By DARLENE SUPERVILLE , Associated Press

Last update: November 10, 2008 - 5:47 AM

WASHINGTON - This is the transition you don't hear so much about: Michelle Obama is getting ready for a new life as first lady, giving plenty of thought to what kind of profile she will carve out for herself in the White House.

She has plenty of role models in the last few women who have lived their lives in the limelight that'll soon shine on her. One thing is not in any doubt, however: she'll be the new president's close confidant and adviser — hewing to a tradition that transcends presidencies and political parties.

She's been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy, is every bit as high-powered as Hillary Rodham Clinton was and has praised Laura Bush's calm and rational approach to issues.

 

(photo: Creative Commons / Steve Rhodes)

 

But while it's too soon to know just what kind of first lady Mrs. Obama will be, she doubtlessly will be the kind of first lady this country hasn't seen in decades: the mother of young children.

Barack Obama has portrayed his wife as the family's "rock" — and told Newsweek magazine she had "veto power" over his decision to run for president.

Aides say publicly she is not interested in shaping policy or reserving a seat for herself at her husband's decision-making table. She prefers, at least for now, to focus on easing the transition for Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 — getting them in new schools, settled and comfortable with a new way of life.

The girls are her priority, she has said often, the last thing she thinks about before falling asleep at night and the first thing on her mind when she wakes up in the morning.

During the campaign, she set her schedule so she would be home to tuck them into bed and see them off to school.

Not since 1977, when 9-year-old Amy Carter moved in, will there be such young children at the White House.

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama repeatedly vowed to close Guantánamo if elected. Now, as the countdown to inauguration day begins, people are asking how and when he'll make good on his pledge.

Some are urging Obama to close Guantánamo by executive order on his first day in office. But signing an executive order or announcing an intention to close the prison camp is just the first step. Nearly seven years have passed since the United States brought the first prisoners to Guantánamo, and the policies underlying the prison's existence are firmly embedded in law and executive pronouncement.

Closing Guantánamo will require more than the stroke of a pen. It will take comprehensive policy changes and a major investment of domestic and international political capital. But it can be done, and it can be done in the new administration's first year.

How it's done will be as important as when. One thing we have learned over the last seven years is that Guantánamo is more than just a place. It is a symbol of injustice, of expediency over fundamental fairness, and of the United States' willingness to set aside its core values and beliefs. If the prison is closed, but the policies pursued there persist in another venue on United States soil, then Guantánamo won't be closed; it will just be moved.

Closing Guantánamo requires a plan for what to do with the people being detained there. Nearly 800 men have been imprisoned at Guantánamo since 2002. The vast majority - about 520 - have been released without charge.

Approximately 255 prisoners remain. These fall into three groups: prisoners not suspected of any criminal activity; prisoners suspected of criminal activity in third countries; and prisoners suspected of having committed crimes against the United States.

The first group, those against whom we have no - or insufficient - evidence of a crime, should be released. The United States simply cannot afford to continue holding prisoners on an abstract belief or fear that they could be dangerous if released. The costs of continuing this policy are too great. Prolonged detention without charges at Guantánamo has harmed U.S. interests by undermining counterterrorism cooperation with our allies and fueling terrorist recruitment.

This plan will require the cooperation of our allies. To the extent Guantánamo has promoted terrorist recruitment, this is more than just a U.S. problem now. And our allies have a shared responsibility to help fix it. Gaining their cooperation may depend on our own willingness to resettle some Guantánamo prisoners on U.S. soil.

The Bush administration's early pronouncements that the men at Guantánamo were all the "worst of the worst" undoubtedly prejudiced our allies against the idea of resettling prisoners inside their own borders. Accepting a small number of prisoners into the United States would send an important message to our allies and establish the goodwill necessary for negotiating resettlement agreements in the year ahead.

Those prisoners suspected of having committed crimes in their home countries or in third countries should be transferred for prosecution in accordance with international fair trial standards.

We should assist third countries in their efforts to conduct just prosecutions by providing them with evidence we have gathered, including witness names and statements, interrogation reports and exculpatory information or leads.

And those prisoners suspected of having committed crimes against the United States - a small but high-profile group - should be transferred to U.S. soil and prosecuted in federal or military courts.

Some law professors say the answer to the Guantánamo conundrum lies in concocting yet another substitute system for detaining and trying terrorist suspects to replace the Guantánamo model of detention without trial and military commissions - a specialized court for terrorism cases.

But such a detour risks embroiling the new president in prolonged legal challenges that would obviate many of the advantages of closing Guantánamo and ending military commissions.

Most importantly, no new system has been proven necessary. As many federal prosecutors and judges can attest, the federal criminal justice system has proven itself highly adaptable in dealing with the challenges of complex terrorism cases.

The federal system is not perfect, and there is no doubt that some of these cases have strained the courts. But experienced judges and a broadly experienced bar have handled these challenges well, balancing the need to protect sensitive national security information with defendants' fair trial rights.

For nearly seven years, Guantánamo has been a trap, not just for the prisoners held there but for American moral authority and global leadership. We have had the keys to unlock it all along. It is up to President-elect Obama to use them.

Elisa Massimino is director of Human Rights First.

Published Date: November 20, 2008

Published Date: November 20, 2008

WASHINGTON: Former President Bill Clinton has offered several concessions to help his wife, Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton, become secretary of state, people familiar with the presidential transition process said yesterday. Meanwhile, a source close to the process involving President-elect Barack Obama's selection of his team said Obama has "informally" offered the attorney general post to Washington lawyer Eric Holder, who has accepted, pending completion of the vetting process. Holder, 57, would be the country's first black attorney general. The person spoke on condition of anonymity yesterday because no announcement has been made, though it could be made as soon as this week. 

Also, Obama has chosen former US Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle to be Health and Human Services secretary, news media reported yesterday, citing sources close to Obama's transition team. Daschle has reportedly accepted. Daschle, of South Dakota, was an early supporter of Obama's, encouraging the first-term senator from Illinois to make his presidential run. He currently serves as the head of Obama's healthcare policy group as the president-elect prepares to take office on Jan 20.

Bill Clinton reportedly has agreed to help his wife's vetting process for the US foreign minister position by releasing the names of several major donors to his charitable foundation. He also will submit future foundation activities and paid speeches to a strict ethics review, said Democrats knowledgeable about the discussions. They also said that Clinton would step away from day-to-day responsibility for his foundation while his wife serves and would alert the State Department to his speaking schedule an
d any new sources of income. The Democrats spoke only on grounds of anonymity because of the private nature of the Cabinet-selection process.

Since Sen Clinton has emerged as a top contender for the State job, currently held by Condoleezza Rice, her husband's international business deals and the fundraising he has done for his foundation and presidential library have come under careful review by Obama's transition team. Bill Clinton had indicated earlier that he would be willing to significantly increase the transparency of those activities if it would boost Hillary Clinton's chances of getting the job.

A team of attorneys is representing the Clintons in negotiations with Obama officials, in talks which have taken place this week at a law firm in Washington. Obama takes office on Jan 20. Aides familiar with the negotiations said the vetting has gone smoothly and both Clintons had been fully cooperative with the process. One Clinton adviser noted that former President George H W Bush has given paid speeches and participated in international business ventures since his son, George W Bush, has been president
- without stirring public complaints or controversy about a possible conflict of interest.

Bill Clinton's network of business deals and charitable endeavors became an issue during Hillary Clinton's run for the Democratic presidential nomination. One Democrat who advised her campaign said few of her senior strategists knew anything about the former president's business arrangements and whether they would hold up under scrutiny if she won the nomination. The adviser spoke on background, not authorized to speak publicly for Hillary Clinton's political operation.

During his primary campaign against Hillary Clinton, Obama pressed the former president to name the donors to his library. Bill Clinton refused, saying many had given money on the condition that their names not be revealed. He promised to make the donors' names public going forward if his wife won the Democratic nomination. The former president has engaged in other deals that could complicate his wife's work with foreign governments as secretary of state.
Records show he raised money for his foundation from the Saudi royal family, Kuwait, Brunei and the Embassy of Qatar, and from a Chinese Internet company seeking information on Tibetan human rights activists. Hillary Clinton declined to discuss any part of the selection process Tuesday. "I've said everything I have to say on Friday," she said.

Holder, meanwhile, met Obama only four years ago, but the affable Bronx-born son of a Barbados immigrant quickly won a seat in the Democrat's inner circle. Holder has made no public comment on the nomination, though an Obama official and two Democrats in touch with Obama's transition team on Tuesday confirmed that Holder is the top choice for attorney general. If he becomes the next chief US law enforcement officer, Holder will try to win back the public's confidence in the Justice Department - an agency
whose fiercely independent image was tarnished by Republican political meddling during the Bush administration.

Internally, there is a morale problem the likes of which I have never seen before," Holder said in an interview late last year. "Externally, there is a crisis of confidence that the nation has with regard to the department." During the nomination process though, Holder could run into some potential political problems over a 2001 pardon of a wealthy commodities dealer by Bill Clinton, whose administration Holder served as deputy attorney general. The trader, Marc Rich, had spent years running from tax charges.

On the last day of Clinton's term, Holder told the White House he was "neutral, leaning toward favorable" for a presidential pardon for Marc Rich, a wealthy commodities dealer who had spent years running from tax charges. However, the pardon provoked howls of protests and a congressional investigation over whether it was politically motivated. Holder later publicly apologized for what he called a snap decision.

Holder helped lead the team that selected Sen Joe Biden as Obama's running mate. Throughout his career as a judge, a prosecutor and a defense attorney for the prestigious law firm Covington & Burling, Holder's independence rarely has been questioned. Daschle served as the top Democrat in the Senate between 1994 and 2004, and was as majority leader when Democrats controlled the chamber between 2001 and 2003. He was elected to the Senate in 1986 and before that served eight years in the House of Representati
ves.

Since losing his re-electiion bid, Daschle has worked as a public-policy advisor for the law firm Alston and Bird. He was not immediately available for comment. Daschle was reported to be a candidate for Obama's chief of staff before that job went to Illinois Rep Rahm Emanuel. - Agencies

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