Error: Unable to create directory /home/demockra/public_html/wp-content/uploads/2010/09. Is its parent directory writable by the server? 12/1 Roundup: Cabinets, Contractions, and Peach Pie

• President-elect Obama announced his national security team this morning. In light of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, this announcement couldn’t have come any sooner. Although the attention needs to be on President Bush, Secretary of State Rice, and the rest of the current administration, it is important that there is a team ready to take over in six weeks. The last thing this country needs is a power vacuum in international relations. On this point, I think keeping Robert Gates on at Defense is a good move. Gates seems to agree with Obama on much of Iraq and Afghanistan policy. Although the current talk is that Gates will stay for only one year, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was longer.  Gate’s new number two at the Pentagon will be important, as it is my understanding that Obama will be appointing new top deputies as a condition of Gates staying on. Gates is the only Republican cabinet designee so far. Hopefully, President-elect Obama will name at least one more Republican to a semi-high-profile position. Of course, it should be noted that many appointees, such national security adviser Jim Jones and many on the economic team, are not partisan figures.

• The Senate still stands at 58 D-40 R with Minnesota and Georgia yet to be determined. The recount continues in Minnesota, where Norm Coleman hangs on to a slight lead. The runoff in Georgia will occur tomorrow.  Saxby Chambliss leads Jim Martin by a few percent points in most polling, but it is impossible to predict what turnout will be like. Although the Obama campaign sent hundreds of its paid volunteers to Georgia for one last hurrah before most find themselves temporarily unemployed and searching for what to do next, President-elect Obama has not actually campaigned there himself. This is somewhat disappointing. Yes, Saxby Chambliss probably holds on to this seat regardless of any appearances by the President-elect, but Obama could at least make one or two appearances there as good with many of his campaign workers giving one last go at it.  I understand that he doesn’t want to have this loss on his hands and is trying to stay above politics in this transition period, but like it or not, he will be linked to the outcome of this race regardless of whether he campaigns in the peach state. Making an appearance there would be the right thing to do in my opinion.

• In Senate appointment news, lightweight Ted Kaufman will be appointed to keep Joe Biden’s seat warm for Biden’s son, Beau. There is still no word out of Illinois, except that the appointment will come before the end of the year.  As I’ve mentioned before, I think that something similar should be done in Illinois, sans the nepotism.

• According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the United States has been in a recession since December 2007. It’s interesting that most in the media were clueless to any slowdown until the financial crisis hit this fall. If the recession in fact started in December 2007, we are already approaching the longest such contraction since World War II. The early 1980s and mid 1970s saw 16 month recessions. (However, it should be noted that the 1981-1982 recession was proceeded by another 6 month recession the year before.)