America's Maverick Part 2: Madame President

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_crop.jpg

Part 1 can be found in this link: https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=382053.0


I still have a three more updates left in Part 1 but until then I do have a poll question. Since I have used NBC and CNN in all my TL's up to this point, how would it seem to use Fox News for this part. Now the main anchors I will use for this will be Bret Bair , Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace so would you guys be interested in this switch or should I just stick with CNN.

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The Inauguration of Hillary Rodham Clinton

Speaker Nancy Pelosi comments on the inauguration of President-Elect Clinton



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enDJtOluCWo


Blitzer: Speaker Pelosi what is your reaction to President Hillary Clinton being sworn in

Pelosi: Well I have many reactions , one is excitement about the fact that our nation will finally be getting its first female president and this in my opinion will send a message to every kid in our great country that they can be whatever the dream of being no matter whether they are a boy or a girl. Number two it also shows how far we have come in our country in just 100 years as remember a century ago women did not even have the right to vote let alone have the opportunity to lead a country as powerful as ours.

Blitzer: Any policies you excited about

Pelosi: Of course given for the first time in over 14 years we will have unified control of Washington and I am excited of what we can do with on issues like Healthcare, Childcare and having a President who has clearly been passionate about those issues like President-Elect Hillary Clinton will be big.

Blitzer: Ok thank you and enjoy the inauguration

President Hillary Clinton gives her inaugural speech after being sworn in:



Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Eg2WEW5XvzM/maxresdefault.jpg

Rockefeller being sworn in by Justice Stevens:

Stevens: Mr. Senator, put up your right hand and repeat after me

Rockefeller: I, John Davison Rockefeller, do solemnly swear
that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I take this obligation freely,
without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;
and that I will well and faithfully discharge
the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.
So help me God.

Stevens: Congratulations, Mr. Vice President

Clinton sworn in by Chief Justice Scalia:

Scalia: Mrs. Senator , put up your right hand and repeat after me

Clinton: I, Hillary Rodham Clinton, do solemnly swear
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my Ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
So help me God.

Scalia: Congratulations, Mrs. President

Excepts of President Clinton's Inaugural Speech:

Clinton: Mr. Chief Justice, President McCain, President Clinton, President Bush, President Carter, distinguished guests , every 4 years ago we gather on the steps of our capital to celebrate our democracy and to show the world how great it is(Applause). On many occasions this ceremony marks a transition of power not only from one party to another but from one set of ideas to another and on this occasion I want to thank President McCain for all the hard work he did to make sure one of the most unusual transition periods in our history could be as smooth as possible and I also want to thank a man who has given decades of his life in service to our country and I hope all of you join me in giving him a round of applause(Applause). This occasion though is just not a time of celebration but also a time where we accept the duty of facing the challenges that our nation faces and overcoming them(Applause) .

Today we face many challenges from an economy still recovering from a recession, to ensuring the success of democracy all across the world and too dealing with the issue of global warming and while they may not seem easy I am confident that we can overcome them(Applause). It though is important though that we not only ensure our economy continues to recover from recession but also to ensure that we can have a system that makes it easier for mothers to raise their kids, for Americans who are unable to get healthcare be able to as doing so will create a nation that is more prosperous than it ever has been before(Applause). It is important when facing any challenge that not only you overcome it but in doing so make yourself stronger than you had been before and that is something we have done throughout our history and something I believe we will keep doing long after all of us are gone(Applause).

On that topic though it is why it is critical we continue our work to promote democratic ideals across the globe to make sure future generations have a more prosperous world to live in then the one we live in today(Applause). This by the way also includes continuing to improve our democracy here at home which is why one of my first executive orders as President will be to create a committee to research ways on how to improve the way we elect future Presidents(Applause) and also on how we can improve civic participation in our country as doing so will strengthen our democracy(Applause). Lastly to leave a better world for our kids and grandkids we must tackle the issue of global warming which is why I call on a national movement from the congress, to state legislature to businesses and to you the people to change how we consume our energy to ensure that we can create better lives for our kids while also protecting our planet(Applause). Thank You May God Bless You and May God Bless America 

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President Clinton signs the first 5 executive orders of her Presidency:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re1PVmGMKf4

Executive Order 13456: Creates a commission to research and study ways to potentially reform the way the US elects Presidents

Executive Order 13457: Repeals President McCain's Mexico City Policy

Executive Order 13458: Repeals President McCain's order that any new proposed regulation do a cost-benefit analysis before its implementation and that the analysis be disclosed to the public

Executive Order 13459: Provides Federal Employees with 12 weeks of Paid Maternal Leave and 6 weeks of Paid Paternity Leave

Executive Order 13460: Notifies Federal Employees of their Employee Rights Under Federal Law

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Good start especially after such a close election. What does GWB do now

I’ll make a update about that around the summer/fall 2009 portion of this TL

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All of President Clinton's Cabinet Members get confirmed by the Senate:

Blitzer: All of President Clinton's cabinet has now been confirmed and the vast majority in a pretty easy fashion . The only exception was Howard Dean who as you can see did not receive 60 senators but still was confirmed as we are told Senate Minority Leader Jon Kyl said he would not support such a move as he believes the filibuster should only be used for certain circumstances and this is not one of them.

Secretary of State: Sam Nunn Confirmed Unanimously

Secretary of Treasury: Gene Sperling Confirmed with 87 Ayes to 13 Nays

Secretary of Defense: John Hamre Confirmed Unanimously

Attorney General: Seth Waxman Confirmed with 86 Ayes to 14 Nays

Secretary of Interior: Mark Udall Confirmed with 75 Ayes to 25 Nays

Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack Confirmed with 96 Ayes to 4 Nays

Secretary of Commerce: Kathleen Sebelius Confirmed with 68 Ayes to 32 Nays

Secretary of Labor: Dick Gephardt Confirmed with 82 Ayes to 18 Nays

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Howard Dean Confirmed with 58 Ayes to 42 Nays  

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Shirley Franklin Confirmed with 77 Ayes to 23 Nays


Secretary of Transportation: Mortimer Downey Confirmed Unanimously

Secretary of Energy: Ed Rendell Confirmed with 83 Ayes to 17 Nays

Secretary of Education: Mike Castle Confirmed with 79 Ayes to 21 Nays

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Edward Powell Confirmed Unanimously

Secretary of Homeland Security: Bill Bratton not needing Senate Confirmation due to being retained from previous administration

UN Ambassador: Susan Rice Confirmed Unanimously
 
OBM Director: Peter Orszag Confirmed Unanimously

EPA Administrator: Lyn Scarlett Confirmed Unanimously

Hillary Clinton appoints Congresswomen Kirsten Gilibrand to head the DNC:



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kirsten_Gillibrand,_official_photo_portrait,_2006.jpg

Blitzer: President Hillary Clinton announced earlier today that she would be appointing Congresswomen Kirsten Gillibrand to take over as head of the DNC. Congresswomen Gillibrand first was elected in 2006 when multiple scandals by her Republican Predecessor John Sweeney led to then President McCain dropping his support of him which led to his defeat.

Schneider: I would like to add that many Republicans believed that they would almost certainly take that seat back in 2008 but as you know incumbents are difficult to dislodge and Congresswomen Gillibrand ended up easily winning.

Blitzer: Why did she get picked by President Clinton

Schneider: One major reason is Mrs. Gillibrand was a huge ally of President Clinton and has since her first senate campaign back in 2000 and add to the fact she is considered a Blue Dog Democrat from upstate New York certainly plays a major role in why she was picked .

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Nunn is pretty uncontroversial

Well he was confirmed Unanimously here

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True, Republicans might get that Gillibrand Seat back in a Special Election BUT Rep. Mike Castle also vacated his Delaware At-Large House Seat where the Democrats would be favoured in a Special Election.

Keep in mind she wouldnt have to resign her house seat to lead the DNC. Debbie Wasserman Schultz led the DNC in OTL and still was a member of the house so there won't be a special election for Gillibrand's Seat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Wasserman_Schultz

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President Hillary Clinton releases her Healthcare plan:


Blitzer: President Clinton released her healthcare proposal and here are some of the major provisions

Important Provisions:

Medicaid and Medicare:

- Reduces the Medicare Age from 65 to 55

- Expands Eligibility of Medicaid where it covers people up to 140% of the poverty line

Mandates:

- Creates an individual mandate for health insurance

- Large Employers would be required to provide their employers with insurance or pay into a fund that finances coverage for insured

Taxes:

- Would increase payroll taxes

- Create tax credits to help individuals purchase health insurance

- Small Businesses who provide health insurance will receive tax credits

Rules for Insurance Companies:

- Cannot deny anyone for pre existing conditions

- Lets kids stay on their parents healthcare plan till they are 26

Other:

- Lets Americans Buy the same insurance plan as congress

- Increases funding to help create new providers in rural communities


So David it seems like a very ambitious plan so could it pass both chambers

Gergen: Oh Yes it is ambitious but we are told that President Clinton met with both Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi before crafting this proposal as this is a proposal she believes can pass congress. Whether it does , we have to see


Insider: HHS Secretary Howard Dean and Chief of Staff Terry McAuliffe Disagree on strategy to pass healthcare reform:

Blitzer: We are getting a report right now that Secretary Dean and Chief of Staff McAuliffe Disagree on a potential strategy  to pass healthcare. So Soledad what are some disagreements we are hearing

O'Brien: Well we are told that Secretary Dean believes the Democrats should push whatever they could through a process known a reconciliation which lets Democrats pass the budgetary provisions of the bill with only 50 votes. So for example thing that could pass through that process are the Medicare and Medicaid changes , the tax changes and along with increasing funding to create new rural providers but what could not pass are the individual and employer mandates along with the rules on insurance companies.

Blitzer: So there would be a pretty significant portion of the proposal that could not pass through reconciliation

O'Brien: That is correct which is why Chief of Staff McAuliffe believes reconciliation is not the right approach as he believes that 1. It could make key parts of healthcare reform not possible 2. It would look bad in the public as viewed as passing a major piece of legislation among partisan terms so he believes there should be a compromise made with the Republicans.

Now of course Secretary Dean believes that 1. Any Compromise with Republicans would mean the Medicare and Medicaid provisions would be gone and he believes those are the most important provisions in the bill and believes without those provisions the bill has no meaning. So for that reason he believes the Democrats should pass whatever they can with reconciliation then negotiate the rest with the Republicans .

Blitzer: Wouldnt passing this make compromise on healthcare impossible

O'Brien: Probably but Secretary Dean believes that the provisions on Medicare and Medicaid are the most important and believes that should be the first priority on this bill.

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Wait is the Medicaid cap at 100% FPL in this TL?

Wasn’t that the amount pre Obamacare IRL too or am I just remembering it wrongly . Edited it though just to point out it will be expanded

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President Clinton pushes for Childcare Reform:

Blitzer: President Clinton as promised unveiled her proposal to reform childcare in this nation and here are some of the key provisions

Major Provisions:

- Require all businesses with 50 or more employees to provide 12 weeks of paid maternal leave and 6 weeks of paid paternal leave

- Create tax credits for businesses with 50 or less employees to provide some sort of paid maternal and paid paternal leave

- Make Pre-School Universal for every 4 year old in America

- Expands the Child Tax Credit, and Child and Dependent Care Credit

Blitzer: So Paul it seems like President Clinton so far has gone straight out of the gate as just in her first month in office has already proposed Healthcare Reform and now Childcare Reform

Begala: Yes keep in mind , there were many indications that President Clinton from day 1 that she would go with the approach of pushing through at least the framework of much of her agenda pretty early on in the administration so I would say this is not a surprise. Second keep in mind the issues of Healthcare and Childcare are the issues that the President has been most passionate about throughout her career and if you remember were the issues she pushed the most as first lady so it is no surprise she has a plan of what she has wanted to do on these issues from the get go so its not surprised the proposals are coming out so quick.

Lastly I think the President is quite aware of the history of midterms and while she will hate me for bringing this up the fact is given how slim the Democrats majority is in the house, its very likely they will only have these first two years to push through the more ambitious parts of her agenda due to the fact if the Republicans likely are not wanting to go ahead with it if they controlled the house. Keep in mind it is far easier making more favorable compromises with individual members from the other party than making it with an opposite party speaker so yes I could see some Republicans voting for some version of this proposal while I cannot see a Republican speaker putting this proposal on the floor of the house which changes up things.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announces Democrats will take a two track approach to healthcare, one involving a reconciliation bill and one involving one that goes through the regular order:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONxw5m9mvkQ

Cooper: Senator Reid there are rumors that Democrats might be taking a two track approach towards healthcare reform. What does that mean

Reid: Well Anderson that means that we will be splitting healthcare reform into two separate bills, one involving reconciliation and one involving the regular process. The one involving reconciliation will just focus on two areas and they are passing the President's proposal to expand Medicare and Medicaid and how to pay for it.

The second which would be healthcare reform largely relating to the private system we will pass using the normal order which means through a bipartisan process.

Cooper: Why separate out Medicare and Medicaid Expansion from the bill

Reid: Well the reason is that it would not be possible to do any sort of healthcare reform and the reason is one the Republicans would not support any bill with those provisions and there are many Democrats who would not support a bill without it so for that reason I think its better we split the bill to ensure we can get healthcare reform done which is what the American people want.

Cooper: Will you be adding for example the tax credit portion into the reconciliation bill

Reid: No as even though it would be eligible to do so , we want the broader bill to have some sort of bipartisan support and I believe we will get it.

Cooper: Ok thank you for coming on

Reid: Anytime Anderson

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President Clinton signs bill extending CHIP for the next 5 years

Blitzer: President Clinton signed a bipartisan bill that will extend the Children's Health Insurance program for the next 5 years. This passage of this bill is no surprise and was expected to pass but there are some changes this bill makes to the original program. For example the children of legal immigrants who previously were not eligible for this program now will be eligible , there will be extra funding given to reduce waiting times and taxes on Cigarettes and tobacco have been increased .

The President in her signing ceremony thanked members of both parties who voted for it before departing on Air Force One to Los Angeles for a joint summit which will also involve the leaders of Canada and Mexico.

President Clinton meets with Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon for trilateral meeting:



Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Flag_of_the_North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement_%28standard_version%29.svg/525px-Flag_of_the_North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement_%28standard_version%29.svg.png?20091008221357

Clinton: Prime Minister Harper , President Calderon and I just had an excellent talk about how we can improve cooperation between our nations on areas like trade, cultural relations as well as political cooperation for world affairs. While we may have a lot of differences as well there is a lot of similarities between our 3 nations and we believe we can work together to help improve the lives of all of our citizens. Now we will be open to a couple questions

Media Member 1: Was there talks about a potential renegotiation of NAFTA

Harper: No there was not a talk about a renegotiation of NAFTA as the topics we talked about would not need a renegotiation. Now I can grant you some areas might require parts of NAFTA to be amended but that would only effect a few provisions and not a significant amount.

Media Member 2: Was one of the areas you talked about working together to improve the situation in central America

Calderon: Absolutely as keep in mind Central America is part of our continent and improving the situation in Central America would benefit all of us as problems in one part of a continent can effect everyone on the continent and I believe that if our 3 nations work together we can really improve the situation for everyone living in our continent .

Clinton: Thank You but we will not be taking any more questions

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Excerpts of President Clinton's Speech to a Joint Session of Congress



Souce: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/app/uploads/2019/02/RTX6LFXE-1024x683-e1549455385158.jpg

Speaker Pelosi: Ladies and Gentleman , its my high honor to welcome to you , the President of the United States!!

Clinton: Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of congress, distinguished guests and my fellow Americans , it is my great honor to speak to you in this great hallmark of democracy and I look forward to working with you over the next 4 years to make our nation a better place(Applause). Our nation is truly a great place where anything is possible but to keep it that way we must continue to work to confront the problems and challenges we face and one such challenge we face is a healthcare system that continues to get more and more expensive as the years go by and it is something we cannot sit idly by and let happen(Applause). It is also something we cannot solve by continuing to make minor reforms like we have done for the past many decades which is why we must pass comprehensive healthcare reform(Applause). The first thing we must do is expand access and my belief is the best way to do that is by expanding Medicare and Medicaid, and by providing other working class Americans with tax credits needed to ensure they can afford health insurance(Applause). Number 2 we also must regulate the markets to make sure no kid just out of college loses their health insurance , no person with pre existing conditions gets denied healthcare and that every American can buy the same plan we in Congress have(Applause). Doing this will lower costs for everybody and make it so we can have a healthcare system where every American can have access to good quality healthcare(Applause).

Now the next thing we must do is also improve childcare in this country as the fact is our kids are our future and we must do everything we can to help families in this country be able to raise their kids no matter what their income level is(Applause). To start we must guarantee every new mother in this country 12 weeks of guaranteed paid time off and every new father 6 weeks as no family should have to choose between getting the paycheck they need and spending valuable time with their newborn baby(Applause). Next we must expand the Child Tax Credit to help out parents have the extra money they need to raise their kids and make it easier for every parent in this country to send their kid to pre school if they want too(Applause). This policy by the way is not a policy just liberals or progressives get behind but conservatives as well as one as one of the core traditional values that makes a society great is having strong families and this proposal does exactly that which is why I hope and am confident this proposal can pass in a bipartisan manner(Applause).

Lastly we must continue to lead the world in the effort in the war on terrorism(Applause). While we have greatly weakened international terrorism since 9/11, we must never again become complacent as if we do that is the moment they will have the chance to make a resurgence and that is something we just cannot afford(Applause). It is why the US must continue to be the leader in promoting democracy and liberty all across the world because while not every nation can become a democracy overnight , they can still become more democratic than they are today(Applause) . For any doubters I want to point out that many authoritarian states throughout the world in the last century today are democracies because of the example we set and it is my hope that decades from now we can say the same about today(Applause). Thank You May God Bless You and May God Bless America

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Economic Report shows recession may have prevented a financial crises :

Blitzer: An Economic Report out from an economic study done by many major economists show that the monetary policies put in place by Fed Chair Mankiw that many blame for leading us into the 2007 recession may have prevented a much greater economic crises later on that we otherwise may have been in by now . With us is the host of CNN Money Lou Dobbs to talk more . So Lou what was in the report

Dobbs : Well the study they did was too see what the impact on the economy would have been if Mr. Mankiw did not raise interest rates the way he did and what they found was for example areas such as personal debt to GDP , housing prices , leverage ratio for banks would all be much higher . Doing so according to this economic study could very much put the economy at risk for a financial crash .

Blitzer : Couple questions is this study have disagreements with other economic studies and two what did the study show for the future  as could we still be at risk of such a crises .

Dobbs : One yes there are many disagreements on this as many economists think so keep in mind this is just one study but something that is important to keep a note on . As for the future , this study shows that no the recession didn’t fix the fundamental issue what could have caused such a crises and we could be at risk of another one 3 to 5 years from now and they said in fact all a fed induced recession does is delay the problem rather than fix it .


House announces there will be a bipartisan commission created to do further research  economic study , saying we don’t want to risk economic crises :

Cooper : Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner earlier today announced the house will be creating a bipartisan committee to do further research into the economic study and the risk of potential financial crises the national face . Both said that while the research may not turn out to be accurate we want to ensure we find out the potential risks our nation faces of a financial crises as we want to avoid that by all means .

The measure then was put to a vote and was easily approved and the commission of around 15 representatives which will contain 8 Democrats and 7 Republicans will be part of such a committee. We are also told that this special committee will request former Treasury Secretary Ben Bernanke who spent his academic career researching the 1929 crash and the Great Depression to help lead this effort .

President Clinton also signed an executive order today creating a team from the White House that will coordinate with that house committee and provide them with the resources the committee may need for this research .




 

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Is Barack Obama still a senator here?

Yup and he will be mentioned as some point in a 2009 update.

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Ralph Nader suggests two round electoral system as reform:



King: So Mr. Nader as you know many people believe you are the reason why last year's election tied and we had to have a contingent election in Congress to break the tie. What do you say about that

Nader: This is absolutely false and it is plainly undemocratic to say another candidate is entitled to the votes you received but I do here that Washington is considering electoral reform so let me throw one out and that is lets move to a French Style System. In France there are two rounds of voting where in the first round nominees from all sorts of parties can run and then the top two candidates move on to the final round where there is a runoff to see who wins. I believe that is the best solution because one it lets one all sorts of parties run, lets people vote for whoever they really want and then releases the so called spoiler effect.

I suspect though the Democrats would not be interested in this proposal because many progressives who currently vote for them would not and they could risk not making the final round of voting .

King: Some criticisms though is couldn't you then have 100+ candidates in the first round which effectively can create a lesser evil scenario. The second is many states support the electoral college so a switch to a popular vote like France may not work

Nader: I think we should move to a popular vote cause its more Democratic but that's not even the main point. If you want to have an electoral college system for round 2 then so be it but the question is opening up the door to let people vote their conscience at least in round 1 so such a compromise would be worthy it. As for your first question well I would like to point you out that again this point is overblown because starting a new party is no where near as easy as people make it to be. You have to get a certain amount of signatures which is not easy to do, but if they reach it then they absolutely should be on the ballot as that means people want them there.

King : How many signatures should be required

Nader : I would say around 1% of Americans who voted in the previous election would be a fair number .

King : Ok thanks for coming on Ralph

Nader : Anytime John

Breaking News: Former Delaware Lieutenant Governor John Carney Elected to fill out House Seat Vacated by Education Secretary Mike Castle:



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carney_(politician)

Cooper: Ok we will be interrupting regular programming to go Wolf for an election update

Blitzer: Yes Anderson and that is CNN can now project Former Delaware Lieutenant Governor John Carney will fill out the the remainder of the term vacated by Education Secretary Mike Castle as we can project he will handily win the special election for the house seat in that state. This will also change the Democratic balance from 219 to 215 to 220 to 215 meaning the Democrats now will have 3 votes to spare when it came to bills in the House. While this result was no surprise this win does provide a boost for President Clinton's agenda in the House.

Now we will send it back to Anderson for regular programming

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Education Secretary Mike Castle Presents Education Plan:

Blitzer: Secretary Castle today presented the administration's education plan to help improve the K-12 Education System in this nation and here are some of the details.

Details of Plan:
- Have Teacher Pay in Low Income Districts be higher than the ones in Affluent Districts to attract best teachers to those schools

- Increase amount of Teachers in General to reduce classroom sizes

- Require every public school in a state to have the same access to textbooks, school supplies and technology

- Increase student's access to after school tutoring to help struggling kids out

- Increase funding for special needs programs to ensure kids who require special education programs can need it

Blitzer: Now with us is former Education Secretary William Bennett. So Bill many are asking whether the department of education has the ability to carry out such a program like this

Bennett: No they do not at least not directly. What they can do and what they will do in my opinion is  fund this program through the use of block grants which then will require states and districts to agree to make these changes if they want to continue to get grants. Now of course the issue is not every state may agree to such changes which would then make the provision of requiring every school in a state to have the same materials not as effective.

Blitzer: Do you think this bill would get the 60 votes it needs

Bennett: Oh yes I think this overall framework can easily get 60 votes but the main issue is see is the details in such a bill and then carrying out such reform. As for my opinion, I will have to see the full proposal with all the details before making such a judgement.


President Clinton's former election rival, Senator George W Bush announces he will support overall framework of education proposal



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__ECMoHDenY

Cooper: President Hillary Clinton's former election rival, and current Texas Senator George W Bush announces today he would be supporting the framework of the President's education plan. Here is a clip from him earlier today

Bush: After careful consideration I have decided to back the President's framework on her plan to help improve our education system. While we will still have to now work out the details the fact is the overall framework is good because we do need to ensure every kid regardless of income, special need status can have the opportunity to succeed and that's what this framework will do.

Cooper: So seems like this proposal does have backing but now of course this is just the framework and what it needs is also for the bill itself to get support, and we will see in the coming months if it does.

Hillary Clinton approvals in the upper 50s at the 100 day mark:

Approve: 58%(+2%)
Disapprove: 38%(-2)

Blitzer: President Clinton at the 100 day mark so far has so far managed to get some popularity with approvals around 58% . So David what do you think

Gergen: Well I think President Hillary Clinton so far has had a significantly better start than her husband Bill Clinton did and as you can see her approvals are almost 20 point higher than Former President Bill Clinton's were at this point. I think the main difference is unlike in 1993 the Clintons know how Washington works, how the the national press works , has had a team set unlike the last time ready to hit the ground running so I think she has had a better start so far.

Carville: Yes and while I would add is that one lesson President Hillary Clinton has seemed to learn is by having a focused start. While many would say what do you mean as she is proposing all sorts of different proposals , I will say this and that is the theme behind her healthcare reform , childcare reform and education reform come down to one thing and that is strengthening the American family and helping raise our next generation.

Blitzer: So David one thing that people have brought up is despite the fact that how controversial this past election was the GOP seems more unable to fight back then they did in 1993 after a pretty decisive win in 1992.

Brooks: Well I think one huge difference is there was this perception even if a myth in 1992 that without Perot , George Bush gets a 2nd term while this time without third parties Hillary probably wins outright so that is a difference. Next I would like to add is the GOP seems definitely far more exhausted today then they were back in 1993 as yes while they controlled the White House for longer than they did, they also had not had either house of congress for 6 years at that point and the house in particular for 38 so the GOP seemed ready to fight back.

Today the GOP after 8 years of controlling the White House , Senate and House and 14 years of controlling both houses seems definitely more fatigue. I would like to add one thing that is probably hurting the GOP is that right now was the loss of Mitch McConnell last November. The fact is Mitch McConnell was a far more ruthless leader than Jon Kyl is and not only that I want people to keep in mind that none of the top 3: Gorton, McConnell and Frist are left and 4 of the top 6 are gone too so again that has hurt them and President Clinton and Majority Leader Reid have taken advantage like expected.

Blitzer: How long do you think it will take for the GOP to make a comeback

Brooks: Well I do think you will start to see a more effective GOP opposition start to form when President Clinton encounters her first major failure like any President does at least in the House and given how narrow the Dems house majority is that could be enough to really force changes in the President's Agenda.

Carville: Well I think this is just not true cause I remember back in 1993 how much bad shape the GOP was in given they had far less seats in either house of congress than they do today and were prone to far more infighting then they are today. I think what it is , is that for an effective opposition to form you need something to either oppose in which a large part of the nation would agree or you need the party in power to mess up and right now neither thing has happened.

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Senate Passes Reconciliation portion of Healthcare Proposal as expected:

Blitzer: The Senate earlier today passed the Reconciliation portion of the Healthcare Bill as expected with every Democrat voting for it and also getting the support of one Republican Lincoln Chaffee. Now it will face a tougher obstacle for passage in the House where there are many conservative democrats that may have the votes to block the Medicare and Medicaid expansion thanks to the extremely slim majority held by Democrats in that chamber.

The Bipartisan Healthcare Bill is still being debated in the Senate Finance Committee but the chair of that committee, Senator Max Baucus has said he is optimistic that the committee can pass a bill that can get 60 votes on the senate floor in the next month or so.

Breaking News: Associate Justice David Souter Announces he will retire from the Supreme Court:



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Souter

Blitzer: We have some breaking news to report to you and that is Justice David Souter has just announced he will be retiring from the Supreme Court at the end of the current term. Justice Souter was nominated by President George Bush back in 1990 and after nearly 19 years on the court , he will be retiring at the end of June. This retirement will give President Hillary Clinton her first nominee for the Supreme Court , so Jeff do we know of any potential picks for the Supreme Court

Toobin: Well it is still way to early to say but here are some possible names and let me be clear that this is by no means the official shortlist as these are some of the people we think are likely to be considered.

- Sonia Sotomayor
Current Position: Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

- Merrick Garland
Current Position: Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit

- Diane Wood
Current Position: Judge of the United States Courts of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

- Kim Wardlaw
Current Position: Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

Toobin: So these are some names that likely will be interviewed but as for who gets picked, well its hard to say cause it very well could be someone not on this list and heck it may be someone who may not even currently be a judge.

Blitzer: The President is about to make a statement so lets go to the White House for it

Clinton: Earlier Today, I received with regret Justice Souter's letter of resignation from the Supreme Court which will take effect at the end of this term. The reason I say regret is that Justice Souter served with great distinction and was a true defender of the rule of law, the constitution and the principles behind them as well. He also was a great legal mind, and the court will definitely miss having someone like Justice Souter on it. I also had the opportunity to convey this to Justice Souter on the phone and wished him well in whatever he chooses to do next.

Now as you all may know, one of the most important jobs a President has is to select someone to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court and due to that I have assigned some of the best legal minds in this administration to the task of helping pick and vet our next Supreme Court Justice.  Now I know many in the media have already begun speculating who I will choose but I can tell you the list of potential nominees will be long and I will make sure the selection process is not rushed given how important the job of being an Associate Justice is. Thank You but I will not be taking any questions at this moment

[OSR stands with Israel]

Fed Chair Greg Mankiw announces he will be stepping down at the end of his current term



Source : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Mankiw

Blitzer : The Chair of the Federal Reserve Greg Mankiw announced he will be stepping down at the end of his current term at the end of September . Some of potential candidates to replace him are : Larry Summers , Sheila Bair , Carmen Reinhart, Paul Krugman and Gary Gensler. Of course there are more but these are some of the names put out by the New York Times today .


Breaking News: President Hillary Clinton appoints Illinois Senator Barack Obama to fill the vacating Supreme Court Seat of Associate Justice David Souter:



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P070109PS-0667_%283817333091%29.jpg

Blitzer : President Clinton we are told is getting ready to announce that she will nominate Senator Barack Obama to the Supreme Court . This pick would be a major surprise but we are told that it has been confirmed so let’s go to the White House where the President is getting ready to make a statement .

Clinton: Thank You Thank You. After weeks of careful consideration and interviewing many great and qualified candidates for the position of being our nation's next Supreme Court Justice, it is my high honor to announce that I will be appointing Illinois Senator Barack Obama to fill the vacating seat of Associate Justice David Souter. As someone who has come to know Senator Obama over the past few years, I can tell you that he is one of the brightest legal minds I have come to know and his career has shown that. At Harvard he became an editor of its Law Review at the end of his freshman year which I can tell you is very impressive and then became the first African American President of the Harvard Law Review which truly is an impressive accomplishment. After Graduating he worked as a civil rights attorney where he took on powerful special interests in the state of Illinois and made sure average citizens who had there rights violated by them were given justice, and also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago for 13 years which makes him well qualified for this position. Now it is my high honor to introduce somehow who I believe will be a great Supreme Court Justice Barack Obama

Obama: I want to start of by thanking President Clinton for giving me the high honor and an entrusting me in this very important job . The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest arbitrator of the law in our nation and the most important defender of our constitution and our rule of law. It is with this honor , I want to thank Justice David Souter for doing a great job every day for the past 18 and a half years in defending our constitution , ensuring the rule of law is upheld and in defending the rights of everyday Americans and I hope that I can do as great of a job as you did.

I also want to announce that as a current member of the senate judiciary committee , it would be a conflict of interest if I got to vet myself so for that reason I have also informed Senate Majority Leader that I will be stepping down as a member of that committee and if my nomination goes to the floor of the Senate, I will not be voting on my own confirmation as that too would be a conflict of interest.

Clinton: Neither of us will be taking questions at the moment


Senator Lindsey Graham reacts to news that that Senator Barack Obama has been appointed to fill Justice Souter's Seat:

Cooper: Senator Graham you have known Senator Obama for a few years now, so what do you think of this pick

Graham: Anderson, I can tell you that Senator Obama is definitely a very smart individual but I can tell you I am skeptical of the fact that someone who has never been a Judge, A Solicitor General or really any major role in our legal system for example has the qualifications needed to be a Supreme Court Justice. I can tell you will ask Senator Obama some very tough questions about this as he definitely needs to be questioned about this, because being a Justice of the highest court of our land requires someone to be ready from day 1.

Cooper: Well while conservatives like you may not be a fan of Earl Warren, he wasnt a judge either when he was picked and he went on to be one of the most influential justices in American History

Graham: Sure but Chief Justice Warren also was the DA of Alameda County for 14 years and then Attorney General for a state like California for another 4 before he became governor so he did have a major role in our legal system. Senator Obama on the other hand has not had that role

Cooper: Well he had been a constitutional law professor at one of the top law schools in the country for 13 years so wouldn't you say thats a important qualification

Graham: Sure and I am not denying that Senator Obama has a brilliant legal mind because he certainly does but being a Supreme Court Justice takes more than just that and thats what I will be trying to find out at his hearings.

Cooper: Would you filibuster the pick

Graham: Unless something major comes up, the answer is no

Cooper: Thanks for coming on

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How is Obama’s Senate career going and will he get a Senate leader
Position from the Senate Democrat caucus

He has been appointed to something better than that

[OSR stands with Israel]

How is Obama’s Senate career going and will he get a Senate leader
Position from the Senate Democrat caucus

He has been appointed to something better than that

I wonder how Blagojevich (whom I dreamed about today) would respond to this. Would he try to buy Obama's seat as IOTL?

I will definitely have an update of how Blagojevich responds to this as well.

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Senate passes Healthcare Reform Bill after coming to a Bipartisan Agreement on Healthcare Reform:

Blitzer: The Senate Earlier today came to a bipartisan agreement on healthcare reform and to show you the changes from the original proposal we have marked the parts that have been removed with a slash and new provisions in bold. So here is the new bill and we are told that the house is expected to pass this bill like how it now.

Important Provisions:

Mandates:

- Creates an individual mandate for health insurance

- Large Employers would be required to provide their employers with insurance or pay into a fund that finances coverage for insured

Taxes:

- Create tax credits to help individuals purchase health insurance

- Small Businesses who provide health insurance will receive tax credits

Rules for Insurance Companies:

- Cannot deny anyone for pre existing conditions

- Lets kids stay on their parents healthcare plan till they are 26

- Requires them to reduce or in some cases remove copay fees or deductibles for certain types of preventive care

Other:

- Lets Americans Buy the same insurance plan as congress

- Increases funding to help create new providers in rural communities

-Individuals will be allowed to buy insurance across state lines

- Removes requirement that individuals have to have a qualifying high deductible plan to open and contribute to an HSA  

Blitzer: So Gloria the Senate has passed healthcare reform, which is big news for the President

Borger: Yes it is but we are told the President is not happy at all with the fact the employer mandates had to be dropped but we are told she told Democrats that she would sign such a bill as long as the House also agrees to pass the Medicare and Medicaid expansion bill as well otherwise she would not sign such a bill.

Blitzer: Alright thanks for the info Gloria


House Passes Medicare and Medicaid Expansion though Conservative Democrats weaken expansion

Cooper: The Democrats earlier today passed a bill that would expand Medicare and Medicaid though due to a few conservative democrats the bill does have some changes from the bill the senate passed. For example in the Senate version of the bill The Medicare Age would be dropped from 65 to 58 rather than 55 and the Medicaid Expansion will cover Americans whose incomes are up to 135% of the Poverty line rather than 140%. Now with us to talk more HHS Secretary Howard Dean about this news. So Secretary Dean what do you think of this latest bill

Dean: Listen I can tell you that while I wish these changes were not made , the fact is these changes will positively impact the lives of millions of Americans and paired with the other bill I think we will have legislation that will greatly improve our healthcare system. Now its not secret I wish both would go further, but the fact is they would be a fantastic pair of bills and my hope is the House quickly pass the bipartisan healthcare bill and the senate pass this version of the Medicare and Medicaid expansion so we can provide help to millions who need it as quickly as possible.

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House Passes Bipartisan Healthcare Bill and Senate Passes Senate Version of Medicare and Medicaid Expansion:

Blitzer: The House earlier today passed the Bipartisan Healthcare Bill with the same wording with nearly 50 Republicans voting for the Bill and now the bill will be going to the President's Desk to be signed into law. The Senate also responded by passing the House version of the Medicare and Medicaid Expansion bill but this one on a party line vote, but due to the bill using a process called reconciliation it was not able to be filibustered and now will also be going to the President's Desk. These bills passage is not only a huge win for the President who now will have a key part of her platform enacted into law but a huge personal win as keep in mind 16 years ago the Clintons failed miserably in passing health reform. So James what was different this time

Carville: Well I think there are two things that were different, one Americans have had 16 more years too see why we needed healthcare reform and that definitely made an impact. As you know President Clinton has said she credits her election victory to this issue as she believes otherwise there is no doubt in her mind she would have lost the election to Senator Bush and the Republicans would still have the house so due to that she believed she had public support. Second the Clintons are more experienced at playing the Washington game then they were back in 1993 by far and thats what they did .

The fact is if the Republicans did not cooperate on the healthcare reform bill, the President Could not only have put much of her original proposal into one reconciliation bill but put things such as surtaxes and even a repeal of the McCain Corporate Tax Cuts into the bill and that gave the President leverage she used.

Blitzer: Do you think it was playing hardball

Carville: Oh sure but its the type every President plays. Like listen if you think an opposition party will come on board on an issue where the status quo would generally prefer their position without some hardball then thats just being naive. By the way this is not me being partisan as I highly doubt President Reagan or President McCain would have gotten the Democratic support they did on some of their policy agenda without them playing some hardball behind the scenes as well.

It's just how politics works and how it will always work no matter who is in power or who is in opposition.

Blitzer: We are told she will sign both bills in the same ceremony

Carville: Hey if part of the deal was not to have a separate ceremony for the reconciliation bill then I will say it is more than worth it.

President Hillary Clinton remarks after signing healthcare bills:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryweuBVJMEA

Clinton: Thank You Thank You. As you know for many decades it has been the goal of many President's and Congresses to reform the healthcare system to make it easier for every American to be able to buy health insurance and for many decades it was not able to be done. This time though we were motivated to make sure it would not be the same story and while it was not easy , we finally were able to pass healthcare reform(Applause). Thanks to these two bills passed by Congress, we now will be able to come to the aid of millions of Americans with the combination of covering more Americans through Medicare and Medicaid and by creating tax credits for others to ensure every American can be able to afford health insurance(Applause).

We also were able to take on the special interests and thanks to this bill Americans will have more choice then ever have before to choose the insurance plan that best suits them(Applause) and that includes the same plan congress has(Applause) , and also ensure that no American with pre existing condition gets denied coverage ever again(Applause). Now of course there is still one more thing these bills need to become law and that is my signature so I will now be doing exactly that.

President Hillary Clinton signs bills:

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Former President Bill Clinton talks about how he has adjusted into role of being the First Gentleman:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmh9p1rlkQk

King: President Clinton what has it been like to be back at the White House but except this time in a very different role and what is exactly your role as First Gentleman

Clinton: Well Larry , I would say my first priority is to give my wife , President Hillary Clinton all the personal support she needs as I can tell you the job is extremely stressful and having personal support is definitely important in making sure you can be as effective a president as our nation needs.

King: How would you assess you wife's presidency to yours at the same point. Many have said it has been a far more successful start than yours which many said was a failure

Clinton: Well I would not say my start was a failure as we did get a good deal done but yes Hillary's start so far is much better. Now the reason why I think is multitude of reasons and that is having experience in Washington definitely helps in getting bills passed congress, and her passion for the important issues facing our nation has resonated very well with the public which I can tell you is very important in passing an agenda. The fact that Healthcare Reform is now a reality unlike in 1993 is something that will really help out poor and working families in our nation and it is a huge accomplishment from Hillary

King: Thanks for coming on former President Clinton

Clinton: Anytime Larry


Secretary of State Sam Nunn Speaks out in favor of the Iranian Protesters:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Cycn2vRpk

Nunn: Over the past week we have seen the people of Iran rise up against a tyrannical regime that has oppressed the people in Iran for decades and I want the protesters to know that we stand with you in your effort to help move Iran to become a nation that has free and fair elections and where human rights are respected.

Media Member 1: Secretary Nunn is there anything the administration has to say to the government of Iran

Nunn: Listen what we would say is that protesting against a government is a basic human and that we will not tolerate a crackdown of those protests one bit. Instead we will offer an alternative where if you work with the protesters to move towards a more democratic system where basic individual rights are protected, we will reduce the sanctions we have placed against you, but if you crack down on them we will increase the severity of those sanctions. Anyway I will not be taking any more questions so thank you.

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Breaking News : West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin wins Special Election to fill out the rest of Vice President's Rockefeller's term in the senate:



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Manchin_official_portrait_112th_Congress.jpg

Brown: The polls have closed in West Virginia so lets now go to Wolf to get some news about the special senate election in West Virginia

Blitzer: Yes Campbell and that is CNN can now project that Joe Manchin the Democratic Governor of West Virginia will be the next senator of West Virginia defeating Businessman John Raese. Now this result is no surprise as Joe Manchin is a very popular governor in West Virginia and he was expected by all the polls to easily win this race. Due to this , now Senator-Elect Manchin will serve out the rest of Vice President Jay Rockefeller's term in the senate which will last till January of 2015.


Breaking News: FBI arrest Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for his attempt to buy Senator Obama's Seat:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_KwyvMAH4

Blitzer: We have some breaking news to report to you and that is Governor Blagojevich has been arrested by the FBI on multiple counts of corruption and we are told one of those charges is the fact that he has attempted to buy the senate seat of Supreme Court Barack Obama. We are told he has asked for his wife to be put on a corporate board, be given a substantial salary for himself in exchange for the appointment. We are told that he has also been under investigation from the FBI for other matters related to corruption as well and this matter only further adds to the legal troubles the Illinois Governor is in.

Senator Barack Obama in response to this has called on Governor Blagojevich to resign and has Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called for a special election to be held if Senate Obama ends up being confirmed rather than having who he called a disgraced governor be in charge of it. So Jeffrey is there likely anything that can be done to stop an appointment

Toobin: Probably not given Illinois Law gives the Governor full power to fill any vacancy and while they can change the law they likely wont have enough to override a veto as Republicans probably would want to face a tainted Democrat in next year's election anyway.

Blitzer: Ok Thanks Jeffrey

[OSR stands with Israel]

The Nomination of Senator Obama wins approval of Senator Lindsey Graham after tough questioning at hearing



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS6t7hZnXL8

Cooper: Despite days of tough questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Obama had his nomination approved by the committee where it now will go to the senate for a full vote. With us now is Senator Lindsey Graham who was a big skeptic of the nomination of Senator Obama first but did vote to approve it. So Senator what made you change your mind

Graham: Well I never said I was against it Wolf, all I said was I was skeptical of someone who had no judicial experience or someone who never a state attorney general or even DA becoming a Supreme Court Justice and thats what I took into the questioning.

Cooper: Ok then what made you say become sold on his nomination

Graham: Well the fact is I and many other senators both Democrat and Republican asked Senator Obama many tough questions and not only did he show that he has a brilliant legal mind which we all expected but he did show that he would be able to handle to job of an Associate Justice. Once that became clear I think the job of the committee was over and we sent the nomination to the floor where I intend to vote to confirm the nomination of Senator Obama to the Supreme Court .

Cooper: Last Question, will the senate let Governor Blagojevich who was impeached last week just pick anyone given what he did

Graham: Listen the fact is the impeachment trial of Governor Blagojevich is set to start a week from today and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has also indicated that we wont be holding a vote on the confirmation vote until at least a day after the trial is completed to ensure that an impeached Governor cannot appoint the Senator of Illinois until after the trial is completed .

Cooper: Ok thanks for coming on Senator

Graham: Anytime Anderson

Breaking News: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich removed from office after being unanimously convicted by Illinois State Senate



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIq6Al7wdk0
 
Blitzer: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been removed from office after being unanimously convicted in his impeachment trial in the state senate and after being convicted was also barred from holding any office in Illinois state or local politics ever again. As a result of this Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn will become the new Governor of the State of Illinois and also fill the seat of Senator Barack Obama if hes confirmed to the Supreme Court.


Senator Barack Obama gets easily confirmed to the Supreme Court



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BarackObama2005portrait_(cropped).jpg

Blitzer: The Senate today voted overwhelmingly to confirm the nomination of Barack Obama to the Supreme Court with every Democrat with the exception of Barack Obama who was not present for the confirmation vote for himself and a little more than 36% of Republicans voting for the confirmation of Barack Obama to the Supreme Court. This meant that Barack Obama was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a 69-30 vote and we are told he will be sworn in soon by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens.

Soon to be Justice Obama also sent in his resignation papers which will take effect immediately meaning his Illinois senate seat will now be vacant until Governor Quinn appoints someone to his seat.