RNC asks Steele to replace Mehlman  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, whose party just lost both chambers of Congress, will leave his position in January, and the post as party chief has been offered to Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.

Removal of Rumsfeld Dates Back to Summer  —  Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld walking back to his motorcade Thursday after touring the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kan.  —  President Bush was moving by late summer toward removing Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary, people inside and outside the White House said Thursday.

Troops Fear The Loss Of Rumsfeld  —  American troops concerned with the loss of Donald Rumsfeld spoke to Martin Fletcher of the Times of London, worried that the new Secretary of Defense would pull them out of Iraq before they could complete the mission: … The American troops believe in the mission they serve.

McGovern to Meet With Congress on War  —  George McGovern, the former senator and Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday that he will meet with more than 60 members of Congress next week to recommend a strategy to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by June.

Only a Minor Earthquake  —  How serious is the "thumpin' " the Republicans took on Tuesday?  Losing one house is significant but hardly historic.  Losing both houses, however, is defeat of a different order of magnitude, the equivalent in a parliamentary system of a vote of no confidence.

Understanding Gates  —  It's Not as Simple as Father's Team vs. Son's  —  In the early months of 1989, the overriding foreign policy issue for the new George H.W. Bush administration was how to deal with Mikhail Gorbachev.  Did the Soviet leader represent fundamental change, or was he merely a new face for the same old policies?

With Power Set to Be Split, Wiretaps Re-emerge as Issue  —  The Bush administration escalated its defense of the National Security Agency's domestic wiretapping program on Thursday, even as Democrats in Congress vowed to investigate the program aggressively once they assume power.

TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI  —  Today is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps.  The Marine Corps Museum (depicted above) opens today in Quantico — "a monument to honor, courage and commitment."  Earlier this week Mark Yost previewed the museum in an excellent column (subscribers only) for the Wall Street Journal.

Redistricting: Home to Roost  —  How Republicans'  —  Gerrymandering Efforts  —  May Have Backfired  —  WASHINGTON — Gerrymandering was supposed to cement Republican control of the House of Representatives, offering incumbents a wall of re-election protection even as public opinion turned sharply against them.

Out-of-Work GOP Aides Face Tough Road Ahead  —  The hundreds of Republican staffers — not to mention more than a few Members — who will lose their jobs in the next few weeks are going to face a hostile marketplace on K Street as unemployed Republicans flood the market.

On a Shifting Field, a Sense of Rising Expectations  —  It was no doubt inadvertent, but it was hard not to find some symbolism in the moment Thursday in the Oval Office when President Bush seemed to forget that Vice President Dick Cheney was in the room.  —  Representatives Nancy Pelosi …

Handover to Iraqi Army 'set for the end of next year'  —  American and Iraqi officials have set a date for giving Iraq's forces responsibility for security across the country.  —  Under a plan to be presented to the UN Security Council next month, the Iraqi Government would assume authority …

Students at Calif. College ban Pledge of Allegiance  —  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Student leaders at a California college have touched off a furor by banning the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings, saying they see no reason to publicly swear loyalty to God and the U.S. government.

Oh, why don't you just admit it?  —  Okay, I'm depressed about the election.  —  She asks herself a question, then answers it — Rumsfeldianly.  —  What is it, exactly?  —  It's the failure of Americans to support the war.  It's the folding and crumpling because things didn't go well enough …