patty, obama already announced restrictions on the revolving door between government and lobbying. the question is whether the guy in charge of raytheon’s lobbying effort violates obama’s new rules separating government from lobbists.

as for gillibrand, we will see how her politics run. i like some of her positions as described by the new york times, so she is definitely a mixed bag. (a bit of disclosure here: i grew up milking cows on a family dairy farm, so if she is going to push for proportionality and sanity in agriculture, i approve.)

hard to believe, but at least blagojevich did his appointment without the drama of redoing “hamlet on the hudson”. (for those who forgot, that was what pundits called mario cuomo when he couldn’t or wouldn’t decide on whether to run for president.)

good idea, rainbow. and for those like me who missed this week’s vesper, the year holds many more weeks. maybe all that good energy beamed toward our capitol will do some good.

beverly, like hillary rodham clinton, i, too, wore a big goldwater pin and advocated for him. but then i graduated from high school and went to college and the school of hard knocks, and i emerged a greenish democrat. so it’s fine with me if obama wants to right size the government with some competence to fix some of the huge problems this country faces. he has made a good start already. what i fail to understand is how the country voted in bush a second time after seeing him at work for four years.

again, deburca, thank you.

i agree, deburca. people change, and then they see suicide in a different light, if they are still there.

note that the judge decided to keep madoff in house arrest rather than put him in jail. HE’S LIVING OFF THE PURLOINED BILLIONS THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED!!!!

liz, i appreciate your reliance on bill cosby’s sense of humor. self, what am i going to do now? when you fall down the basement stairs, you try out the getting up parts and eventually walk back up the stairs.

deburca, you are so right! look at the new models at the auto show. there’s plenty of hope there.

tanja, two things you will know about obama: 1) he reads 2) he will hold his appointees accountable do you see how a simple election improves our chances so much?

liz, “If a Palin falls on deserted Alaskan tundra, does it make a sound? Why don’t liberal media give that a thought?” lol

welcome, margo. i have enjoyed everything you have written here so far. but i don’t know you and therefore would not do well in a phone call. as far as i can tell, you are a truth teller, which is someone we very much need, here and everywhere.

frank, maybe you were away then, but in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s in popular culture, the word “liberate” meant take it from a store without paying for it. bush is indeed a “liberator.”

kermie, i have been kicked out more than once, and it hurts. but if you have severance pay in the balance, keep quiet. your self respect should not depend on outing your company for its perfidy. so many employers have behaved badly, especially lately. what this country needs is to renew the social contract.