Politics 2000

Thanks to cable news channels, I’ve been able to watch the Times Square ball drop already even though it’s not yet midnight in L.A. New Zealand used to be nearly the first place to celebrate the new year.

However, the entire Pacific Rim between Hawaii and Auckland decided to move from one side of the international date line to the opposite side in 1999. That way, they could be the first to mark the “millennium” rather than the last. Of course, the year 2000 was the last year of the previous millennium, not the first year of this one. Unless you think there was a year 0 or that the first millennium anno domini lasted just 999 years.

In any event, I can’t imagine staying in Times Square all day and night with hundreds of thousands of my new closest friends to get a glimpse of a electric ball sliding down a pole. Consider sub-freezing temperatures in New York tonight and the Secret Service-level security Bill and Hillary Clinton’s presence required and there’s no way I’d do it. I like warm weather.

I also like getting awards. I’ll catch up on the awards Politics 2000 has received tomorrow. Friday, I’ll start the series on Chaney’s Rules of Media Relations. That should take the remaining 30 days of January, unless pressing events require breaks. I hope you have a great 2009. May you find what you seek this year.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris, the first African-American ever elected to statewide office in Illinois, to fill the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. A Blagojevich aide had said previously the governor would not fill the vacancy.

Blagojevich has been charged in connection with attempting to sell Obama’s seat to the highest bidder. The Illinois Legislature briefly discussed impeaching the governor but has delayed action until it hears tape recordings the U.S. Attorney’s Office made before arresting Blagojevich. Federal prosecutors will make four of their tapes public.

The Legislature also considered calling a special election but decided against doing so. A Republican, especially given the outrage over Blagojevich’s alleged conduct, could have won an election in the next few months. Instead, Democratic leaders want the governor to resign and a Democrat appointed to the Senate who wouldn’t be associated with him.

Obama and the Senate Democratic Caucus had vowed to block any Blagojevich appointee from serving. Expect a court case if Democrats try to stop Burris from taking the oath Monday with the other incoming senators.

Even those vehemently opposed to Blagojevich couldn’t find a reason to oppose Burris, who was elected state comptroller in 1979 and was later elected Illinois attorney general, other than the fact he accepted an appointment from a man accused by the federal government of trying to sell that appointment. Should Burris be sworn in, he’d be the only black person in the 100-member Senate, a fact not lost on longtime Illinois politician Bobby Rush.

Americans will want President-elect Barack Obama to boost the flagging economy as soon as he takes office, if not sooner. However, the world will look to him to solve a number of international crises.

The Middle East remains a powder keg. India and Pakistan are renewing old rivalries. Iran is dangerous. Saudi Arabia controls the bulk of the world’s oil supply and is at best a tepid U.S. ally. Not to mention the current wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Or the fighting that erupted over the weekend on the Gaza Strip behind the Palestinians and the Israelis. There’s plenty more to mention on other continents.

The Obama transition team has steadfastly stuck to its “one president at a time” mantra since winning the election. Clearly, the Obama administration wants as much negativity to land at the feet of Pres. George W. Bush as possible while keeping itself clean.

It’s also clear that the Bush administration either can’t or won’t make serious attempts to fix the aforementioned problems in its final days. Instead, it wants to leave as much negativity for the Democratic leadership to handle in order to hasten a Republican return to power in the next decade.

Let’s hope Obama enjoys his vacation in Hawaii. He won’t have time for another one any time soon.