Obama resigns

[classicman]

from the Senate

President-elect Barack Obama intends to step down from his seat in the United States Senate on Sunday, leaving his seat just as lawmakers return to Washington for a lame-duck Congressional session.

Obama's decision allows him to avoid participating in next week's session on Capitol Hill. The seat will remain empty until Governor Rod Blagojevich appoints a successor to fill out the remaining two years of the term, which he said he would do by year's end.

"It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate," Obama said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

While Obama will play a behind-the-scenes roll in the economic stimulus legislation debated in Congress during the lame-duck session, advisers said he wanted to avoid the awkward position of returning to the Senate to cast a ballot should his vote be needed. By stepping down from his post now, the pressure intensifies on Blagojevich to name a replacement.

Obama is leaving his seat as the junior senator from Illinois two months shy of the four-year anniversary of the date he was sworn in. At the time, some of his aides hinted that he would serve only one term, but replacing Blagojevich was his leading option, not running for president.
"In a state that represents the crossroads of a nation, I have met so many men and women who've taken different journeys, but hold common hopes for their children's future," Obama said in his statement. "It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation's next president."

Vice President-elect Joseph Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, has not said when he intends to step down from his seat.

Gotta admit - this guy doesn't waste any time - I like that. Joe Biden is probably still in a state of disbelief.

[TheMercenary]

Formality. More interesting is who is the Gov going to replace him with.

[Bullitt]

A good move even if a formality, allows him to pass on any potentially controversial last-minute bills that his democratic colleagues might try to pass before the bell tolls.

[classicman]

Yeh I know its a formality, but this is a lot earlier than most. He is really getting a good jump on the transition.

[elSicomoro]

Biden's your Senator...1) Which governor's going to replace him? Minner or the new guy? 2) Who is going to replace him?

[Cloud]

I think that was clear at the time of the election. This man is organized, motivated, and doesn't shilly-shally around.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by sycamore

Biden's your Senator...1) Which governor's going to replace him? Minner or the new guy? 2) Who is going to replace him?

He used to be my Senator, I don't live there anymore. That's probably what he is waiting for - the new Gov-elect Jack Markell (D).

AS an aside - Can one individual hold 2 offices at the same time?

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by classicman

AS an aside - Can one individual hold 2 offices at the same time?

According to Cheney and Palin, it's the same office.

[toranokaze]

Obama is not wasting any time and nor should he. Obama right now has a wave of support and this grace period isn't going to last very long, so real reform needs to start happening sooner than latter lest he lose his great backing.

Originally Posted by classicman

He used to be my Senator, I
AS an aside - Can one individual hold 2 offices at the same time?

No they can't.

[TheMercenary]

[xoxoxoBruce]

Those must be the LA farm club, the San Francisco Rams.

[TheMercenary]

[TheMercenary]

An interesting article about how life is slowly changing for the Obama family.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/...rica/obama.php

[Minx]

He's also going to have to give up his Blackberry

Sorry, Mr. President. Please surrender your BlackBerry.

Those are seven words President-elect Barack Obama is dreading but expecting to hear, friends and advisers say, when he takes office in 65 days.

For years, like legions of other on-the-move professionals, Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from his side - on most days, it was fastened to his belt - to provide a singular conduit to the outside world as the bubble around him grew tighter and tighter throughout his campaign....before he arrives at the White House, he will probably be forced to sign off. In addition to concerns about keeping e-mail secure, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A final decision has not been made on whether he could go against precedent to become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/...blackberry.php

[TheMercenary]

I have been thinking about this. There are some pretty smart people out there, he may be able to continue to use in in the white house if they set up a secures server just for BB's in the building. I don't know. I do know that highly secure scrambled wireless commo is used all the time without a worry about compromise.