensus for America's foreign policy that will be required to confront the enormous 21st Century challenges facing America and the world. I congratulate President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden for assembling such an impressive team of strong and capable leaders."

BILL CLINTON:
"As an American, I am thankful that President-elect Barack Obama has asked Hillary to be Secretary of State and that she has accepted. As her husband, I am deeply proud. She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America's image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities.

VIDEO: U.S. Presidents, Take 2

By GottaLaff

Paddy posted this winner earlier. Chills. Here's something similarly beautiful, suggested by Commenter "Dr. President":

"Presidential History"