So......as you may already know, President-Elect Barack Obama will be taking office next tuesday. However, it is also essential to realize that Obama's cabinet will (hopefully) be beginning their direction of the federal executive departments at or around the same time. It must be recognized that these cabinet secretaries must be confirmed by Congress, and here we reach the essential roadblock for many administrations. In the run-up to the next administration a new round of Congressional hearings over appointments has begun. Today, Senator Hillary Clinton entered into her first round of questioning by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Given her relative popularity with Democrats she received a warm welcome. In her remarks she continually mentioned the importance of negotiation with our enemies- imparticular Syria, Egypt and Iran. It is interesting to note that in fact she did not mention beliefs such as these during the Democratic Presidential Primary. Rather, these beliefs are much more like those of President-Elect Obama. In a post which involves the authority and duty to craft America's foreign policy, Clinton will no doubt face issues where her own personal opinion may diverge from that of President Obama. As these events transpire, many journalists will probably focus specifically on this issue. In other news, President-Elect Obama's nominee for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, has evidently "forgot" to pay thousands of taxes in the last decade......hmmmmm isn't he supposed to understand money? Am I forgetting something or is he going to inherit a $1 trillion deficit as well as a possibly $1 trillion "bailout" plan. This should be a fun confirmation hearing :)