Barack Obama meets Spider-Man in just four more days

Ten days until the presidential inauguration.

But only four more days until the special Marvel Comics issue with the cover portrayal of American popular culture's newest superhero, President-elect Barack Obama.

Good luck living up to these expectations in coming months.

Obama has been on the cover of numerous publications in recent weeks, seeking to capitalize on his current popularity.

For now, it's probably fun to be portrayed this way. Geoff Boucher over on Hero Complex has the full story on Super B or whatever they're calling him. And, interestingly, some comic portrayals of past presidents, including one that might surprise you.

A hint: his initials are RMN.

Also, in the interests of equal opportunity offending, we're adding on the "Read more" jump here a female super-heroine from the other side, except she lost.

--Andrew Malcolm

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Ticket Notice: Sunday TV-Bush I & II, Obama I, Pelosi, Cheney, Cosby

ABC This Week: President-elect Barack Obama and a round table with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the New York Times' Tom Friedman, Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan and ABC's George Will.

CBS Face the Nation: House Minority Leader John Boehner, Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen.-designate Roland Burris. Moderator: Bob Schieffer.

CNN Late Edition: Vice President Dick Cheney, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, ex-presidential advisor David Gergen, Washington Times' Tara Wall, Democratic strategist James Carville, CNN's Gloria Borger and Candy Crowley. Moderator: Wolf Blitzer.

Fox News Sunday: President George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush; round table with Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard & Fox News; Mara Liasson, NPR & Fox News; Charles Krauthammer, columnist & Fox News; Juan Williams, NPR & Fox News. Moderator: Chris Wallace.

NBC Meet the Press: Bill Cosby, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, Rep. Maxine Waters; round table of former Rep. David Bonior, Wall Street Journal's Paul Gigot, CNBC's John Harwood, Vanity Fair's Bethany McLean and McCain economic advisor Mark Zandi. Moderator: David Gregory.

And if those folks aren't sufficient to get you angry after church, John Cardarelli e-mails us that someone named Ann Coulter is going to be on that network's "Washington Journal" program Sunday morning. As with Cosby, a new book. (UPDATE: John e-mails that the Coulter appearance has been cancelled. So, you'll have to scroll back through some of our previous items to get your weekend ire going. Or there's always the editorial page; but they use such big words over there.)

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Eric Draper / White House

Now, Durbin sees new impasse on Roland Burris Senate seat

The never-gonna-happen-everything's-open-for-negotiation-no-you-can't-well-maybe-you-can seating of Roland Burris in Barack Obama's empty U.S. Senate seat now seems back to the never-gonna-happen stage.

In Chicago last night, Illinois' other senator, Dick Durbin, No. 2 Senate Democrat after Happy Harry Reid, said that Friday's state court refusal to order Secretary of State Jesse White to certify Burris' nomination means that the 71-year-old Burris may well be at least 72 before he's allowed to sit in the back of the Senate. If ever.

Durbin now asserts that no one can fill the vacant seat until the governor of Illinois, Rod "I did nothing wrong" Blagojevich, is removed from office and his successor (presumably fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn) names a senator.

See the lieutenant governor's comments in the video just below and the governor's reaction to the impeachment vote below that by clicking on the "Read more" line below.

White has refused to sign the nomination, citing federal allegations that Blagojevich was auctioning off his nomination. However, White also has said his signature is a ceremonial formality and isn't necessary. But Durbin and Reid, whose opposition to Burris drew mumbles that it might really be about Burris being African American, have clung to the ceremonial formality as an impassable obstacle to seating the veteran politician and former state attorney general who's never lost to a Republican.

"At this point we've clearly reached an impasse," Durbin told reporters at his Chicago office. He suggested the Senate seat might even remain vacant and Illinois' Senate representation halved until Blagojevich is removed from office and the lieutenant governor takes over and makes a new appointment.

This, plus the ongoing impeachment struggle in Illinois, seems likely to prolong the internal Democratic struggle past the historic inauguration of Obama, who's sent a message to Reid and Durbin to get the distraction settled. A Blagojevich impeachment trial could start in the state Senate next week.

The U.S. Senate, Durbin now says, cannot possibly waive a 125-year-old rule requiring the signatures of both the governor and the secretary of state on any appointment.

"This appointment meets the qualifications required by the U.S. Senate of all gubernatorial appointees to fill vacated seats," Burris countered in a statement after the Friday state Supreme Court ruling. "I am confident I have cooperated with all the requests of the U.S. Senate, and I expect they will validate my credentials and seat me in a timely manner."

Now, Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, who represented White in the case, is back in the fray, according to the Swamp's Mark Silva. She says it's clear now that White "is not the roadblock to Mr. Burris' appointment to the U.S. Senate. It remains within the power of the U.S. Senate to seat Mr. Burris."

Then she added, "They should do so immediately."

Both Burris and Durbin will appear on Sunday morning talk shows (See The Ticket show lineup posted every Saturday noon Pacific time.). President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney also will be on the programs, although they haven't been blamed for the Blagojevich scandal. Yet.

--Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Susan Walsh / Associated Press

Dick Cheney finds Obama's inauguration historic, remarkable, also exciting

In what could pass for a remarkable and historic interview during his last 10 days as likely the most powerful vice president in national history, conservative Republican Dick Cheney says he sees the inauguration of liberal Democrat Barack Obama as positive and remarkable and historic.

Even exciting.

No, really.

The conservative Cheney, much villified on the left as an effective partisan and hawk, and called the worst or most dangerous vice president in American history something like that by the next vice president in American history, Joe Biden, was interviewed on tape Friday by CNN's Wolfie.

Portions of the taped interview were obtained from CNN. In the session set for broadcast on Sunday morning's "Late Edition," Cheney was asked his thoughts as he looks at the impending inauguration of Obama on Jan. 20.

Cheney first states the obvious: As a Republican, he voted for John McCain. But then the conservative Wyoming resident and longtime Washington denizen says:

"I have the same feeling that I think many Americans have, that it's really remarkable that -- what we're going to do here in a few days is swear in the first African American president of the United States. When I came to town in 1968, we'd had the Martin Luther King assassination, Bobby Kennedy assassination, riots in the cities, major, major disturbances, a lot of it racially motivated around the country. 

"And in fact, things have changed so dramatically that we're now about to swear in Barack Obama as president of the United States. That's really a remarkable story and I think a record of tremendous success and progress for the United States."

Apparently, momentarily taken aback by the vice president's positive tone on his party losing the White House, Blitzer mumbles, "Pretty historic. Pretty exciting."

And Cheney agrees! "It is," he says.

--Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Eric Draper / The White House

Breaking: Obama sends national e-mail with NO plea for money!

This is no Friday joke.

Word has just been received at The Ticket that President-elect Barack Obama sent out an actual e-mail today without asking for more money from tired donors. No, really.

The N.Y. Times' Katharine Seelye recently reported growing donor fatigue among eager and happy Obamaites to whom it has occurred that they've already given nearly $1 billion to buy all this change to believe in, even many long weeks after the ex-freshman senator won the White House already.

And when's it gonna end? "I'm way over this thing," Obama volunteer Abe Silk complained this week on Huffington Post. "You guys really want me to donate $25 to 'make the inauguration a success'? What on earth does that even mean?"

And then comes an additional $27 million already in the can toward a $40-million-plus anticipated for one inaugural party before even ex-president Bill Clinton asked for just a little bit more earlier this week.

Now comes word, via the Swamp, that Obama actually dispatched an electronic missive earlier today praising as "an ideal leader" Virginia's Gov. Tim Kaine, Obama's newly named part-time chair of the Democratic National Committee. "Gov. Kaine has seen the power of the 50-state strategy firsthand," says the president-elect's message. "And under his leadership, Democrats will continue to organize and compete in every corner of our country"

Then, Obama asks for -- wait for it! -- not money, but questions from grass-roots Democrats that Tim will answer in a video on the DNC's website. Amazing!

Kaine doesn't actually take part-time office officially until Jan. 21. So you've probably got till that morning before you get a money letter from him. Of course, before then you might get one or two more from outgoing DNC Chairman Howard Dean. Unless you change your e-mail real quick-like.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Coinsite.com

Blagojevich fights for little guys, gals -- healthcare, tax relief, all sorts of good things

Illinois' legally-challenged Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he's had a longrunning political feud with the Illinois House of Representatives, ever since the 51-year-old former congressman from Chicago's North Side was reelected in 2006.

At a Chicago news conference where he refused to take questions, Blagojevich says the Illinois House is standing in the way of his ongoing, valiant effort to fight for the ordinary people of his state, which is what he says he was elected and reelected to do. "From the very moment of my reelection," Blagojevich says, "I have been in a struggle with the House to try to get things done for the people."

The governor says he's "pushed and prodded" that legislative body for property tax relief for the working folks of Illinois.

He says he's fought to expand healthcare for poor people like the fellow over there in the wheelchair who had a liver disease or kidney disease or something wrong with him and couldn't get coverage. And for the women of Illinois who deserve better care and coverage for their breasts and cervixes.

In fact, Blago says, many people didn't know that the Illinois Senate has passed but the lazy, good-for-nothing House is still sitting on other bills to help regular Illinois citizens. "Is that an impeachable offense" to fight for the people as he's done?

The governor answered his own question: "I don't believe that's an impeachable offense. I understand the House's action. I'm not at all surprised by it."

Oh, and in case anyone had on their mind this silly talk about Blagojevich's legal troubles, now involving the Democrat-controlled Illinois House, by a closely-divided count of 114-1, (see news video below) choosing to impeach (or indict) a governor for the first time in the state's history earlier today, here's what the governor dismissively said:

"The House's action today and the causes of the impeachment are because I've done things to fight for the families who are with me today." And there were families there too, of all colors, looking sad and silent, but cared for.

Blago's alleged news conference today, with him talking nonstop and even quoting a British poet (Tennyson) and rocking up on his toes as he does when nervous or agitated, was....

Democrats quietly toss term limits on congressional chairs

With so much Capitol Hill attention focused on swearing-in members and not swearing-in Roland Burris, the congressional majority Democrats released a package of rules changes this week.

It has the very optimistic title: "Common-Sense Reforms to Keep Congress Working for America."

That kind of verbiage -- like "Have I got a deal for you!" -- should set off all kinds of alarms.

And it did for the folks over at MSNBC's savvy First Read, who point out that one of the silent changes throws away term limits for congressional committee chairs, all of whom at the moment just happen to be, of course, Democrats.

The MSNBC crew points out that of the 22 committee chairs, 16 have been in office since long before Bill Clinton left Arkansas. The changes mean that a chairman like, oh, say, Charlie Rangel of New York (see photo) can hold the gavel for as long as he wants.

"Is this change Democrats can believe in?" the newsletter asks.

Good question.

--Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Associated Press

Too late, but Bill Ayers has Cabinet advice for pal Obama

Catching up: With the election over, Bill Ayers has a new part-time job. You may remember him as Sen. John McCain's favorite washed-up terrorist, the co-founder of the Weather Underground '60s radical  group.

The Republicans tried to turn the Ayers-Obama Chicago friendship and joint education reform work into a vague extremist conspiracy, suggesting dark things about the Democratic candidate's hidden agendas.

Well, now that the election is over and it's safe to speak out as Barack Obama will be officially elected president of these United States today by the archaic Electoral College system in Washington, with the inauguration to come in 12 days, Ayers has written a column on Huffington Post, the world's top-ranked blog.

His most recent effort takes Hyde Park neighbor Obama to task for his Cabinet choices, especially Arne Duncan as Education secretary.

Acknowledging that Duncan, who's been heading Chicago public schools, was "the smart choice, the unity choice," Ayers also calls him "a failed urban superintendent," saying Duncan's among many who "have little to show in terms of school improvement."

"Obama is not a monarch," Ayers states, "Arne Duncan is not education czar -- and we are not his subjects."

Ayers says his own Cabinet choices, among others, would have been his wife, fellow radical Bernardine Dohrn as attorney general, Noam Chomsky as secretary of State, Paul Krugman as the Treasury chief, Naomi Klein at the Defense Department and Amy Goodman as White House press secretary.

"So what do I know?" he asks.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press

Complete list of Obama's 10 official inaugural balls

In case you're already starting to prepare for Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington in 12 days and get dressed for the inaugural balls, here's a list of the 10 where he'll be pretend-dancing onstage with the nation's new first lady, Michelle Obama.

They'll be historically crowded affairs with warm drinks if the lines are moving and hardly enough room to move, let alone dance. (Even more crowded than the drawing of Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Ball above in 1865.)

And forget about finding a cab for two days, especially if it's snowing or raining.

But they'll likely mellow in the memory over the years as a grand time. If you don't have an invitation yet, you might want to take the gown back.

--Youth Inaugural Ball - Young Americans ages 18 to 35; Washington Hilton.

--Obama Home States Inaugural Ball - Illinois and Hawaii invited guests; Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

--Biden Home States Inaugural Ball - Delaware and Pennsylvania invited guests; Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

--Eastern Inaugural Ball - CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT, PR and USVI invited guests; Union Station.

--Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball - MD, VA, DC, NY, NJ and WV invited guests; Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

--Midwest Inaugural Ball - KS, IN, IA, MI, MN, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI and MO invited guests; Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

--Southern Inaugural Ball - AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN and TX invited guests; National Guard Armory.

--Western Inaugural Ball - AK, CA, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY, AZ, CO, NV, NM, UT, OK, GUAM/AS invited guests; Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

--Neighborhood Inaugural Ball - DC residents, additional guests; Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

--Commander-in-Chief's Inaugural Ball -- Enlisted active-duty and reserve military; National Building Museum.

The Times' own Mary Forgione has an even more detailed account of the Obama balls over here on our Daily Travel & Deal Blog.

Also, be sure to click on the "Read more" line below to see the actual menu from Lincoln's Ball. Looks like they put on a pretty good feed back in those days! Our favorite item: Beef a la mode.

--Andrew Malcolm

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President-elect Obama makes Tim Kaine DNC chairman-elect

Remember the other day when The Ticket reported that President-elect Barack Obama was going to name good pal and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the new part-time chairman of the Democratic National Committee?

And the part-time-ness of the Harvard-trained lawyer would last through Kaine's last year in Richmond?

Before Kaine becomes a full-time chair or something bigger next year?

Remember that? It was right here with all the background on their connections and similarities. All that.

Well, Obama did all that today in Washington. So now it's politically official. And you knew about it days in advance because you came here. Or should have.

Kaine takes over the committee on Jan. 21, the day after Obama takes over the White House. Oh, and he inherits a $15-million campaign debt from the outgoing chair, Howard Dean, who also was a governor.

But there's a new wrinkle now: Bloomberg News points out that as chairman of the Southern Governors Assn., Kaine is intimately involved in raising funds from oil, pharmaceutical, tobacco and energy companies in exchange for access to the states' chief executives.

Obama, of course, made a big campaign deal over his opposition to lobbyists and special interests.

So how does Kaine's money-raising as governor and DNC chair jibe with Obama's stands on that?

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. Credit: Associated Press