Obama Job Watch: Top press post gets away; seekers cry, ‘Emanuel!’

As President-elect Obama moves to form his staff, Minnesotans with ties to his candidacy and a desire to move to Washington, D.C. may reasonably hold out hope to get tapped. One post that already got away from the Minnesota crowd is White House press secretary. Another is chief of staff — and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s ascension to that perch will set Minnesotans who know him a-twitter. Meanwhile, T-Paw finds his own higher perch — on the shortlist of GOP prospects for filling the job of U.S. President.

HUD chief calls McCain’s mortgage plan a ‘grave concern’

In a town hall meeting in Seattle Monday evening, Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Steve Preston said John McCain’s mortgage proposal is an issue of “grave concern.” McCain’s plan for the housing decline includes the government possibly buying up troubled mortgages and paying the difference between principal balance and the home’s new lowered value as a result of the housing crash.

“I have a very grave concern about that,” Preston said, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.