Michael Ramirez cartoon for Jan. 20, 2009 at Investor's Business Daily

Obama’s in and he’s all about change and…copying Bush? John Hinderaker at Power Line blog notes that President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech, along with his national security appointments, smacks of predecessor W. and notes that even comedians are commenting on the similarities. It doesn’t speak well of liberals, he writes, that they actually seem to be hoping that he’s lying, that his actions will somehow contradict all the rhetoric. Below, even Jon Stewart of The Daily Show jabs at the incoming president through an eerie montage of speech snippets comparing the two presidents, though the left-leaning TV news-satire host waxes apologetic.

Clinton did, Kennedy didn’t, and Geithner shouldn’t. Hillary Clinton is the new Secretary of State, but a once-favored candidate to replace her as a Senator from New York, Caroline Kennedy, has bowed out. Jim Geraghty argues for National Review Online that her withdrawal is a good thing, and that the whole case in her favor seemed built upon her royal blood. Meanwhile, for the same outlet, Byron York tears into Timothy Geithner, Obama’s pick for treasury secretary whose confirmation has been stalled somewhat ironically over a failure to properly file and pay taxes, because the man wouldn’t ‘fess up in the Senate hearing. Regardless, York predicts Geithner will prevail because his Democratic allies, who lead the Finance Committee, are rushing the vote.

Obama spells setbacks for the pro-life movement. The new President has said he would sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act if it lands on his desk, and some analysts suggest the latest iterations of the bill would roll back many of the pro-life movement’s hard-fought gains—forty states restricting late-term abortions for instance. Michael J. New, writing for NRO suggests conservatives have been in this position before, under the Clinton Administration, and that the movement to ban or restrict abortions wasn’t stamped out then, so there is cause for hope. G. Tracy Mehan, III takes a slightly more practical view for The American Spectator: Obama would be well-advised not to risk losing his immense political capital when his main task is to deal with the economy.

Don’t you get it? Hamas doesn’t just want a separate Palestine, but wants the annihilation of Israel, writes former New York Times foreign correspondent Clifford D. May for NRO. Israel likely timed its recent attack on Gaza, where Hamas fighters have been in control since last year, to beat the inauguration of Barack Obama, May argues. That’s because Obama likely would have made ending the battle one of his top priorities. But Israel had to fight, May argues, and the war is far from over—just to keep things in perspective.

If Obama brings back Carterism, it won’t be good. Many commentators have compared President Obama’s foreign policy prescription to that of former President Jimmy Carter. Arthur Herman lays out a thorough explanation in Commentary magazine of how and why Carter’s policies didn’t work nearly as well as Reagan’s, Clinton’s, or even W’s. Then he worries in writing that Obama’s pledge for “aggressive diplomacy” is meaningless and that this new Carterism almost belittles America’s record for tough peacekeeping. Are we shying away from rather than donning our mantle as leader of the free world?

“I hope he fails,” Rush Limbaugh says of Obama, but don’t take it out of context. The conservative talk show host defended his statement here, noting that he would be proud to earn the headline “Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails” from the “Drive-By Media.” But it’s about liberal economic policies that have failed and will continue to fail, he notes, and haven’t the liberals, after all, been out to secure the failure of Bush’s policies? R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. over at The American Spectator, comes to his defense after multiple stories (and even a senator) have focused on the sensationalism of the comment rather than the content of the argument.

Cover your head, the sky is falling … President-elect Barack Obama unveiled his economic team Monday, and said his recovery plan would include adding 2.5 million jobs through public works projects like repairing roads and schools, and adding so-called green jobs. Obama introduced Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers as head of the National Economic Council, Christina Romer to lead the Council of Economic Advisers and Melody C. Barnes as director of the Domestic Policy Council.

And to attempt to provide more stability to the markets and jump-start lending, starting Tuesday, the Federal Reserve will commit up to $800 billion to finance commercial debt and support consumer and small-business loans.

Soon, Gitmo will have one fewer prisoner … Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s former driver, is heading back to Yemen, according to a senior defense official. He was convicted of aiding Al-Qaida in August, but was set to be free in January because of time served. Hamdan will serve the remainder of his sentence in Yemen.

When will the big names drop? President Bush released his first list of pardons, and the 14 people didn’t include any that were truly noteworthy [ed note—with the exception of high-profile rapper John Forte]. The people ranged from a tax-evader to small-time marijuana dealer. Bush has over 2,000 petitions for pardon to consider, and they include Marion Jones and Randy Cunningham, the former California congressman. Slate has an excellent list of the likelihood of the big names getting off.

Thai protestors make travel tougher this holiday season … members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy strung razor wire across the the major road to Thailand’s largest airport, and also shot a few handgun rounds at government supporters. The airport blockage was an attempt to incite a violent response from the government. Embattled Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has been in Peru attending the Asia-Pacific summit, and is returning to Thailand on Wednesday. A spokesperson said he would fly in to a different airport.

I believe I can fly … A daredevil promoting a company’s jet pack flew across a 1,500-foot-wide and 1,100-foot-deep canyon in Southern Colorado Monday without a parachute. It took stuntman Eric Scott 21 seconds to cross the canyon, traveling at 75 mph. Next up? Fight the Nazis.