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Hillary has been confirmed as Barack Obama’s Secretary of State.

The vote was 94-2 with GOP Senators David Vitter (Louisiana) and Jim DeMint (South Carolina) voting no.

Earlier in the day, there was a renewal of the McCain-Cornyn feud over the nomination.

The Maverick is back.

John McCain has just come to the rescue of his old drinking buddy Hillary Clinton, bucking his colleague John Cornyn by calling for an immediate voice vote on her confirmation as Secretary of State.

In his first maverick-y move of the 111th Congress, McCain took to the Senate floor to call for unanimous consent to skip the 4:30 p.m. roll call on her nomination.

And he pressed John Kerry, who was deeply amenable, to deal with the matter right after lunch.

“I just talked to with Sen. Cornyn and he doesn’t object,” said McCain, who once bonded on an overseas trip with Clinton by doing shots.

“Sen. Cornyn is happy to yield back time and go to a voice vote once everybody has had their chance to speak,” said spokesman Kevin McLaughlin.

So far, every Republican except Cornyn has risen to say they want her confirmed as quickly as possible.

Ahhhhh the McCain conservatives love to hate is back – turning the Senate GOP Caucus into GO-ALONG Eunuchs.

But McCain, last year’s Republican nominee for president, argued that the Senate should skip the time-consuming roll-call vote and confirm Clinton by unanimous consent. “I think the message that the American people are sending us now is they want us to work together and get to work,” McCain said.

McCain has kept a low-profile since his November loss to Obama, but has enjoyed an unusually close relationship with Obama since the election. On Monday night, Obama held a dinner in McCain’s honor, and Obama has recently consulted McCain on foreign-policy issues, including the war in Iraq.

While McCain said he had spoken with Cornyn to receive his approval for skipping the roll-call vote, McCain and Cornyn have had well-documented battles in the past, including a heated exchange in 2007 over immigration legislation .

Here is the video of Senator John Cornyn capitulating on his hold of Hillary Clinton’s confirmation as Secretary of State.

Looks like Hillary will be confirmed and sworn in by the end of the afternoon.

The latest poll from Rasmussen is extremely favorable for former eBay CEO Meg Whitman in the race for California Governor in 2010.

The race may be nearly two years away, but early match-ups for the 2010 gubernatorial election in California show that it’s likely to be a close one.

With the state’s current Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, ineligible for reelection, the most prominent name mentioned on the GOP side is former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, and for now she beats two of the three leading early contenders for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

The Poll:

• Meg Whitman – 38% Vs. Jerry Brown (California Attorney General and former Governor – 40%
• Meg Whitman – 37% Vs. Gavin Newsom (San Francisco Mayor) – 34%
• Meg Whitman – 41% Vs. Antonio Villaraigosa (Los Angeles Mayor) – 34%

Favorability:

Forty-three percent (43%) of California voters view Whitman favorably, including 10% Very Favorable, while 22% view her unfavorably. Just five percent (5%) have a Very Unfavorable opinion of Whitman. A third of voters (34%) don’t know enough about her to form an opinion.

Brown is the most well-known name to California voters and is viewed favorably by 46%, including 24% who say that view is Very Favorable. Thirty-eight percent (38%) have an unfavorable opinion of Brown, with 26% Very Unfavorable. Just 16%, however, are not sure what they think of the 70-year-old Brown who has been a fixture in California politics for nearly 40 years.

Newson is viewed favorably by 36%, unfavorably by 41%, and 23% are not sure what they think of him. Thirteen percent (13%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Newsom and 25% a Very Unfavorable view. Villaraigosa’s ratings are 38% favorable, with 13% Very Favorable, and 42% unfavorable, including 27% Very Unfavorable. Twenty percent (20%) are not sure what they think of Villaraigosa.

Flap had mentioned that since Steve Poizner, California’s only statewide elected office holder, was running for Governor that perhaps Whitman should should run for the United States Senate instead. But, with these excellent poll numbers, it is fiull speed ahead with the governor’s race.

But, what will a contested GOP primary election do to her unfavorability ratings?

Stay tuned….

Watch Meg Whitman on video at the press conference referenced above.

Prior to Barack Obama’s inauguration a big deal regarding Guantanamo Bay was made regarding a reversal of Bush policy on the terrorist detainees and the location of their incarceration. An executive order was to be made immediatley following Obama becoming President.

Here it is.

In one of his first acts in office President Obama has ordered the U.S. government to suspend prosecutions of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for 120 days, military officials said Tuesday.

Papers filed at the U.S. prison camp said the request is made “in the interest of justice and at the direction of the president of the United States.” It seeks a delay in proceedings until May 20.

“The judges will receive the requests and review them, and we anticipate a ruling soon,” said Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Defense Department spokesman.

Tuesday’s directive was issued verbally through Defense Secretary Bob Gates, according to a military official.

This is a big deal?

A Reagan – Iranian hostage release inauguration moment?

No, it is more symbolism over substance or Plus Ca Change from Obama.

Ed Morrissey explains why the Obama decision is nothing but delay.

In this case, justice delayed is not much of a change at all.  Did Obama not have an idea of how to proceed when he took office?  A four-month delay only means that the detainees will have to wait that much longer to see any adjudication of their status.  Why not allow the tribunals to proceed, at least to get a finding of fact from them?  If Obama wants to invalidate the process later, he can also invalidate their findings.  It’s difficult to see what Obama expects to get from a further delay, especially since one of the main complaints about Gitmo has been the length of time the men have been held without adjudication.

The delay would only be meaningful if Obama intended to free all of the Gitmo prisoners, something that the ACLU has urged.  Somehow, I don’t think Barack Obama would be that foolish.  It would be tough to win re-election as the man who set Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 actors free simply to win favor from Europe’s elite.

In the end, Obama’s policy may not be that different from the Bush Administration. Campaign rhetoric is one thing; actual governance is another.

Here is another example of Barack Obama’s policy positions having an expiration date. Now, this is real change.

Reverend Joseph Lowry’s benediction at Barack Obama’s inauguration yesterday certainly set the tone for a post-racial Presidency – NOT.

So, has Brack Obama’s inauguration heightened tensions between white Americans and everyone else? A them vs. us mentality in the culture?

Remains to be seen. But, Lowry did not make a good start.

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