Looking at Politico's report about Richardson's somewhat controversial corporate-funded air travel, I was thinking I hadn't heard any complaints about his campaign debt before, so I traipsed down memory lane to note that Bill was leaving some small vendors hanging in the lurch back in May and still in June, but the weird thing is I don't remember anyone complaining about it, and I'm sure people would have noticed, because they all stick up for the little people when chips are down.

Lessee, another report today that the GOP spent $180,000 on Sarah's clothes plus another $100K on her hair dresser and other staff. So say $300K total. Which compared to the $10 million she helped McCain raise in 3 days and perhaps another $50-80 million she helped raise over a couple of months (say thank you, Saxby Chambliss) probably isn't a bad return. Maybe we can send Henry Paulson over to ask her how to get a better deal for the $700 billion we put down.

Politico also notes Obama's brought in 20 or so of his Harvard friends to help with the transition,  which starts to moot the idea that the Chicago Machine would run the new show, as well as once more lower expectations that the new government will be packed with people from outside the traditional corridors of power.

There's some suspicion that Caroline Kennedy may be appointed to fill in the soon-to-be-open New York Senate seat, which funny enough is how Uncle Ted, who she interned with, got his start in the Senate. I'm waiting for the columns to appear to decry the Dynasty and her lack of relevant experience, though at least she can't be called much of a carpetbagger, having lived in Manhattan for some time. It remains to be seen whether her well-known designer husband can be controlled and will not interfere with her new career. Having designed the Pope John Paul II Center there is some concern about a conflict of interest (though Carolyn's father seems to have defused this in his race for the President), and there will undoubtedly be some interesting revelations when the pair comes to divulge their rather mixed and diverse income from multiple well-known and lesser-known sources.