Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse  —  A lawsuit in Germany will seek a criminal prosecution of the outgoing Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their alleged role in abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo  —  Just days after his resignation …

A PUTSCH AT THE DNC?:  —  Some big name Democrats want to oust DNC Chairman Howard Dean, arguing that his stubborn commitment to the 50-state strategy and his stinginess with funds for House races cost the Democrats several pickup opportunities.  —  The candidate being floated to replace Dean?

After Rumsfeld: Bid to Reshape the Brain Trust  —  Robert M. Gates, President Bush's choice to become defense secretary, has sharply criticized the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and has made it clear that he would seek advice from moderate Republicans who have been largely frozen …

Khamenei calls elections a victory for Iran  —  TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday called U.S. President George W. Bush's defeat in congressional elections a victory for Iran.  —  Bush has accused Iran of trying to make a nuclear bomb …

EXCLUSIVE: McCain Begins Preliminary White House Run  —  Exploratory Committee to Be Set Up This Month, No Final Decision Has Been Made  —  His party may have taken "a thumpin'," in the words of President Bush, but ABC News has learned that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his political team …

Local GOP chairman blasts own party  —  As Dems celebrate, Salem cites Republican schism  —  A day after the Democratic sweep of the midterm elections, Woodbury County Republican Chairman Steve Salem had harsh words for his own party, lambasting the influence of the conservative Christian right wing.

Bolton's Chances of Confirmation Are 'Nil,' Official Says  —  President Bush has pledged to be a bipartisan, consensus builder now that Democrats are to control Congress, and since Wednesday he has made conciliatory gestures.  The question now is whether Mr. Bush is ready to junk …

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.

Ignoring widespread agreement on core issues, media suggested wins by "conservative Democrats" will cause intraparty strife … In the wake of the November 7 midterm elections, numerous media figures have attributed the Democratic gains in the House and Senate to the number of wins by conservative or moderate Democratic challengers.

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.

The bloody consequences of open borders  —  On election day, I was in New York City.  You know what a lot of New Yorkers were buzzing about that day?  —  Not the election.  —  They were buzzing about a tragic story that has disappeared under the national MSM radar screen …

CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY HUSTLER  —  Ted Haggard's bitter boy toy tells all  —  HEAVEN CAN WAIT Reverend Ted Haggard begs forgiveness  —  On November 3, all-American family man Ted Haggard resigned as head of the 30-million strong National Association of Evangelicals after a male prostitute …

Abandoning Iraq  —  Regardless of its final composition, and regardless of other pressing issues or its mandate, the leading item of business for the new U.S. Congress will be Iraq.  —  It didn't matter who won control of each house — the fix was already in.

Jon Stewart: Democratic majority kingmaker  —  Forget left of center bloggers, Jon Stewart is this year's kingmaker.  Without him and The Daily Show, the Democrats would not have made such large inroads in the midterm elections.  Let me explain why.  —  In 1994 Republicans swept to victory …

The Great Revulsion  —  I'm not feeling giddy as much as greatly relieved.  O.K., maybe a little giddy.  Give 'em hell, Harry and Nancy!  —  Here's what I wrote more than three years ago, in the introduction to my column collection "The Great Unraveling": "I have a vision — maybe just a hope …

Credit  —  In the "credit" debate there are two types of people, those who are trying to glorify themselves, enhance their reputation, and obtain more power, and those who just, you know, want to make sure we do the right thing.  —  All I know is months ago it was conventional wisdom in DC …

MuckWatch: We Pick Our Favorite Dems  —  The Democrats swept into the majority in Congress vowing to fight the culture of corruption.  Bad news for the muckraking biz, right?  Thankfully, less-than-squeaky pasts don't appear to be a factor in the Dems' reasoning as they divvy up leadership posts and committee chairs.

The magic of "a few good men"  —  In his latest book, America's Victories - Why the U.S. wins wars and will win the war on terror, national defense and economics historian Dr. Larry Schweikart describes the performance of U.S. troops during the 2003 invasion of Iraq: "The Marines …

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.

Gain for Same-Sex Marriage in Massachusetts  —  Lawmakers in Massachusetts, the only state where same-sex marriage is legal, dealt what appeared to be a fatal blow Thursday to a proposed constitutional amendment to ban it.  —  In a flurry of strategic maneuvering, supporters …

I NOTED EARLIER that Ann Althouse is depressed about the elections, and looking around it seems that a lot of people feel that way.  Well, I understand that, God knows.  But one iron rule of elections is that you win some and you lose some.  And people tend to exaggerate their importance and …