Joe Garcia nominated for federal energy post

Long-time political mover and shaker Joe Garcia -- who has been the voice of a powerful Cuban exile group, chairman of the agency that regulates the state's utilities and an unsuccessful congressional candidate -- has been nominated for a post in the Obama administration.

Garcia, 45, a Democrat from Miami Beach, was nominated Tuesday to be director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Garcia becomes the first Miami-Dade resident to land a high-ranking administration job.

Garcia's suitability for the post in the Energy Department comes from his years as a member of the Florida Public Service Commission, the regulatory authority that sets electricity and telephone rates.

Garcia joined the commission in 1994. By 1999, he was its first Hispanic chairman.

Garcia, born in Miami-Dade of Cuban exiles, began his political career in 1988 as a protégé of Cuban American National Foundation president Jorge Mas Canosa, who picked Garcia to head the Exodus Project, a program that brought Cuban exiles stranded in third countries to the United States.

Garcia eventually became CANF's official spokesman.

In 1994, when a spot opened on the regulatory board, he was named to it by Gov. Lawton Chiles.

In 2000, he returned to CANF as its executive director and, following Mas Canosa's death, led the organization in a new direction in its efforts to bring political change to Cuba.

Garcia left the foundation in 2004. Two years later, he became chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. Last November, Garcia battled Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart for Florida's 25th Congressional District seat, but lost.

Garcia is expected to commute to Washington, D.C.

His wife, Aileen Ugalde, is general counsel to the University of Miami.

GOP candidates in Va., NJ wary of Palin

GOP candidates in Va., NJ wary of Palin

NEW YORK -- Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor was driven in part by her wish to help Republican candidates across the country, associates say.

But in New Jersey and Virginia, two states with competitive governors' races this year, the prospect of a visit from the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee has so far drawn a muted response from the GOP contenders there.

In Virginia, a historically conservative state where Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 to win, Republican Bob McDonnell said Tuesday his campaign had had conversations with the Palin camp but stopped short of saying whether he wanted her help.

In an interview with ABCNews.com, McDonnell called Palin a "good spokesman" and said he would welcome anyone who wanted to come to Virginia on his behalf. McDonnell, a former state attorney general, is in a tight race with Democrat Creigh Deeds to succeed outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine, a moderate who now chairs the Democratic National Committee.

But McDonnell also predicted the contest would not be affected by any high-profile endorsements on either side and professed confusion about Palin's abrupt decision to leave office with 18 months left in her term.

"I don't know how this recent announcement - which I still don't fully understand; I only know what I've read in the media - how that fully plays out and whether she's going to prefer a private life or whether she still wants to stay actively involved," McDonnell said.

In New Jersey, where President Barack Obama trounced the McCain-Palin ticket by 15 percentage points last November, state Republican Chairman Jay Webber said he'd had no contact with Palin or her team about a campaign visit on behalf of GOP candidate Chris Christie.

Several statewide polls have shown Christie, a former U.S. attorney, leading Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who is running for re-election.

"We don't have any plans on having her in," Webber said. "We're busy working to get Chris Christie elected and telling people about the failed record of Gov. Corzine."

The Virginia and New Jersey races are the only major statewide electoral contests in 2009, and strategists for both parties are studying them for clues as to whether the Republican Party can rebound from its devastating losses in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

Obama already has written a fundraising e-mail for Deeds in Virginia and will campaign with Corzine in New Jersey next week.

With few nationally recognized stars of their own, Republicans are trying to assess the impact - both positive and negative - Palin might have in both governors' races.

After Palin announced she would give up the governorship in Alaska, Nick Ayers, director of the Republican Governors Association, and Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, both indicated she was eager to begin campaigning for GOP candidates.

"She is an important and galvanizing voice in the Republican Party. I believe she will be very helpful to the party this year as we wage critical campaigns in Virginia and New Jersey," Steele said.

To be sure, Palin has shown strength as a campaign surrogate.

Last fall, in a runoff election between Georgia GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, Palin visited the state on Chambliss' behalf. Chambliss ended up defeating Martin by 15 percentage points in the December runoff, after winning by just three points a few weeks earlier in the November general election.

"I can't overstate the impact she had down here," Chambliss told Fox News the day after the runoff. "When she walks in a room, folks just explode."

But for all her charisma, Palin remains a decidedly mixed bag politically. While she remains wildly popular with many conservatives, she's held in contempt by many Democrats and has had little success winning over independents, who make up a growing share of voters in many states.

"She's a very polarizing figure. A lot of people love her, a lot of people just as strongly dislike her. Nobody's neutral about her," said Merle Black, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.

For their part, Democrats in both New Jersey and Virginia were eager to link their rival GOP contenders to Palin.

"Her positions are certainly consistent with where Christie's been," Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy said. "They would both deny a woman the right to choose and they oppose new gun control legislation. And like Palin, Christie's staked out conservative right-wing positions on rejecting the federal stimulus money, which would create thousands of jobs."

In Virginia, Jared Leopold, a spokesman for Deeds, said, "If what Bob McDonnell wants to do is to bring in Sarah Palin and advocate for the same Republican policies that would take Virginia backward, I think Virginians would say, 'Thanks, but no thanks.'"

At least one 2010 candidate says he is eager for Palin's help.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a conservative Republican facing a tough primary challenge from moderate Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, told reporters Wednesday that Palin is committed to campaigning for his re-election bid and that he welcomes her support.

First lady visits community health clinic

WASHINGTON -- First lady Michelle Obama visited a community health center Monday to announce the release of $850 million in stimulus grants to help such clinics across the country provide care.

"From the young to the old, from rural ... communities to the inner cities, both the insured and uninsured, 17 million Americans rely on community health centers every year to help them stay healthy," she said at Unity Health Care Inc.'s Upper Cardozo Health Center.

Mrs. Obama listed obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure as diseases that community health centers can fight through preventive care. She expressed particular concern about the importance of teaching children to eat healthily.

"But to be effective in this fight, you're going to need more help, you're going to need more resources," the first lady said.

The $850 million will include $2.5 million to Upper Cardozo for 20 new examination rooms. According to Mrs. Obama every health center that applied will receive at least $200,000.

Mrs. Obama met privately with about eight patients and five doctors at the health center before speaking to a larger group of health center patients and employees, as well as reporters.

The stimulus law set aside about $2.5 billion for free and low-cost health clinics. Two earlier sets of grants awarded just under $500 million to health centers.

Mrs. Obama said that besides helping health center patients, the grant money could create jobs as health centers nationwide are renovated and upgraded.

AP sources: Burris won't run for full Senate term

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Roland Burris, whose deep ties to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich seemed to doom his Senate tenure from the start, will not run for a full Senate term in 2010. The move increases Democrats' chances of holding on to the former Senate seat of President Barack Obama.

Burris has begun informing fellow Democrats about his decision and is expected to make an announcement on Friday, a Democratic official and a friend of Burris' told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Burris has yet to discuss his decision publicly.

Burris issued a press release on Thursday evening that said he planned a "major announcement" at an event in Chicago on Friday.

Burris was appointed by disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who weeks before had been arrested in part on allegations he tried to sell the Senate seat. Burris' appointment was criticized from the moment it was announced and prompted immediate calls for him to resign.

He repeatedly changed his story about the circumstances of his appointment, first claiming he never offered anything to Blagojevich, then admitting he tried - and failed to raise money for the then-governor.

A wiretap that was released later showed Burris bartering with Robert Blagojevich, the former governor's brother and a top adviser.

A friend of Burris said Burris decided not to run because it would be impossible to change public perception of him without spending huge amounts of money. The friend said Burris doesn't believe he did anything wrong but acknowledged he faced a difficult task in getting elected.

In the Senate, Burris has been treated as something of a pariah because of his ties to Blagojevich. Democrats and Republicans alike have shunned him, refusing to partner with him on legislation and participating only in polite exchanges.

The Senate experience has been rough medicine for Burris, who viewed his appointment as the capstone to his career. The 71-year-old grew up in southern Illinois at a time when blacks weren't allowed to use the community swimming pool. He went on to become the first black man to hold a major statewide office in Illinois, serving three terms as state comptroller and two as attorney general.

His last election victory was in 1990, however. Since then, he has lost four races: three tries at the Democratic nomination for governor and one for Chicago mayor.

Accepting Blagojevich's appointment to the Senate was a way to get back into politics at the highest levels.

His reputation and accomplishments clearly matter deeply to Burris. He has already built a mausoleum for himself and his wife. It has the words "TRAIL BLAZER" carved on it, along with all his honors and titles.

By not seeking a full term, Burris increases Democrats chances of holding on to the Senate seat in 2010. Republicans had viewed Burris as a potentially easy target if he were to run for a full-term in the Senate.

Sen. Richard Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat and the senior senator from Illinois, has said repeatedly he would not support Burris running for a full term. Other officials, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, have called for Burris to resign.

Burris also faced structural barriers, including anemic fundraising. Recent polls have shown most Illinois voters do not support him, and he has repeatedly changed his story about his dealings with Blagojevich.

Burris' decision not to run is the second major development in 2010 Illinois Senate race in as many days. On Wednesday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan - a top recruit who was wooed by the White House - announced that she would not run for Senate and instead would seek re-election.

Senate Democrats had long made clear they had little tolerance for a full bid from Burris. Other Illinois Democrats have also lined up for a chance to run for the full term.

First-term Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Christopher Kennedy, a Chicago businessman and son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, and Chicago Urban League president Cheryle Jackson are all considering wading in.

Actor Kal Penn starts work as White House liaison

WASHINGTON -- Actor Kal Penn, who last year portrayed a captive in an orange jumpsuit escaping from Guantánamo, started a new job Monday as a liaison between the White House and Asian communities.

The Indian-American actor is taking a break from Hollywood to work as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison, with a focus on connecting Obama with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, as well as arts groups.

Penn had a recurring role on Fox's TV show House and starred in the so-called stoner films including Harold & Kumar Go to WhiteCastle and its sequel, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantánamo Bay.

Penn backed Obama during the campaign. He said the new job has nothing to do with his life as an actor.

''I expect to be treated just like any other staff member,'' he told reporters on a conference call.

He is even applying this quest for a fresh start to his identity, saying he will use his given name, Kalpen Modi, instead of his acting moniker while working for the Obama administration.

Penn described the public liaison office as the ''front door to the White House.'' He said his job would be engaging with constituent communities and making sure they feel that they have a seat at the table.

Asked about the differences between the new job and his work in Hollywood, Penn joked that he now wears a suit.

When pressed about preparing for his first day on the job Monday morning, he said, ``I brushed my teeth; I did floss, used mouthwash . . . took the bus to work, same thing that everybody does.''

Sink wins backing from EMILY's List in Florida governor's race

Alex Sink, the leading Democratic contender for governor in 2010, landed a predictable but potentially weighty endorsement Friday from a national fundraising group for Democratic women who support abortion rights.

The nod from Washington-based EMILY's List could mean millions of dollars directly to Sink's campaign as well as get-out-the-vote advertising on her behalf.

''EMILY's List looks forward to helping to elect Alex Sink as Florida's first woman governor,'' President Ellen Malcolm said.

Sink has given nearly $52,000 to the group since 1992, plus tens of thousands of dollars more to female candidates it endorsed, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

EMILY's List backed her campaign for chief financial officer in 2006, and when she decided to run for governor, began promoting her on its website.

Now that the Sink endorsement is official, the group will solicit its 100,000 members across the country, touting that ``this showdown will be one of the cycle's most highly anticipated races.''

OUT-OF-STATE CASH

In another sign that Florida's contest will be awash in out-of-state money, the Democratic Governor's Association identified the state this week as one of the top four opportunities in the country to crack Republican control of state government.

EMILY's List's has helped elect female candidates in Florida, including U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, Kathy Castor of Tampa and Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach. In the 2004 Senate race, EMILY's List gave so much money to Democrat Betty Castor that rivals accused the group of carpet-bagging.

KEPT OUT OF BATTLES

A heavy hand by EMILY's List in the governor's race could complicate Sink's efforts to portray herself as bipartisan.

She has stayed out of battles over abortion rights in the Legislature.

''As CFO, she's been focused on doing what the people of Florida elected her to do -- which is watching over the state's tax dollars,'' Sink spokeswoman Tara Klimek said.

An early poll by Rasmussen Reports released Thursday showed Sink eight points behind her Republican rival, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.

FDA orders stronger overdose warnings for Darvocet

WASHINGTON -- The government is letting the painkillers Darvocet, Darvon and their generic cousins stay on the market but ordered stronger warnings against deadly overdoses.

The Food and Drug Administration's action Tuesday means that patients soon will receive a special pamphlet with every bottle that stresses the risk. Consumer-health advocates have linked the 50-year-old drug to hundreds of deaths, from suicide and accidental overdoses.

The prescription-only drug also is known by its generic name propoxyphene (pro-POX-eh-feene). It's considered a weak pain reliever yet is commonly prescribed.