Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner released the following statement in response to President Obama's signing of an executive order this morning requiring the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center "no later than one year from the date of the Order." Boehner's statement reads:

“The Guantanamo Bay prison is filled with the worst of the worst – terrorists and killers bent on murdering Americans and other friends of freedom around the world. If it is closed, where will they go, will they be brought to the United States, and how will they be secured? Will they be released by the courts, despite reports that more than 60 former terrorist detainees have already returned to battlefields to fight us again? Unfortunately, in briefings yesterday the new Administration did not have any real answers to these concerns.

“Just as important, if a terrorist detainee is brought to the United States that terrorist is automatically afforded more constitutional rights than U.S. military personnel under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That only increases the threat that a judge will release the detainee into the U.S. population. There are also serious questions about whether the Army Field Manual, while appropriate to guide soldiers on the battlefield, is best suited for professionally-administered lawful interrogations. Republicans want to work with our President to address these national security concerns, but we should not gamble with the safety and security of the American people and our troops on the battlefield. It would be irresponsible to close this terrorist detainee facility until these important questions are answered.”

Princess Caroline, the heir to the throne of Camelot and the woman everyone thought would be Hillary Clinton's replacement (even if a plurality also thought she wasn't qualified for the job), will not be going to the United States Senate:

"I informed Gov. Paterson today that, for personal reasons, I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate," the 51-year-old Camelot daughter said.

The speculation is that Kennedy pulled her name as a face-saving move after learning that Governor Paterson was not going to pick her. But a Daily News report muddies the waters a bit:

"As late as 24 hours ago, Paterson was telling people that it was [Kennedy]," said one source close to Paterson.

"He was with all these national Democrats. Everyone was excited about her coming onboard and he was feeding into that, saying, 'You're not going to be disappointed,' " the source said.

The attention has now turned to Andrew Cuomo, who had been seen as Kennedy's biggest rival for the job. But Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand appears to be picking up some buzz as a possible dark horse pick from Governor Paterson as well. According to reports sourced to the Governor's office, the decision should come down on Saturday.

PPP has released new polls on the 2010 Senate race in North Carolina and Governor race in Ohio. With 22 months to go, the incumbent in both races currently leads.

In North Carolina, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is pitted against Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) in a hypothetical Senate race, while Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) faces former nine-term Rep. John Kasich (R) in a hypothetical matchup.

North Carolina Senate (Jan. 17-18, 650 NC RV, MoE +/- 3.8%)
Burr (R) 39
Shuler (D) 28
Und 32

Ohio Governor (Jan. 17-18, 578 OH RV, MoE +/- 4.1%)
Strickland (D) 45
Kasich (R) 39
Und 16

Interesting numbers from Gallup: 35% are in favor of closing down Guantanamo Bay, 45% are opposed and 20% are undecided. Those numbers haven't moved dramatically from 2007 when 33% were in favor of closing Gitmo down, 53% were opposed, and 13% didn't have an opinion.

Well, this is a bit of a shock: the liberal, latte-drinking capital of the universe -  Seattle, Washington (which is also my beloved hometown) - ranked last among the top 56 television markets in the country in terms of ratings for Inauguration Day.

Then again, maybe a lot folks in web-savvy Seattle watched it live on the Internet instead.

Statement from Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

This morning, the President placed phone calls to four Middle Eastern leaders: President Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Olmert of Israel, King Abdullah of Jordan, and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.  He used this opportunity on his first day in office to communicate his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term, and to express his hope for their continued cooperation and leadership.  In the aftermath of the Gaza conflict, he emphasized his determination to work to help consolidate the ceasefire by establishing an effective anti-smuggling regime to prevent Hamas from rearming, and facilitating in partnership with the Palestinian Authority a major reconstruction effort for Palestinians in Gaza.  He pledged that the United States would do its part to make these efforts successful, working closely with the international community and these partners as they fulfill their responsibilities as well.  The President appreciated the spirit of partnership and warm nature of these calls.

Obviously, President Obama gets a fresh start on the Middle East, and it's clear he's going to make America's engagement in the peace process a priority. What's unclear is whether he'll be able to turn well intentioned talk into concrete action, and to help craft a solution to a seemingly intractable problem that has bedeviled a long list of presidents before him. Let's hope he can. It would be a stunningly impressive achievement for his administration.

In its latest survey, Quinnipiac takes a look at the 2010 Senate and Governor races in Florida (Jan. 14-19, 1370 RV -- 522 GOP, 442 Dem).

Senate Democratic Primary
State CFO Alex Sink was included in the poll, though she announced on Jan. 16 that she would not seek the Senate. Also tested were state Sen. Dan Gelber and Reps. Allen Boyd, Kendrick Meek and Ron Klein.

Sink 15
Meek 13
Klein 9
Boyd 8
Gelber 1
Don't Know 54

Senate Republican Primary
Tested were State House Speaker Marco Rubio, former State House Speaker Allan Bense, Attorney General Bill McCollum, and Reps. Connie Mack and Vern Buchanan.

McCollum 22
Mack 21
Buchanan 10
Rubio 6
Bense 2
Don't Know 4

Governor
According to Quinnipiac, "Floridians say 56 - 26 percent that Crist deserves a second term and 47 percent say they would vote for him, with 27 percent voting for an unnamed Democrat and 27 percent undecided." He currently has a 65% approval rating.

What exactly did Reverend Lowery mean when he prayed for the day when "yellow will be mellow?"

REV LOWERY: Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

Just asking. The line certainly didn't need to be in there for the crowd to understand he was rhyming. So why was it - and what the heck did it have to do with the point he was trying to make?

As proof - if any was needed - that President Obama has helped us turn the page on our partisan politics, I offer the following email in response to my take on Obama's speech:

After hearing President Barack Hussain Obama's speech - and then the positive coments, even from FOX News; your "quick take" should have been a lot quicker - like, non-existant!

Go back to your trailer park with the rest of the bigots and the self-defeating!!!

For the record, I called Obama's speech "quite good and well delivered," a "home run" and a "very good speech" but also observed that it fell short of being one of the greats of all time. Apparently, offering even the slightest criticism of Obama now makes one trailer trash and a bigot. Welcome to the era of Change.

The speech was quite good and well delivered. But it was not "great" - in the historical scope of inaugural addresses - and nothing in it struck me as particularly historic or memorable. There was no signature line, no mantra for the ages, and no powerful theme that will affix this speech in the public consciousness for years to come.

The line about his father was particularly poignant, though I expected (and would have liked to have heard) more from Obama about today's significance and symbolism as the fulfillment of MLK's dream and America's promise.

The end of the speech was superb, as Obama painted a beautiful and haunting picture of America's history, bringing Washington's words back as a message for today:

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Those three paragraphs were, in my opinion, the best of the speech. But again, I don't think there is a takeaway from this speech that will stand the test of time.

This is, I suspect, the first of a number of episodes where Obama is going to suffer from trying to meet impossibly high expectations. For nearly any other person, this speech would have been hailed as a home run. But for Obama, who's hit so many home runs in the past, expectations were for him to hit a Grand Slam and deliver one of the best inaugural speeches ever. This speech fell short of being one of the all time greats, but it was still a very good speech on a very historic day for America.