Originally published November 7, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified November 7, 2008 at 1:40 AM
Comments (1)
E-mail article
Print view
It was a busy day for Obama
President-elect Barack Obama received his first top-secret briefing on national security Thursday, scheduled a meeting today with his economic advisers to be followed by a news conference and accepted an invitation for his wife and him to visit President Bush and Laura Bush at the White House on Monday.
CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama received his first top-secret briefing on national security Thursday, scheduled a meeting today with his economic advisers to be followed by a news conference and accepted an invitation for his wife and him to visit President Bush and Laura Bush at the White House on Monday.
The president-elect also talked by telephone with nine world leaders, who all had called to congratulate Obama for his election victory. Among the U.S. allies he spoke with were the top politicians in Israel, Japan and Mexico.
U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, meanwhile, accepted Obama's offer to be his chief of staff. Obama said he picked Emanuel as his chief because "no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel."
Key sources also confirmed that Robert Gibbs, Obama's senior aide, is in discussions about becoming the voice of the White House as its press secretary.
A White House presence for David Axelrod, Obama's campaign mastermind, also was rumored Thursday as the longtime Obama friend considered moving to Washington.
Bush, meanwhile, warning that terrorists "would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change," said his talks Monday with Obama will cover such issues as the turmoil in the financial markets and the war in Iraq.
Bush has said he is determined to conduct an orderly transition. The White House wants to avoid a repeat of the reports that plagued President Clinton when he left office amid questions about whether members of his staff removed the letter W from some computer keyboards.
To that end, Bush has established a formal transition council that has sought advice from outside experts, among them a former Clinton chief of staff, Mack McLarty. McLarty on Thursday praised the effort as "more formal, more focused, more intense" than any he had seen, adding, "The times call for it."
The administration is providing transition offices in Washington, D.C., to the Obama team, and Congress provided roughly $40 million for transition-related activities.
Information from the Chicago Tribune
is included in this report.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
Awaiting daughter's birth, astronaut busy on spacewalk
Anti-Taliban militias arise in Afghanistan
China coal mine blast death toll jumps to 87
Iran gets ready for military exercises

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Tugboat sinks on Seattle's waterfront
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
- Italian prosecutors request life sentence for UW student
- Man shot in chest on E. Union Street in Capitol Hill
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Mariners Blog | A Mariners-Tigers swap makes a whole lot of sense for both teams
- Senate vote clears hurdle
239 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
125 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
121 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
119 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
119 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
89 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
56 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
50
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- 175 foster kids in Washington get 'forever families'






