[kwflatbed]

Sen. Barack Obama, Gov. Deval Patrick, Diane Patrick, Sen. John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrate during a rally at the World Trade Center Boston in February.


BOSTON (WBZ) ― So what does Barack Obama's election mean to the political landscape of Massachusetts?

There could be big changes coming.

Secretary of State Kerry?

As WBZ's Jon Keller reported last week, Sen. John Kerry has been mentioned as a possible Secretary of State in an Obama administration.

"Kerry is on his short list," Keller said Wednesday.

"(He) was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Obama's, we'll see what happens."

After his re-election to the U.S. Senate Tuesday night, Kerry dismissed the talk as "speculation" but added he would "talk to the president if he called me and asked me about it."

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, selected Obama to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.

He also endorsed Obama's White House campaign just days after the Illinois senator suffered a potentially crippling loss to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 New Hampshire primary.

Kerry, 64, triggered speculation about his interest in serving as Secretary of State earlier this year, when he began defending Obama on foreign policy questions, both in interviews and op-ed pieces, and invited former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a meeting at his vacation home on Nantucket.

If Kerry left the Senate for a cabinet post, a special election would be held - most likely in the spring, according to Keller.

So who will go for Kerry's seat?

"Everybody and his brother runs," Keller said. "Because any elected official can go ahead and run for it without giving up their own seat. So several members of the Congressional delegation might jump in on that. It would be a free-for-all."

Gov. Deval Patrick's Status?

Gov. Patrick, has also been mentioned as another potential Obama Cabinet member, maybe as Attorney General.

Both are black politicians with roots in Chicago who graduated from Harvard Law School.

They also share the same political consultant, David Axelrod, and supported each other as Patrick ran for governor in 2006 and Obama ran for the Senate in 2004 and president this year.

But Keller said Patrick is less likely than Kerry to leave.

"Gov. Patrick's name was apparently not on any short lists within the Obama transition team," he said. "Maybe Gov. Patrick means it when he says he isn't going."

Last week, Patrick gave his firmest denial yet, saying he expected a challenger when he ran for re-election in 2010.

Asked if that meant he would not take a job in Washington if Obama won, Patrick said, "That's what that means."

Summers To Treasury?

Lawrence Summers (file image)

Another local possibility in the Obama administration - former Harvard president Larry Summers. He has been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary.

Summers had the job under President Bill Clinton.

 

[dcs2244]

Fear not, everyone! If Senator Kerry is taken for this new administration, I'm sure that the governor will appoint someone reasonable as senator, someone like Joey Kennedy!:crazy:

 

[kwflatbed]

Fear not, everyone! If Senator Kerry is taken for this new administration, I'm sure that the governor will appoint someone reasonable as senator, someone like Joey Kennedy!:crazy:

Or Diane Wilkerson LOL

 

[kwflatbed]

AP: Kerry Seeking Appointment As Secretary Of State

Senator Refuses To Rule Out Giving Up Seat

BOSTON -- Sen. John Kerry is actively seeking appointment as secretary of state in the Obama administration, according to Democratic Party sources who spoke to The Associated Press.

Kerry has refused to rule out the possibility that he might give up his Senate seat for a position in the Obama administration.

After his re-election Tuesday night, he also broadened his definition of service to Massachusetts, suggesting he could provide it whether he was one of the state's U.S. senators or held some other post under President-elect Barack Obama.

"I have no job I'm looking for in the Cabinet at this point in time," Kerry told WCVB-TV just moments after he delivered his victory speech. "If the president talks to me, I'll listen to him and talk to him, but there's very little I would leave the U.S. Senate for."

Asked specifically about secretary of state, a position mentioned because of Kerry's interest in foreign affairs, the senator replied, "Well, I'd talk to the president if he called me and asked me about it. But I never heard anything. It's speculation."

He added: "What I've been clear about is that I'm going to fight for Massachusetts. Whatever I, you know, do, I will do with the interests of Massachusetts and our country in mind, but I will continue to serve as thoughtfully as I can."

Kerry triggered speculation about his interest in serving as secretary of state earlier this year, when he began defending Obama on foreign policy questions, both in interviews and op-ed pieces, and invited former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a meeting at his vacation home on Nantucket.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/17907486/detail.html

 

[CJIS]

I do not wish frick and frac upon anyone. its bad enough we have to deal with them.

 

[kwflatbed]

And the sheeple will let him do it

Patrick would consider change to replace senator

Associated Press - November 5, 2008 3:54 PM ET
BOSTON (AP) - Gov. Deval Patrick says he would consider changing state law so he could appoint someone to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat rather than having a special election.
Patrick spoke Wednesday, amid speculation that Sen. John Kerry could take a job in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.
Sen. Edward Kennedy also is ailing from brain cancer. His wife, Vicki, and nephew Joseph P. Kennedy II are said to be among those interested in succeeding him if he were unable to complete his term.
Legislative Democrats changed how vacant seats were filled in 2004 because they were concerned then-Gov. Mitt Romney would appoint a fellow Republican if Kerry was elected president.
Vacant House and Senate seats are now filled in a special election 145 to 160 days after an incumbent resigns. Patrick notes most other states let their governors fill them.

http://www.wwlp.com/Global/story.asp?S=9299370

 

[BennyBulldog]

Can Deval appoint himself Senator from Mass if Kerry leaves for a cabinet post? How does that work?

 

[Guest]

Patrick notes most other states let their governors fill them.

Then why don't we, Coupe?

This one-party state absolutely sickens me; they just change the rules to suit them, and now when it no longer suits them they'll be changed again.

 

[kwflatbed]

Patrick To Share Local Talent With Obama Administration

Governor Returns To Bay State After Celebrating Win

BOSTON -- President-elect Barack Obama is moving ahead with his transition into the White House.

Sen. John Kerry -- who won re-election Tuesday night -- is actively seeking the job of Secretary of State, according to The Associated Press.

Patrick To Share Local Talent With White House

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that Gov. Deval Patrick said he will not push to change the law so he could appoint a replacement if Kerry gives up his seat. Patrick spoke Wednesday after arriving home from Obama's campaign celebration in Chicago.

Patrick and Obama met more than a decade ago, and it's been an important relationship.

"I am enormously moved and excited and proud. He spoke without apology about hope, and I know that there were his critics who said that hope is not a strategy. Actually, it is a strategy. It's the strategy I believe has been behind every major step forward we have taken as a nation," Patrick said.

He said that witnessing the moment and hearing the crowd was as important as sharing a few moments with Obama and his family.

"It turns out that 'Yes we can' is more than a political slogan. In fact, many of us believe that 'Yes we can' is an assertion of American character, and I think that was affirmed yesterday," Patrick said.

Patrick flatly denied that he would take any job in the new administration and that he intends to run for re-election.

"There are a number of very, very talented people from this administration who have been or I expect will be approached, and I am going to do what I can consistent with my primary interest in the commonwealth of Massachusetts to share that talent with the new administration," Patrick said.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/17912742/detail.html

 

[kwflatbed]

Still spouting the lies

Kerry: No Talk Of Joining Obama's Cabinet

BOSTON (WBZ) ― As president-elect Barack Obama shapes his administration, Sen. John Kerry's name keeps coming up.

Kerry can't go far these days without being asked "the" question.

"Has the president-elect called you about a cabinet position?" WBZ's Beth Germano asked him Thursday.

"I've had no conversation with anybody about anything," Kerry said. "I just got re-elected...I'm not campaigning for anything."

Kerry is among the many names being mentioned as Obama begins to fill his cabinet.

Thursday night, the Illinois senator emerged from his Chicago office after a day of meetings, including a trip to the city's FBI headquarters for his first briefing on highly classified intelligence documents.

Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel has agreed to become Obama's chief of staff. A fiery insider, he's seen as someone who can get things done.

The president-elect heads to the White House Monday for his first meeting with President George W. Bush, who has ensured a smooth transition.

Obama's team says don't expect other immediate appointments, and Kerry insists he's not lobbying for anything.

"I'm not going to speculate about something out of everybody's control except one human being," he said.

http://wbztv.com/politics/john.kerry.secretary.2.858467.html