> President-elect Barack Obama will visit the White House today.
> Change is happening in the U.S. Senate. Honolulu Star Bulletin:
HAVING native son Barack Obama on the doorstep of the White House has already raised Hawaii's profile on the nation's political stage. Now, with U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye taking the helm of the powerful Appropriations Committee, the state farthest from the U.S. capital -- and arguably the minds of most Americans -- stands to gain a lot more influence than before.
Moreover, if Hawaii's other senator, Daniel Akaka, becomes the new chairman of the Homeland Security panel the islands could hold bigger sway in Washington.
Inouye assumes the chairmanship long held by West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, who at age 90 voluntarily relinquished the post in advance of a reorganization of the Senate later this month.....> Now that the Republicans have lost the White House, some GOP politicians are already getting their sights on 2012. Mike Huckabee (fried squirrel gourmand) and Bobb Jindal (creationist education advocate), are planning to spend some of their future time in Iowa.
