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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

NY congressman says no offense intended with Mississippi remark  —  JACKSON, Miss. - A Democratic congressman from New York says he wasn't trying to insult Mississippi in published remarks Thursday, but a Republican colleague from Mississippi says Rep. Charles Rangel should apologize to the state.

Iraqi president says Democrats told him they will not pull out quickly  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Jalal Talabani said Thursday that he had been assured by Democrat congressional leaders during a recent visit to Washington that they had no plans for a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces.

In Letter, Radical Cleric Details CIA Abduction, Egyptian Torture  —  In an account smuggled out of prison, a radical Muslim cleric has detailed how he was kidnapped by the CIA from this northern Italian city and flown to Cairo, where he was tortured for months with electric shocks and shackled to an iron rack known as "the Bride."