Hackers and Spending Sprees … The computer systems of both the Obama and McCain campaigns were victims of a sophisticated cyberattack by an unknown “foreign entity,” prompting a federal investigation, NEWSWEEK reports today.  —  At the Obama headquarters in midsummer …

EMANUEL ACCEPTS TOP SLOT IN OBAMA WH  —  From NBC's Andrea Mitchell  —  A senior Obama advisor confirms to NBC News that Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel has accepted the job of Chief of Staff for the Obama White House.  —  *** UPDATE *** In an email to NBC News, Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg denies …

Obama considers stars for Cabinet  —  President-elect Barack Obama is strongly considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a Cabinet post, Democratic officials told Politico.  —  Obama's transition planners are weighing several other celebrity-level political stars …

Gay-rights advocates to challenge Proposition 8 in court  —  Supporters of the measure, which passed Tuesday by a margin of about 52%, are outraged and say the voters have spoken.  —  After losing at the polls, gay-rights advocates filed a legal challenge today in California Supreme Court to Proposition 8 …

McCain's verdict on Palin: more trouble than a pitbull  —  The British ambassador reveals what the defeated presidential candidate really thinks of his running mate  —  So now we know what John McCain really thinks of his running mate Sarah Palin - and that's not just because of the awkward …

Notes from the collapse  —  This morning, after having absorbed the substantial victory of Barack Obama, I noticed a couple of interesting items in the data.  Barack Obama certainly won this race, but he won it with just a little more votes than George Bush won in his re-election bid, and the turnout models came up short.

Reid, Lieberman to meet  —  (CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will likely meet later this week with Joe Lieberman to discuss whether the Democrat-turned-Independent will be stripped of his Senate committee chairmanship, a senior Democratic leadership aide tells CNN.

Conservatives Who Slammed Obama For Being A Socialist Now Say He Ran A ‘Center-Right’ Campaign  —  Not only did Barack Obama win the presidency yesterday, but progressives picked up significant victories in the House, Senate, state, and local races.  Nevertheless, pundits this morning continued …

AP Uncalls Minnesota Senate Race  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press is uncalling the Minnesota Senate race.  —  Republican Sen. Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken early Wednesday in the final vote count, but his 571-vote margin falls within the state's mandatory recount law.

2008 turnout shatters all records  —  More than 130 million people turned out to vote Tuesday, the most ever to vote in a presidential election.  —  With ballots still being counted in some precincts into Wednesday morning, an estimated 64 percent of the electorate turned out, making 2008 the highest percentage turnout in generations.

Election 2008: what really happened  —  After a quick look at the election results and exit polls (from www.cnn.com), some thoughts:  —  1. The election was pretty close.  Obama won by about 5% of the vote, consistent with the latest polls and consistent with his forecast vote based on forecasts based on the economy.

Fight  —  Now back to the real world.  It's traditional that a new president get a honeymoon of some indefinite length.  It's also traditional for Republicans (and many conservatives) to act as Charlie Brown to Lucy with the football.  —  Obama will get the most lavish and extended honeymoon in history.

Waxman to challenge Dingell  —  House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry A. Waxman is calling senior Democrats to seek the top spot on Energy and Commerce, according to Democrats on and off Capitol Hill.  —  This puts the Californian in a direct conflict with Energy …

Obama names transition team leaders  —  John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff who was tapped by President-elect Barack Obama fall to head his transition planning.  (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)  —  by John McCormick, updated  —  President-elect Barack …

The McCain Belt  —  Interesting map available on the NYT home page shows the places where McCain did better than Bush did in 2004:  —  You can see why John McCain's principled stand against higher taxes on the wealthy would have a special resonance in this region.

The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace  —  What must our enemies be thinking?  —  Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush.

A Way Out of the Wilderness  —  Well, we Republicans have just made history.  Not the type of history we wanted to make, mind you, but history nonetheless.  Not only did we lose the White House but, after losing our House and Senate majorities in 2006, we followed it up last night with even steeper losses in Congress.

McCain's Concession Speech  —  The following is a transcript of Senator John McCain's Concession Speech in Phoenix, Ariz, as provided by Federal News Service.  —  SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you.  Thank you, my friends.  (Cheers, applause.)  Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.