All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

As millions of Barack-o-philes prepare to descend upon the nation's capital, the Presidential Inaugural Committee has opened a memorabilia store in downtown Washington, D.C.

Obama devotees who want a tangible reminder of the historic inauguration can purchase standard souvenir fare such as t-shirts, caps and coffee mugs. But there are also a few less conventional items for sale.

Read full post…

In an interview with conservative documentary filmmaker John Ziegler conducted at her Wasilla home, Sarah Palin said she was the victim of unfair media coverage and wondered aloud whether Democrat Caroline Kennedy would benefit from fawning treatment from the press in her bid to become the junior senator from New York because of her social class.

“I’ve been interested to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she will be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope,” Palin said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out, and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be.”

Read full post…

President-elect Obama will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderone on Monday, Maria Gavrilovic reports.

Though he has spoken frequently about the economy since winning the election and laid out his ambitious economic agenda in a speech today, Mr. Obama has had far less to say about foreign affairs, stressing that there is only one president at a time.

Read full post…

The Huffington Post reports that influential Democratic Rep. John Conyers has written a letter to his House colleagues urging them to oppose the nomination of Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General.

President-elect Obama’s outside-the-box selection of Gupta , a CBS News medical contributor and CNN’s chief medical correspondent, has been praised in many circles, but Conyers insists Gupta "lacks the requisite experience needed to oversee the federal agency that provides crucial health care assistance.”

Read full post…

The Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies have released a bulletin reminding local law enforcement (as if it wasn't already crystal clear) that the inauguration could present an enticing target for potential terrorists.

But the bulletin states that there is currently no credible threat information related to the Jan. 20 event.

---

Click Here For All Of CBSNews.com's Special Inauguration Coverage

---

The DHS has no plans to adjust any of the national threat levels but is reminding the public to remain vigilant.

Read full post…

CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer has covered all of the former presidents who joined George W. Bush and Barack Obama at the White House today.

Schieffer said that Mr. Obama was apparently struck by the current president’s graciousness at the Oval Office photo-op with Presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton.

“I got a hold of a friend of Obama's who said that he really took it to heart when the president said that they all wanted him to succeed,” Schieffer said. “He, according to this friend, has been very impressed with how gracious President Bush has been. He told the President today that he thought that graciousness was one of the reasons that his transition has gone so smoothly."

Read full post…

When President-elect Obama and Vice president-elect Biden take a pre-inaugural tour across the northeast, they’ll be joined by a group of what the Presidential Inaugural Committee calls “everyday Americans.”

“These everyday Americans from all walks of life have made extraordinary contributions to the life of this country - the worker who became a champion for workers' rights, the soldier who became an advocate for servicemen and women suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; those who have lost their jobs and struggle bravely to cope in economic turmoil, and those who work tirelessly to make real the dream of a better future for their children,” the committee announced.

Read full post…

As the fighting in Gaza continues and international calls for Israel to exercise restraint in its bombing campaign mount, President-elect Obama's most immediate crisis when he takes office in two weeks might not be the economy.

For the first time on Tuesday, Mr. Obama spoke publicly about the situation in Gaza.

"The loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern to me, and after January 20th I'm going to have plenty to say about the issue," he told reporters.

CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield said that even though the economy may be the most pressing issue at home, the situation in Gaza will remain at the forefront of international relations when Mr. Obama takes office.

Read full post…

The office of the Secretary of the Senate, Nancy Erickson, released a statement this afternoon explaining why she refused to seat Roland Burris, who came to Washington hoping to replace Barack Obama as the junior senator from Illinois for the 111th Congress.

According to her office, Erickson refused to seat Burris, who was appointed to the seat by embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, because he lacked the necessary signature of the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, and the state seal of Illinois.

Read full post…