1/7 Roundup: A Trillion, Senate Musical Chairs, Yes Pecan!

TrillionLeader: A Trillion

- President-elect Barack Obama has forecasted years of $1 trillion deficits, as tax revenue falls and government spending rises with the economic bailout and impending stimulus package. Obama says we're going to have to get serious about budget reform.

- Katrina Vanden Huevel at the Nation calls for a solid $1 trillion to be spent over the next two years to revitalize the economy, top to bottom.

- The current stimulus package clocks in around $775 billion.  Max Baucus will host a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee tomorrow to talk it over. 

- The healthcare industry could reap $100 billion in the stimulus package, mostly via state medicaid programs.

Politics

- Dr. Sanjay Gupta (yes, that Dr. Sanjay Gupta) will be the next Surgeon General.  Ezra Klein, for one, couldn't be happier with the selection.

- Poor Roland Burris was turned away from the Senate yesterday.  He's going back today, hoping to get a seat this time.

-  Dianne Feinstein has been raining the blows down on her fellow Democrats lately. First she blasted the choice of Leon Panetta to head the CIA (more specifically, she blasted the choice not to consult her), and now she's criticizing Dems for refusing to seat Roland Burris.  Is she positioning herself to run for governor of California next year?

- In an act of great compassion and powerful mercy, Jeb Bush announced yesterday that he would not seek the Senate seat that Mel Martinez plans to vacate in two years. That pretty well blows up Republican plans, and opens the race up to damn near anybody.

- Could Caroline Kennedy's appointment to the Senate cost Democrats the seat? 

International

- If you haven't checked it out, I strongly advise you go browse through Foreign Policy's new suite of blogs.  For a primer, some of the best commentary on Israel's incursion into Gaza has come from their sites: Marc Lynch, here;  Stephen Walt, here and here; David Rothkopf, here and here. And then you're just getting started.

- Joe Biden will be making a trip to "Southwest Asia" soon-- not as VP-elect, but in his capacity as a Senator.  Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan will all be on the itinerary.  The trip will show the governments and people of those states that the new administration is serious about their issues, while avoiding the rigmarole of organizing a vice presidential trip.  Steve Clemons thinks it's a great idea, even if Politico doesn't.

One More Thing

- Do you need a Sarah Palin calendar? Do you ever!

- Can we please have a Barack-themed ice cream flavor? Yes, Pecan!

- Last, finally Anderson Cooper gets serious about Sasha and Malia's new puppy: