I did not see it, but this AP article makes Admiral Dennis Blair, President Obama's designee for the post of Director of National Intelligence, seem very Shermaneque in his clarity:

The man tapped to oversee U.S. intelligence promised Congress on Thursday there would be no torture and no warrantless wiretapping on his watch. . . . Blair said one of his main responsibilities will be rebuilding the American people's trust in the nation's intelligence agencies. Eight years of a secretive Bush administration authorized harsh interrogations, the secret kidnapping and transferring of suspected terrorists, and a domestic surveillance program that operated without the knowledge of a secret court created 30 years ago to oversee just such activities.

"The intelligence agencies of the United States must respect the privacy and civil liberties of the American people, and they must adhere to the rule of law," Blair said. Blair said he believes strongly that "torture is not moral, legal or effective." . . . "I will work to rebuild a relationship of trust with the American people," he said.

This is, I must say, a terrific start.

Speaking for me only

The flub apparently made people nervous. Chief Justice Roberts re-administered the oath of office to President Obama tonight, out of an abundance of caution.

Don't worry, the White House says: Obama has still been president since noon on Inauguration Day.

Nevertheless, Obama and Roberts went through the drill again out of what White House counsel Greg Craig called "an abundance of caution."

Shorter version: It was unnecessary but made everybody feel better.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has named Tom Stickland, former U.S. Senate Candidate and U.S. Attorney for Colorado as his chief of staff.

Strickland is not a career prosecutor. He was U.S. Attorney under Clinton for two years, from 1999 to 2001. He took office the day after the Columbine shootings. His primary focus was prosecution of serious gun law violators. Previously, he lost the 1996 Senate election to Wayne Allard. He lost to Allard again in 2002. (Allard decided not to seek re-election this year and was replaced in November by Rep. Mark Udall.)

I'm a bigger fan of Strickland's than Salazar's. He's one of the very few politicians I asked TalkLeft readers to contribute money to. [More..]

The Senate is now voting on the confirmation of Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State.

Vitter votes no. I think that will be the only no vote. Ooops. Apparently I missed DeMint voting no.

By a vote of 94-2, Hillary Clinton has been confirmed by the Senate as the Secretary of State.

Judging an inaugural speech in the moment is a mistake in my opinion. Immediate plaudits and pans are meaningless. Barack Obama's inaugural speech will best be judged after he acts as President. For example, in the most widely admired passage of the speech, President Obama said:

As of the weekend, I had no plans for watching the inauguration down here in New Orleans. I'm firmly in the camp of Andrew Bacevich who rightly believes that we cannot solve our problems by simply electing a new president.

But Monday night I had dinner with a friend who said that she was going to watch the swearing in ceremony from this incredible church in New Orleans' Holy Cross neighborhood.

It seemed like an opportunity too good--and too historic--to pass up. When I arrived at the Greater Little Zion Church yesterday morning, I was immediately glad that I'd made the trip: there was a big, multi-racial crowd and there was an almost electric feel in the air. [More...]

A new report by the University of Arizona reveals the substandard medical treatment afforded to women at immigration detention centers.

The study concluded that immigration authorities were too aggressive in detaining the women, who rarely posed a flight risk, and that as a result, they experienced severe hardships, including a lack of prenatal care, treatment for cancer, ovarian cysts and other serious medical conditions, and, in some cases, being mixed in with federal prisoners.

A sample story:

[A] woman being held at the Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence who experienced excruciating abdominal pain for months after she had been forced to undergo female genital mutilation in West Africa was told by the center’s staff to “exercise and watch her diet,” her lawyer at the time, Raha Jorjani, said. After nearly six months, the woman, who had been convicted of a nonviolent crime, was taken to a hospital where an ultrasound revealed a cyst the size of a five-month-old fetus, Ms. Jorjani said.

Immigration officials then suddenly released the woman with no money or health insurance to treat the cyst, Ms. Jorjani said.

Nationally, 3,000 are being held in immigration detention centers pending deportation. The study examined three centers in Arizona, home state to our new Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano. [More...]

The only negative from today's festivities: Washington, D.C. was woefully unequipped to handle the million people who turned out for the inauguration. Even the 240,000 with tickets.

The horror stories are all over. There's even a Facebook group, Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom's Wall.

A few stories: [More...]

Larger version here.

I really liked Michelle Obama's inaugural gown. It's by 26 year old designer Jason Wu. Via the LA Times: [More...]

Obama's Neighborhood Ball, airing on ABC (7pm MT but earlier on the east coast.) Guests include: Beyonce, Jay-Z, will.i.am, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Sting, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and Maroon 5. The Obamas will have their first dance as Beyonce sings the Etta James' classic, At Last.

The Youth Ball airs on MTV at 8pm MT (check your time zone.) It features Kanye West, Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy, among others. Unfortunately, it's not in HD on Comcast here.

As I wrote earlier, you can also catch Bon Jovi at the Commander in Chief's ball. Here's the Pentagon Channel Live Stream.

This is an open inaugural entertainment thread.

Bon Jovi is headlining the Commander in Chief's ball. It's playing on the Pentagon Channel if your cable or satellite system gets it. If not, here's the live feed, courtesy of our United States Military.

They take some breaks but I don't mind waiting. I'll also be watching the Neighborhood Ball on ABC and Youth Inaugural Ball on MTV when they start.

Update 7:37 pm MT: Bon Jovi is on, he just sang "You Can't Go Home" and he announced he's being upstaged. It's President Barack Obama. Obama's comments below:

Six of President Barack Obama's cabinet picks were confirmed today. They are:

Energy Secretaru Steven Chu
Education Secretary Arne Duncan
Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano

Secretary Of The Interior Ken Salazar
Veterans Affairs Dierector Gen. Eric Shinseki and

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Also confirmed: Peter Orszag, to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

Hillary Clinton will be confirmed tomorrow following debate. As Big Tent Democrat notes, Sen. Cornyn of Texas objected to her being in the unanimous consent group. She is expected to pass easily.

Also not up for a vote today: Attorney General nominee Eric Holder.