"His appointments overall are such that he's lived up to the best expectations of his rhetoric," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif). "He's choosing intellectuals and scientists and other notables that no one would disagree are good advisers to him. He's going to get the benefit of the doubt based on his appointments in many areas."
Obama has picked an eclectic group.
to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and revamp the nation's health-care Read the rest of this entry »

" on Thursday examined the expectations President-elect Barack Obama faces from abortion-rights advocates who supported him during the campaign. NPR reports that although Obama has made it clear that he supports abortion rights, he also has pledged to find "common ground" between abortion-rights opponents and supporters. According to NPR, "Pretty much every president says he wants to find common ground on abortion and other reproductive health issues, Read the rest of this entry »

And instead of assuming more direct control of the inspection system, the government seems likely to remain heavily dependent on growers, food processors and others in the industry to police themselves and the food supply.
Durbin and others on Capitol Hill nonetheless plan to push ahead with legislation to try to strengthen the FDA, the much maligned agency responsible for overseeing about 80 percent of the food Americans eat. While most meat and Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach has told staff he will leave the agency on January 20, the day Barack Obama becomes president.
In a memo sent on Monday, von Eschenbach said he would return home to Texas to spend time with his family after leaving the FDA.
"Until my final farewell on January 20, I will be working together with you to prepare the FDA for the change of political leadership Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama has increased his employment goal with the nation's economic outlook worsening, seeking to create or save 3 million jobs in the next two years instead of the 2.5 million he proposed last month.
Obama set the more ambitious target earlier this week after meeting with top economic advisers who cautioned that the nation's unemployment rate could exceed 9 percent given the current pace of job losses, Read the rest of this entry »

It was Democracy 101 — nine citizen-soldiers responding to a battle call for government reform, gathered around lattes and quiche in a downtown San Jose cafe, brainstorming ways to help President-elect Barack Obama ride to the rescue of an expensive, bloated and inequitable health care system.
At the invitation of the Obama-Biden Transition Project, the grass-roots gang, most of whom had never met, filled a corner of Caffe Trieste for two Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto Personal Trainer, Conor Kelly, owner of Evolution Fitness, provides fitness advice to Barack Obama.
Toronto, ON (
) December 18, 2008 -- He's a busy man. Barrack Obama is about to inherit the government of a country in a major economic crisis. Is it any wonder the health of presidential candidates is always under scrutiny? Given the magnitude of the job, one does require a steady heart-rate and healthy blood pressure levels. The Read the rest of this entry »

Rosseau has been quoted widely and has had work published on topics related to neurosurgery and women's health issues. Rosseau is also a registered nurse.
It's unclear whether other candidates are being considered. A spokeswoman with
team had no comment.
The medical community cheered the possibility of Rosseau rising to become one of the nation's top public health advocates.
"She is a trailblazing neurosurgeon who is very committed to her Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON — The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect
, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.
The rule, which has strong support from business groups, says that in assessing the risk from a particular substance, federal agencies should gather and analyze “industry-by-industry Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON (AP) — Forget Barack Obama's staff making contact with a governor charged with corruption. What's got everyone talking is the president-elect's fine first form.
"FIT FOR OFFICE: Buff Bam is Hawaii hunk," the New York Post gushed on its cover Tuesday above a photo of the future president strolling without a shirt in Hawaii. The Drudge Report called him "President Beefcake" while TMZ said the president-elect is "still humble enough Read the rest of this entry »