***UPDATE*** 12/7 9:12AM NBC has released an excerpt from Obama's interview in which Obama announces he will name General Eric Shinseki as Secretary of Veterans Affairs:
PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA: Tomorrow, you had mentioned earlier, is when we commemorate Pearl Harbor, and so I'm going to be making announcement tomorrow about the head of our Veterans Administration, General Eric Shinseki, who was a commander and has fought in Vietnam, Bosnia, is somebody who has achieved the highest level of military service. He has agreed that he is willing to be part of this administration because both he and I share a reverence for those who serve. I grew up in Hawaii, as he did. My grandfather is in the Punch Bowl National Cemetery. When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and, I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served -- higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate -- it breaks my heart, and I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home.
BROKAW: He's the man who lost his job in the Bush Administration because he said we will need more troops in Iraq than Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld thought we would need at that time.
PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA: He was right.
President-elect Barack Obama taped his first post-election appearance on NBC's flagship political show "Meet The Press" Saturday in the studio of the network's Chicago affiliate WMAQ.
From the pool report from Politico's Jonathan Martin:
After a change of clothes, President-elect Obama departed from his home at 11:33 and was quickly headed north on Lakeshore Drive.
The snow has largely abated.
Upon arriving downtown, the motorcade sped through some of Chicago's familiar underground streets, passing within sight of the legendary Billy Goat Tavern, before arriving
in a garage under the NBC affilliate, WMAQ, at 11: 48.Obama is now taping "Meet" in the NBC tower and is not expected out for another hour.
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His taping of "Meet the Press" complete, President-elect Obama's
motorcade departed from the downtown garage of Chicago's NBC affiliate
at 1:33.At the corner of McClurg Ct and Illinois St., your pooler eyed about 30
well-wishers who, spotting the police blockade, had gathered in hopes of
catching a glimpse of Obama. As the motorcade sped past, most in the
well-bundled group waved at the president-elect.The rest of the trek down Lakeshore Drive and to the Obama residence was
uneventful.Arrival at the Obama casa came at 1:48.