Don't want to miss out on the latest in politics? Start each day with The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and Congressional reporters answers questions about the latest buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage of political news.

Paul Kane, Washington Post national political reporter, will be online Thursday, Jan. 15 at 11 a.m. ET to answer reader questions about the latest news from Washington and the transition.

A transcript follows.

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Archive: Post Politics Hour discussion transcripts

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Paul Kane: Good morning folks, just now Joe Biden bid farewell to the Senate in a quintessentially Biden speech -- a little long winded, but filled with emotional stories that left those inside the chamber wiping away at their eyes. 36 years after he joined the place amid family tragedy, Biden bids farewell to become vice president. In a few minutes Hillary Clinton will bid farewell to become secretary of state, after being recommended on a 16-1 vote by the Foreign Relations Committee to be the next secretary of state. And, don't forget, around 2 pm Roland Burris will be sworn in as the next senator from Illinois.

And this is just the easy stuff about what's happening here on Capitol Hill, we haven't even mentioned the $350 billion relief vote in the Senate and a similar vote in the house, the unveiling of an $850 billion or so stimulus plan.

Wow, a lot's happening. And, my gosh, the Eagles are playing in an NFC title game Sunday the same time Bruce Springsteen and Bono are performing at the Lincoln Memorial. Ok, people, try to keep up with me, lots happening. On to the questions. --pk

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Fairfax County, Va.: I was confused by your story. I thought the reason the stimulus recovery thing had all those tax cuts was to win Republican support, and that the hope was to bring together members of both parties. But in your story, the Democrats in each house have hammered things out among themselves, and now all that is left is for the House and Senate Democrats to compromise with each other.

Where, then, does this allow for Republican participation, which I believe the Obama team greatly desires? I am not asking to be snarky, but simply because I am confused. Did you leave out a step in your article? Please clarify. Thank you.

washingtonpost.com: Democrats Finishing Up Stimulus Proposall (Post, Jan. 15)

Paul Kane: I understand your question. Yes, the business tax cuts were designed in part to court Republicans, and now many of them are being tossed aside. But the AMT patch is a $70 billion tax cut for laregly wealthy taxpayers is something that Republicans support. There will likely be some other smaller business tax cuts as well.

But yes, the overall thrust of the package has shifted back toward Democrats.

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Washington, D.C.: Morning Paul,

Do you think the retirement announcements in the Senate are over or do you see any other Republicans looking for the exit door? Thanks

Paul Kane: Look for retirements on both sides of the aisle. Democrats have gone a while without a retirement in a key state. Their bigger problem is the vacancies created by 4 of their own leaving to go to the White House, leading to appointees having the seats and then running for the remainder of the term in 2010. Illinois, with burris having never won a major statewide race, is now a battleground. As is Colorado, where Michael Bennet has never run for office. And Delaware could be interesting, if Rep. Mike Castle (R) could be coaxed into the race, although Beaux Biden is the frontrunner there.

Republicans have a few more bullets to dodge on retirement. They need to hear from Judd Gregg (NH) and Bob Bennett (Utah) and John McCain (Ariz) and Chuck Grassley. They all say they're running, but let's see their financial reports later this year to make sure they're really running.

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Northville, N.Y. : "How can we miss Bush if he won't go away?" Its been a weird last few months. I seem to remember that Carter worked right up to and past the inauguration of Reagan on the hostage thing, and that Clinton worked very hard right up to the end on the Middle East, to no avail alas. Even Bush Sr. managed to get us involved in a war in Somalia as a going away gift for Clinton in the final days. This guy, it looks like he's been phoning it in for three months, delegating to Paulson, or even to Obama. It can't just be his massive unpopularity. Do you think he's just fed up with the job and is eager to go home?

Paul Kane: Northville, at least this week, Bush won't go away. He's everywhere. Started off on Fox News Sunday, then interviews with Larry King, then the long presser the other day, and now tonight's address.

(On another note, Hillary Clinton just took the floor for her farewell address.)

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Herndon, Va.: Any word on an announcement for a new secretary of commerce?

Paul Kane: Wow, that's a $64,000 question. I haven't even heard any speculation on that front, to be quite honest. I think we in the media have been soooo fixated on the nominations (Geithner, Holder, Clinton) and the legislative fights (stimulus, TARP), that we haven't had time to focus on who replaces Richardson there.

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UDHS : Just curious as a fellow Upper Dubliner if you went to UDHS or if you were one of those Catholic school boys.

Paul Kane: While I grew up in Upper Dublin township, I was, yes, as you put, one of those Catholic school boys -- St. Alphonsus, then La Salle College High School, before moving on to the University of Delaware, where I learned that the Fightin' Blue Hens would one day rule the world.

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Rockville, Md.: Now that Rob Portman has announced he's running for the Senate to replace the retiring Sen. Voinovich, has there been any talk about who he might run against? Would Strickland consider a move to the Senate, or someone like Tim Ryan?

Paul Kane: No talk of Strickland for the Senate, he's happy and popular as governor. The Senate candidates are likely to come from the House delegation, people like Ryan or Betty Sutton or Zack Space.

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Reston: Does the washingtonpost.com have a live feed of Clinton's farewell?

Paul Kane: http://c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN_wm.aspx

That's the best place for live feeds.

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Washington, D.C.: How do Sen. Reid's fellow Democrats view his performance recently? Is there any dissension over how he's handled the Burris appointment, for example? Thanks.

Paul Kane: I cannot say this enough times, Reid's colleagues love him. Yes, they think the Burris thing was poorly handled, but they also think it was a temporary bump in the road. As much as some people -- lots of liberal activists, lots of liberal intelligentsia -- want to blame Reid for things, his colleagues don't.

I spoke with Reid at length about this issue last week, and his response to that question summed up his feelings, as well as his colleagues, who just 4 years ago had only 45 Democrats.

"I've got 59 senators now, so I can't be doing that bad," Reid told me.

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Baltimore, Md.: Good morning Paul,

From a Post story today: "The Republican base hates this. So a lot of people are saying why anger the base in the name of good policy when it's going to happen anyway?" said Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, which was at the center of negotiations during the TARP's creation.

Are you serious? That's what is wrong with our Congress today...cynical partisan game playing wonder how many others out there are disgusted by this?

washingtonpost.com: Bank Losses Complicate U.S. Rescue (Post, Jan. 15)

Paul Kane: Interesting question, but the truth is, Republicans are now voting the way they want to, ideologically speaking. The really cynical move, one could argue, was voting for the 1st TARP vote back in October, when few of them really believed it was the right thing to do, but they were afraid to politically not vote for something. Lest they be remembered, as Cheney put it, the party of Herbert Hoover.

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washingtonpost.com: Live Stream: Hillary Clinton Says Goodbye to Senate

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Norristown, Pa.: First off, die hard Eagles fan here, but cautiously optimistic about their prospects. This team has taken me to great heights before, and then dropped me like a rock! On a more serious topic, why the heck are we spending $150M on this Inauguration? Given the state of the economy and that we're still technically at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, isn't this huge party in D.C. a tad over the top?

Paul Kane: There's a bit of incongruity, if that's a word, with the level of this party and the state of the nation. There was some mouthing of trying to recognize how tough times are in terms of the parties, but from what I've seen, yes, it's kinda over the top.

Go Eagles. I've learned to never be cautiously optimistic with them.

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Burris having never won a major statewide race: Do you really think he can win a primary battle even with the two years in the Senate?

Paul Kane: It's been somewhat unclear what his intentions are. Deep down, in places where they never admit what their thoughts are, Reid and Durbin were scared to death of the Burris appointment because, well, he's lost so many primaries for governor and senator. Heck, he'll be 73 in 2 years, and who knows what sort of politician he'll be.

They really wanted to have someone appointed to the seat who could use the 2 years to get their political and legislative legs, so they would be running as a de facto incumbent in '10. Now, a guy like Mark Kirk -- solid Republican centrist from the Chicago suburbs, tired of the House and life in the minority there -- must be licking his chops at a Senate race against untested Burris.

We'll see whether there's a crowded Democratic primary or not.

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Fairfax, Va.: Has there been any discussion amongst congressional Democrats and the Obama administration about not falling into the same trap Bush and congressional Republicans had, where they were a rubber stamp and were hesitant to investigate any of the administration's actions while they controlled Congress?

Paul Kane: There has been talk of this, and Democrats on the Hill have vowed not to be Obama lap dogs. At a briefing last week, Steny Hoyer was asked precisely this question, and he held a copy of that day's Hill (the Capitol Hill newspaper), which stripped across the top of its front page a quote from their sit-down with Harry Reid: "I don't work for Obama."

We'll see if that stands up. I can say with confidence some are worried about the oversight committees in both chambers, where Ed Towns is the new House chairman, nowhere near as strong a lawmaker as Henry Waxman (who has moved to take over Energy & Commerce); in the Senate it's Joe Lieberman, who seems kind of neutered politically. He didn't do much oversight of the Bush White House, and now that he's trying to be back in everyone's good graces, it doesn't look like he'll do much oversight of Obama.

We'll see what happens. This is a great story to watch.

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Chicago, Ill.: Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Roland Burris win a statewide race for Attorney General in Illinois? While certainly not a Senate seat, that is a pretty significant race for statewide office.

Paul Kane: I understand your point, well taken. But he lost 3 governor's primaries, and a Senate race. That's what I was thinking of.

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Boston Mass.: I wish people would stop saying it's distasteful to spend money in this economy. How is the economy supposed to improve if the people who can spend, don't? The hotel people and caterers and airports and trains are all very grateful for the inauguration, I promise. And they need the help.

Paul Kane: What I think the questioner meant, and what I meant, was the celebrity nature of it all. It just feels a little off, and I don't think the Obama stimulus plan was designed around pumping up the economy through big lavish parties.

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Alexandria, Va.: What are some of the big ticket items in the $850 billion stimulus besides the tax cuts? How much is directed toward a quick boost and how much is taking the long view?

Paul Kane: From what we now know, more details coming this morning, the tax side will be $275 billion -- but that's before adding the $70-75 billion AMT fix. Which they expect to still add in to the package.

And the spending side will be $525 billion.

Biggest spending items will be infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc) at about $85 billion, education aid to states at $80 billion, $90 billion in Medicaid aid to states. Likely to be some other infrastructure aid for states to build hospitals and schools.

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Boston, Mass.: Donovan McNabb is from Chicago, don't you think he should have been appointed to fill the Obama seat? Maybe you will wait a game or two to answer this.

Paul Kane: I've already stated -- in the post-dot-com's Political Browser -- that Senator McNabb has a good ring to it.

But now that Burris is getting sworn in, I guess he'll just have to keep playing for the Eagles. Darn.

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"Ugly Betty" fan: Is Bush's swan-song tonight at 8 p.m. EST going to delay broadcast of my favorite TV show?

Paul Kane: My great producer Rocci assures me that Ugly Betty is preempted tonight, returning next week. Looks like Scrubs will be on at its usual time.

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Boston, Mass.: Hi Paul, just curious -- who was the one vote against Hillary?

Paul Kane: David Vitter, the Louisiana Republican. Interestingly, his entire career was born from the Clintons. Bob Livingston of New Orleans was set to become House speaker in 1999, but his affairs were outed during the Clinton impeachment and he resigned office. This led to Vitter winning a special election to take Livingston's seat, and his own scandals years later involving prostitution rings in DC and New Orleans.

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Boston, Mass.: Dana Milbank's article today really shows the flexibility of our elected representatives moral outrage. It seems they want to keep Mr. Geithner no matter what he has done. This is not some piece of arcane tax law even though an expert like Mr. G should be able to handle it if it were. The sleazy part to me is that he didn't bother to pay the same taxes from prior years that were do, but not found in the audit until he was caught by Obama's vetting team.

washingtonpost.com: Milbank: The Nomination That's Too Big to Fail (Post, Jan. 15)

Paul Kane: I think the level of what is truly scandalous has grown by leaps and bounds, since this tax/nanny/housekeeper issue first surfaced in '93. In the intervening years a president was impeached for lying about his affairs in the Oval Office; there were multiple domestic terror attacks; the Supreme Court decided a presidential race; a senator was arrested soliciting sex in an airport men's restroom; a senator was convicted for lying about taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from a corporation; K Street became a really dirty word; the New York governor got caught with high-class hooker in the Mayflower hotel. And the beat goes on.

Somehow, people don't care about Geithner's tax issue.

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FOCA?: Many of my conservative friends are planning on holding a prayer vigil and fasting (thanks, Facebook news feed) in protest of the Freedom of Choice Act. I know Obama has said he supports it (and was one of the co-sponsors), but have Democrats shown any desire to actually bring this bill to a vote? How much power does Leahy hold as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, where the bill is usually referred to, on what happens to it?

Paul Kane: There's been very little talk of injecting a very controversial social issue like abortion into the combustible mix early on in this year's agenda. Gonna be a while, if at all, before this bill would be considered.

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washingtonpost.com: Suddenly, McNabb and Eagles Looking Super (The Browser, Jan. 12)

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St. Paul, Minn. : Hi Paul -- Here in Minnesota we are severely recount fatigued, and yet with each day there's a new court filing, and the latest is the whole court case might not even get underway in earnest until mid-February, much less settled by then. I thought I heard, though, that Republicans are doing their committee planning as such with the assumption that Coleman will not be returning. Do they think seating Franken is a foregone conclusion, even if Coleman does not? Is there any chance Coleman may concede after all, and sometime soon?

Paul Kane: No, they've not waved the white flag of surrender on Coleman. They just have decided it makes little difference if there are 58 or 59 seats for Dems. For a while there was a chance of a special election in Illinois, in which case they thought they had a chance at winning, and Minnesota was up in the air. There's a difference between 57 and 59, they reason, but not much between 58 and 59.

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South Jersey: Even though I'm torn between a free Bruce performance and the Eagles game, I think I'll just watch both on TV since the concert is on HBO that night. Will the birds prevail or have another famed NFC Championship choke?

Paul Kane: That's probably my planning as well. And it's tough, because I'd love to see the spectacle of Bruce and Bono together, along with the others, but the Eagles I've not seen in the NFC title game in 4 years. (Just 5 months ago, my buddies Jack and Doug and me saw Bruce at Hershey Park, the night after seeing him in Richmond with the whole gang.)

So, I think the Eags are taking precedence.

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New York : Will you tear up watching Bush's valedictory tonight?

Paul Kane: Honest answer: I don't plan on watching. I like Senate farewells, not presidential farewells.

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Paul Kane: OK folks, time for me to go do some real reporting. I probably screwed up saying that Scrubs was on its normal slot tonight, because I'm now told it's on Tues nights. (Part of the move to ABC, I presume.) Oh well. Check your local listing.

For me, it's on to stimulus and TARP. And then Sunday's Eagles game. Go Senator McNabb!

-pk

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