All Blog Posts from Horserace

With the campaign (almost) in the history books, Horserace has come to the end of the 2008 trail. For the past fifteen months, the political reporters and producers from CBS News and CBSNews.com have followed every detail of this historic and unprecedented political year. After all the campaign stump speeches, the ads, gaffes, fundraising and, of course, the polls, the racing is over and the hard work of governing is about to begin.

With the tireless help of CBSNews.com’s Brian Montopoli and Kevin Hechtkopf and loads of assists from all the correspondents, producers and off-air reporters from CBS News, we helped guide you though the maze of the never-ending primaries, delegate counts, conventions and Election Night.

But just because the campaign is over doesn’t mean we’re going away. CBSNews.com today launches the Political Hotsheet, a new blog which will combine the best political reporting, analysis and observations from the reporters and producers at CBS News.

From the transition to the incoming president’s first 100 Days in office and beyond, we’ll keep you up on the very latest happenings in what’s about to become one of the busiest and most closely-watched towns in the world. Hotsheet will chronicle the news from the White House, Congress and all the institutions in Washington during these historic and uncharted days.

The challenges that lie ahead for the nation are immense and we’ll be your eyes and ears to keep you informed about what the new administration and congress are doing, or are not doing, about the issues that impact your life and the nation’s future. With a laser-like focus on the economy, health care reform, taxes, spending, foreign policy and many other issues, we’ll track the progress of the new team in Washington from Day One.

President-elect Barack Obama is coming to town with a strong wind of change at his back and Hotsheet will be here to help keep you informed as it sweeps through Washington, the nation and the world.

Robert Kennedy Jr. has told New York Gov. David Paterson he is not interested in being appointed to the seat that will be vacated by Senator Hillary Clinton (and the same seat once held by his father) if she is confirmed as the next Secretary of State, the New York Times reports. Kennedy has been among a lengthy list of names being circulated and he becomes the second to publicly bow out, joining Rep. Nita Lowey who yesterday said she was not interested. Paterson is reportedly interested in tapping someone from upstate New York, a woman or an Hispanic for the seat.

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and activist, said he’s happy doing what he’s doing right now. “I have spent lots of time thinking about it,” he told the Times. “I have spent time talking with my uncle, by brothers, my cousin and, of course, my wife. And I think I’m in a good position right now doing what I’m doing.”

As expected for a runoff election the three weeks after the main event, turnout appears lighter in the Georgia senate race, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. But reports are that the lines are steady. Early and absentee voting appears to be indicating slightly higher turnout in some counties than expected, according to election officials.

At stake today is the senate seat currently held by incumbent Saxby Chambliss, who faces Democrat Jim Martin. Chambliss finished the general election with a plurality but state law requires a runoff if any candidate fails to get 50 percent of the vote. Should Martin win, it would give Democrats 59 seats in the U.S. Senate with the Minnesota race remaining in a recount. Polls in Georgia close at 7:00pm.

Reviews are flooding in on President-elect Obama’s selections for his national security and foreign policy team but one in particular stuck out of the in-box – a statement from former President Bill Clinton, who was quick to laud the selection of his wife, Hillary Clinton, to be Secretary of State. Here’s the full text:

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.

She has already earned the respect of foreign leaders and diplomats through her work to promote human rights and the empowerment of women through access to education, healthcare and economic opportunity. And Americans know, from her leadership in the Senate on national security, that she will always put the security, values and the interests of our people first.

In her service to the people of New York and our nation, Hillary has demonstrated the knowledge, passion, resilience, and capacity to learn that our country needs at this critical time. She loves being a Senator from New York, but as she has in all the thirty-seven years I've known her, she answered the call to serve. I commend President-Elect Obama for asking her to be a part of a great national security team. America will be well-served.

Horserace will be off until Monday, December 1st for the Thanksgiving holiday but be sure to check back here starting next week for some new announcements from the CBSNews.com political team and to get the latest on the hottest stories, from the Georgia Senate runoff, the Minnesota recount and the latest on the transition to the Obama Administration. Happy Thanksgiving.

The Minnesota state canvassing board today voted unanimously to deny a request from Democrat Al Franken’s campaign to include absentee ballots which had bee rejected into its final recount tally. The move would seem to be a blow to Franken’s efforts, particularly since a judge in one county has allowed his campaign to gain access to the list of rejected voters already.

But, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, the canvassing board made clear that it’s decision was not a statement on the merits of Franken’s argument and that they expected that question to be settled in litigation, seemingly kicking the issue down the road.

Also in recount news, attorneys for Franken and Republican Senator Norm Coleman have indicated that may be able to reduce the number of ballots both sides have challenged during the process. That number currently stands at over 3,600 ballots.

The Minnesota state canvassing board today voted unanimously to deny a request from Democrat Al Franken’s campaign to include absentee ballots which had bee rejected into its final recount tally. The move would seem to be a blow to Franken’s efforts, particularly since a judge in one county has allowed his campaign to gain access to the list of rejected voters already.

But, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, the canvassing board made clear that it’s decision was not a statement on the merits of Franken’s argument and that they expected that question to be settled in litigation, seemingly kicking the issue down the road.

Also in recount news, attorneys for Franken and Republican Senator Norm Coleman have indicated that may be able to reduce the number of ballots both sides have challenged during the process. That number currently stands at over 3,600 ballots.

The Minnesota state canvassing board today voted unanimously to deny a request from Democrat Al Franken’s campaign to include absentee ballots which had bee rejected into its final recount tally. The move would seem to be a blow to Franken’s efforts, particularly since a judge in one county has allowed his campaign to gain access to the list of rejected voters already.

But, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, the canvassing board made clear that it’s decision was not a statement on the merits of Franken’s argument and that they expected that question to be settled in litigation, seemingly kicking the issue down the road.

Also in recount news, attorneys for Franken and Republican Senator Norm Coleman have indicated that may be able to reduce the number of ballots both sides have challenged during the process. That number currently stands at over 3,600 ballots.

A little pre-feast political appetizer appears on the op-ed page of the Washington Post this morning, where authors Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac argue that the best replacement in the U.S. Senate for Hillary Clinton should she, as expected, become Secretary of State would be – her husband, former President Bill Clinton. From the op-ed:

Who in his party could question so historic and dazzling a choice? In a stroke, the appointment would provide Sen. Clinton's indefatigable husband with a fitting day job, serve the interests of a state beset by a meltdown in its most vital economic sector and offer a refreshing reverse twist on a tradition whereby deceased male senators, representatives or governors are succeeded by their widows.

A new analysis by Nielsen gives a final look at the ad disparity Republican John McCain faced during his campaign against Barack Obama – particularly on in local markets. In the period between June and Election Day, Obama’s campaign ran 419,667 ads locally compared to just 269,992 run by McCain.

That was a greater difference than ads run on national cable and networks. Between January and November, Obama’s campaign ran 3,004 national ads compared to 2,868 for McCain. Among the other findings of the analysis, Nielsen found that Obama’s ads were run twice as much as McCain’s in the last month of the election and that both candidates combined for 850,000 ads in all between January and November. Check out Nielsen’s media blog for more.