The Absurd and a Little Testy Gabfest
Listen to Slate's review of the week in politics.
Updated Friday, Jan. 30, 2009, at 11:25 AM
See all of Slate's inauguration coverage.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew himself from his nomination for commerce secretary. John says this is one instance in which the Obama team's vetting process failed.
Observers are wondering whether the Obama administration will take an active role in investigating possible wrongdoing by Bush-administration officials. Emily says one possibility could be a more passive role for criminal investigation but a broader public release of documents surrounding possible misdeeds.
John says all the discussion of the Obama inauguration has been going on too long. The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder and Slate's Mickey Kaus make good points about Obama's perpetual fundraising.
A historic moment occurred this week when all the living presidents gathered with President-elect Obama at the White House.
David chatters about NBC's Friday Night Lights. He says the relationship between Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife, Tami (Connie Britton), is the best cultural portrayal of a good marriage that he has ever seen
Emily talks about Obama's choice for solicitor general, Elena Kagan. If confirmed, she would become the first woman to hold that post. Kagan is currently dean of Harvard Law School. Emily says it's an interesting choice, but she says that despite her broad legal experience Kagan has never argued a case before the Supreme Court—and may have never argued a case before any court.
The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Posted on Jan. 9 by Dale Willman at 12:03 p.m.
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Emily Bazelon is a Slate senior editor and writes about law, family, and kids. Her forthcoming book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Empathy and Character. Find her at emilybazelon@gmail.com or on Facebook or Twitter.
John Dickerson is Slate's chief political correspondent and author of On Her Trail. He can be reached at slatepolitics@gmail.com. Read his series on the presidency and his series on risk. Follow him on Twitter.
David Plotz is the Editor of Slate. He's the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank and Good Book. He appears on Slate's Political Gabfest.